Independent Women

We've wanted to figure out how to use the train so we could go to Cape Town for the longest time now, and we finally did it. Everyone else decided not to go because it was such an early trip but Molly, Emmi, and I rolled out of bed and left at 7:30 this morning. The train station experience went really smoothly and the ride took about an hour. It was only about 9:30 when we got there so nothing was opened and we decided to walk around. We found a market place that would be open at 10am, and there just happened to be a cafe next to it so we had a quick breakfast and then did some heckling. I am so bad at trying to barter! Molly found a nice tapestry but couldn't decide if she wanted to spend so much on it, but I loved the tapestry so I kept telling her she should go for it instead of helping her get the price lower. Oops! I did catch on as time went by. We ended up getting one painting each, then Molly bought a dress and top, and I bought 2 pairs of cool printed pants that are just weird enough to be fashionable.

We looked around the mall a bit for swimsuits but couldn't find any for less than $60, which seems a little crazy. Most places weren't selling swimwear because it's technically still winter even if it is warmer. We had dinner at a nice waterfront restaurant and then started back for the train. We ran into some friends from Concordia on the platform while we were waiting and then we all fell asleep on the ride home.

I would say it was a really good day. There's a lot of beggars in town and they have no shame with following you around until you acknowledge them. I seem to be a popular target and I always accidentally say I don't have money or say sorry and they yell at you. I need to learn to stop being so nice and just ignore them. It does get pretty exhausting having people in your face asking for money and having to ignore them. We decided to get on the train early to talk to our friends and 5 beggars came around in a matter of 15 minutes. Cape Town is definitely different from Stellenbosch. We've realized that this place that was so foreign to us a month ago is now our own comfort bubble. Overall, we had a lot of fun and we're pretty proud of ourselves for figuring it all out and handling a day in Cape Town on our own :)