Final words on CT

Much like my time in St Lucia, I don’t know how the last four weeks went by so quickly. I know musing about the passage of time has become a recurring theme in my posts but man can you blame me? Two and a half weeks or so left till I’m in cold, freezing London; a thought which only accentuates my paranoia with the sand-through-the-hour-glass-like flow of time. Anyway, I’m still savouring the experience and making the most of what’s left of my time on the road

With Christmas drawing closer, a lot of my work has been accordingly themed and I’m reminded of how much fun this time of the year can be for the younger ones. The kids at the crèche had their end of year ceremony, which involved a performance of sorts and a graduation ceremony. We dressed them as all sorts of animals, which involved some face painting (man than was a ball!) and mask creation (I tell you, my creative skills, or a lack thereof, have been seriously tested in the last week). The performance itself was splendid; the parents, the teachers and I were full of chuckles and cheers as we watched these little people bring the house down! That was at the end of last week. We’ve spent most of this week decorating Christmas trees and talking about what the holidays mean to us. We’ve been singing carols and really swinging with the holiday mood…it almost feels like Christmas is next week :D. Anyway, seeing as school ends next week, the Christmas obsession at this stage is perfectly understandable (or maybe I’m just in denial of how close Christmas really is)

I finally got to see the summit of table mountain and boy was it an experience! The mountain is well over a thousand feet tall and the sight from its lofty heights is beyond words; CT in all of its splendour, visible from all angles. Few sights make me say “wow” and this was definitely one of them. I hiked across the mountaintop to catch the view and while there are only so many photos one could take, I went all out!

Last Saturday, a couple of the other volunteers and I got on a tour bus to see the rest of the city. We visited the city centre and drove by some museums (which I’ve earmarked to visit this weekend) and other important landmarks. The highlight of the tour for me was when we drove through Camps Bay, which is a gorgeous strip of beach on the other side of table mountain. It’s such a beautiful place though the vibe in that area is very Miami-like – lots of bikini-clad bodies on the beach and walking the streets, loud-music-driven cars, bars and restaurants suitable for a wide spectrum of people, etc. While the vibe was not to my liking, the scenery and food on offer more than compensated for that. The mountains nearby were covered in expensive, luxury homes supposedly owned by the rich and famous in South Africa. For the yet-to-be-famous, a trip to CT is incomplete without a trip to Camps Bay

Sunday was a more relaxed day. Slept in [read: woke up at lunchtime] and said goodbyes to a big group of fellow volunteers who were done with volunteering and journeying on home or continuing with their travels. As the house emptied, my imminent departure dawned heavily on me. Rather than depress myself with morbid thoughts, I got on the train and met up with another volunteer to check out a street concert that was being held ahead of the switching on of Christmas lights throughout the city later that night. It turned out to be rather anti-climatic – the streets began to crowd up very quickly soon after we arrived, with the bulk of the population being of the chav breed and a few of them looked like they enjoyed causing trouble. Needless to say, we were out of there way before the sun considered setting

The plan this Friday is to go see the final draw for the team groupings in the FIFA world cup. There is a concert being held in commemoration of it and have to confess that I’m more interested in that than the actual draw. I’ll be seeing a couple of museums in town on Saturday, then going for an open air concert in Kirstenbosch Gardens on Sunday. In between those activities, I must make time for packing as I head over to Jo’burg on Monday to meet up with Miss M for the holiday phase of the trip. The plan is to visit Namibia and Botswana over a 10-day period after which I shall spend my last few days in SA with Miss M and her family before I head home

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in CT and as previously mentioned, think it an apt end to my volunteering experience. I will miss the city and think I will be back someday to relive my tourist experiences here. Saying bye to the project will be especially hard because this goodbye will be the real one. An end to a truly amazing experience