Cape Town- Day 1

landed in cape town just before 11pm, grabbed my dirty army green oversized duffel with golden hazelnut brown stains of Clairol #6 off the carousel and skidded to the car rental place. it was cold out and they were all bundled up like there was snow on the ground. after lots of paperwork and a $1,000 deposit! i was driving on the N2 (i think?) in my tiny Chevrolet something or other. it’s the kind they don’t sell in the States because we don’t drive tiny little cars with manual transmissions. i drove to Constantia area to get house keys at a friends and then another 30 minutes to the little blue house in Simon’s Town after midnight. the minute i walked in i realized, the house, like most houses in this part of the world, didn’t have central heat. it was so cold. i turned on the kettle and filled my hot water bottle. i came prepared. i’ve lived outside the US enough to know now. why heat up a whole entire house when you can warm your bum and toes with a rubber bottle? 

i slept under every blanket in the house and woke an entire hour later than normal to squeals of children arriving at the school nearby. the sun doesn’t rise so stinking early here as it does in Pemba. it took me awhile to realize just where i was. i ran a hot, hot bath. i had turned on the “geyser” last night but couldn’t stay awake to wait on the water to heat. i stayed in until bright pink and quickly got dressed, actually putting socks over my clean pink feet. i never wear socks. i wore leggings and a navy quarter length sleeved j.crew tshirt w/ a kangaroo pocket and Ali’s green North Face jacket, the community one we all borrow when we go out of the country. i wore running shoes and put my hair in a bun. it felt so odd. i looked like a total goofball. a fraud. i didn’t look one bit like myself. but i don’t have many other options. i packed the best of my wardrobe and looking at it here hanging limply in the stark white closet, it looks pitiful. dingy whites from being washed in dirty water. stretched out shirts from Veronica’s loving tugs. a wrinkled assortment of well worn articles of my colors this season, orange and navy. 

i quickly realized the house also has no French Press or coffee maker and i was hours overdue for coffee. i googled how to get to the nearest Woolworth’s and Food Lover’s Market and started in that direction in my little silver Chevrolet. 

i stopped in at my favorite little spot from my last visit here, Spill the Beans Coffee Shop. the place where the chef prepared me breakfast at 2pm, exactly the way i ordered it, and completely off the menu. i walked in and saw a sign on the register, “cash only”. although normally a real rule player and never one to bother or make a fuss,  i didn’t hesitate. i pulled out my American accent and asked if there was any way i could pay later. he had sweet mercy and agreed and i got the best meal i have had in a very, very, very long time. i could have cried. i asked me how it was and i held back tears. a salmon & avocado rosti with a poached egg on top (45R or $4.64). rosti is a fancy way of saying hash browns. 

the markets i were seeking were close by. there are other bigger malls but i need to get my feet wet first. i chose the small one with 3 supermarkets as food was my first priority. i visited them all. i am still utterly mesmerized by white people and the endless supply of goods and retail services. i almost got my eyebrows waxed just because i could. i found a tiny health food store at the mall entrance. they had baobab shampoo and conditioner. i purposely didn’t pack these sorts of things and needed a small supply. i love baobabs. so, why not? they also had essential oils. i chose 3. she asked if i needed a bag. of course i needed a bag. she looked at me like i was crazy and even made the comment that most people have their own bags. i just shrugged my shoulders and told her i did have one. i had the keys to the car and a little gold wallet from The Dollar Tree with credit cards in it in my pocket. no cash. no handbag. no bags. i had completely forgotten how one even does this.

i then went in Woolworth’s but it was too much. too much to look at and too much to take in. i needed to focus. i was there for food. i walked down to Food Lover’s Market and decided to buy anything that looked good. the dollar is strong here. i started small and got a little bag of walnuts. it came from a dispenser and i forgot how all that works. i watched the person near me get a small plastic bag and pull the handle on the nuts. i did the same. i then got a variety of big, bright apples. i looked for greens but couldn’t find any. i got a log of goat cheese. i found it all a bit overwhelming with too many choices but also not able to find what i was looking for in spite of not really knowing just what that was. i saw a bag of coffee boasting the same brand as the little cup and saucer i drank from this morning. i got that. some milk. a hunk of cheese. yogurt. a frozen berry medley from berry farm that i have on my list to visit while here. a box of rooibos tea, because when in SA you have to drink rooibos. plus the house is so stinkin’ cold i will need warm drinks often. a butternut squash. kiwi fruit. tomatoes on the vine. olive oil. and two very large grocery bags. on the way to the checkout counter i saw two people buying gelato from the a beautiful, colorful glass display. it was 10am and i had just had that great breakfast, but my survival instincts told me i have not had that in a long time and it may be awhile before i can have it again. i got two scoops. i ate it as i schlepped my big market bags out to the car. i passed by the car twice because i thought it was white and i could only remember Chevrolet something or other. it’s grey. i emptied the market bag and put it over my shoulder. i almost wanted to go back to the health food store to show her. i took it into Woolworth’s and bought a pair of black leggings and a navy jumper. then i took the shopping cart by both hands and entered the lovely world of the Woolworth’s grocery market. there i got a strawberry juice blend and their ClemenGold citrus juice, my favorite. i bought two magazines. cherries and blueberries. a red journal and wooden colored pencils. broccoli and rocket and swiss chard. water crackers. a bag of gourmet kettle corn- a guilty pleasure, and unbelievably good even though it comes in a bag. vanilla frozen yogurt. i followed the same rule as Food Lover’s Market and got everything that looked good. i took two loads out to the car and went back to Pick n Pay. there i just got a few basics, eggs, bread, honey, rusks, gooseberries and another hot water bottle. blueberry & lime jam. chapstick. well not chapstick, that’s a brand and you can’t buy that here. i chose labello, medicated. 

i am home now, fully stocked and completely, utterly happy. i couldn’t decide where to begin. i had tomatoes and cottage cheese for lunch and then took a 3 hour nap, flat on my back, no movement. i had to pull myself out of bed and into consciousness. i only did so when i remembered the kettle corn. i poured a bowl and made a cup of tea. i just had dinner of kale, mushrooms, and butternut squash, hot water bottle at my feet. such a place of sweet content.