Cape Town: You can't come back unless you go away

I woke up this morning to Nina flipping the on lights in our room and saying: "Lynne, get up! We have to be out of here by 12:30 because they booked more people for these rooms!"

This was at 11:00 am.

Apparently, Daddy Long Legs booked the apartments for tonight and didn't tell us that we had a specific checkout time after we lived there for two and a half months. Because I only brought one bag besides my backpack, and it could actually be a carry-on bag if I weighed less, I was OK. I just pack light, and I had already packed most of my stuff. But the next hour and a half was a frenzy of us trying to get ourselves in order before leaving the country. We don't fly out until 11:30 pm.

After our ungracious exit from the apartments, we put our luggage in a room at the main hotel down the road and headed out to while away the next 11 hours before our flight left. Lauren had been wanting to go to the Bo-Kaap, a traditionally Muslim neighborhood, and I knew how to get there, so we headed up that way. We came upon the Wale Rose restaurant, which was having a buffet special, so we headed in for lunch.

We got to sit on the roof, which has a beautiful view of Table Mountain and Lionshead, as well as the colorful houses of Bo-Kaap (something it's famous for). The food was amazing--the buffet included the best mutton (lamb) curry I've ever had and some awesome biryani, which as far as I can tell is rice, lentils sauteed onions with some other stuff.

Anyway, it was just a lovely way to spend part of the day, especially after the rude awakening of the morning. We took our time and ate way too much food. To top it all off, there was a parade through the street the restaurant was on. We still don't know what it was for, but people were dressed in green, white and red as well as really sparkly clothes, and there was a marching band. All in all, a great way to spend the last day here--exploring a new neighborhood and getting awesome food.

I can't believe we're leaving today. I'm excited to go home, especially given the last two weeks, but as the novelist Anatole France said, "All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." 


There is something gained from every place we visit and person we meet, even if it's an unpleasant lesson or realization. And I have actually enjoyed most of my time here--Cape Town is an amazing city, and I can't wait to visit again someday. I've met some wonderful people and learned important lessons. 


This will be my last blog post in South Africa, but stay tuned for one or two more once I get stateside. For closure and all that, you know. 


I'm excited to get home. But I am also sad to leave.