Don & Kully's World Cruise on Viking Neptune

We have rounded the Cape of Good Hope and are in the South Atlantic Ocean meaning we have successfully crossed both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. After today, we begin the home stretch of the cruise as we make our way north toward London.

Cape Town is one of the world’s most picturesque city setting at the foot of the Table Mountain. The cosmopolitan city is the gateway to dramatic coastal vistas, a thriving wine country and a rich array of cultural venues. the city’s heritage took root in Company’s Garden where 17th century European settlers grew food to stock ships rounding the cape. In and around the celebrated Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, historic architecture and delicious cuisine reflect an array of African, Dutch, English and Malay influences.

Today we did an independent tour through Cape Fusion Tours entitled “Cape Town Eat Tour with Table Mountain”. This was a tour that was part of the Safari tour we had booked but was cancelled earlier this week when we couldn’t dock in Richard’s Bay. There were six of us in the tour group and Fusion Tours assigned two guides, Shelly and Rachel to show us Cape Town and its food scene. Both were amazing guides, and we strongly recommend this tour. All of the eateries we visited were local small businesses, so we felt like we received a truly local experience with South Afrikaners.

We were picked up at the cruise terminal at 7:30 and headed toward Table Mountain which overlooks the city. Unfortunately, the top of the mountain was covered by thick clouds, but we still drove about a third of the way to the base of a cable car that would take us to the top in hopes that the clouds would clear. We decided to stop at a little roadside coffee stand for coffee and to wait for the weather to improve before continuing to the top. We enjoyed our coffee and pastry as well as the view of the city, but the weather remained the same, so we decided to skip the cable car and to continue on with our city tour. On the way down the mountain, we saw several classic cars parked along the road, so we took a few pictures.

Next stop was at a fresh modern, casual “shabby chic” eclectic restaurant called “The Local”. The restaurant is in a former car repair shop in a trendy neighborhood with a great menu. We all ordered breakfast ranging from Creamy Chicken Livers on Toast to Smashed Avocado and Hummus on Toast to Omega – toast with cream cheese, topped with avocado, poached egg and smoked trout. All of the dishes were amazing.

After our delicious breakfast we went on to the Company Garden located in central Cape Town. The garden was originally created by the Dutch East India Company to provide fresh vegetables for the settlement, but more importantly for passing ships sailing between Europe and India. Today it is a beautiful park which still maintains several garden plots. The former garden managers house is a coffee shop where we stopped for a cup of Rooibos Red Tea and South African Milk Tart, taste like cheesecake but with the consistency of custard. — Yummy!

Now it was time for a walk around gardens and the downtown area where we saw the South African Parliament building, the cathedral that was home to Bishop Desmond Tutu, and local street markets.

Since this was a food tour, it was now time for our next food stop, the Heritage Hotel that has a beautiful interior courtyard where we were treated to a traditional lunch of Babotie, Chakakala, Pap (maze meal) and Boerwors a sausage dish served with South African wines. For dessert we had a traditional South African treat — Malva Pudding Cake covered in toffee cream sauce along with vanilla ice cream, absolutely decadent!

One would think we had enough food for several days, but we had one more stop at a local chocolate shop, The Honest Chocolate Cafe, where we each had a sample of their chocolate brownies, a chocolate truffle, plus a large dark chocolate bar to take home with us.

We definitely needed to walk-off this amazing lunch. We headed a few blocks up the street and entered the city’s Muslim neighborhood where we saw beautiful colored row houses, visited a local spice shop and visited a local home for a cooking demonstration of a traditional potato stuffed pastry. We were greeted by a lady named Gaimediah, who took us into her kitchen and showed us how to make this wonderful treat.

We were finally done with food! We headed back to the harbor area and the Clock Tower Shopping area for some last-minute shopping before returning to the ship.

Our next port of call is Lüderitz, Namibia on Friday, 12 April. However, our departure from Cape Town has been delayed due to strong winds, so I wouldn’t be surprised if our call in Lüderitz gets cancelled. Stay tuned.