Life in Cape Town, South Africa

Welcome to Trotting All Around!

Hi, my name is Claudiene Vilasboas. I’m originally from Brazil, São Paulo city, but have been living in Australia for the past eleven years. After requests from some friends, I decided to start this blog, so they can read about my 6 months journey trotting around South Africa, Kenya and India to volunteer with children and women. I apologise in advance for any spelling mistakes. Unfortunately, my good friend and sole proof-reader Elaine could not join me on this trip. J I hope you enjoy the reading and find the information on this blog useful. Feel free to email me with any questions that you may have.

First stop! Cape Town

Cape Town is the oldest city in South Africa and one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The combination of coastline and huge mountains gives this city a wonderful and relaxed atmosphere. Although I heard from many locals that it can be a dangerous place for foreigners, especially in the evenings, and we should watch our back when walking on the streets or taking public transport like trains.

Fish Hoek Beach

I arrived in Cape Town on 1^st of July 2012, where I met with my sister Dine, whom came from Brazil to join me on this trip. It is winter here and the days are typically sunny, followed by cold mornings and evenings in addition to the rain. A rainy jacket is very useful in a place like this! Since my arrival, I have seen rainbows nearly everyday, as well as misty days, which are also very beautiful. 



Dine and Clau at Peck's Valley, in Muizenberg

Muizenberg Beach - the best surf in town

My sister and I will spend 6 weeks in Muizenberg, which we heard is one of the best beaches to go surfing in Cape Town. We go to the beach nearly every afternoon to watch the locals and the tourists surfing. I’m planning on taking some surfing lessons soon, even though everyone says that the water is icy cold. A large number of surfers wear wetsuits from head to toe. It’s a one piece suit with a kind of hat and shoes attached to it, if you can call them like that.

Muizenberg Beach

Volunteer Work in Capricorn Area

My volunteer placement in Cape Town was organised through a NGO called International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ). We have been volunteering in child care centers in the Capricorn slums for nearly two weeks. It has been a humbling and enjoyable experience for both my sister and I. The children we are working with range between 4 to 5 years old. We are working in the same class with very friendly teachers called Glennys and Florence. They get us involved in all class activities with the children, including drawing, play-dough, dancing and reading them stories, which they love! We also assist them with their food, toileting and play with them in the playground, during the class intervals.

The children in general seem to get pretty attached to the volunteers and vice-versa. Every morning when we arrive at the centre, they open the biggest smiles as soon as they see us. They love climbing on our laps to cover us with kisses and cuddles. The children’s happiness is contagious and most volunteers can’t stop the smile on their faces also, myself included! The same happens when we leave, with the difference that then the children are not all smiling but with sad faces instead.

Our Accommodation in Muizenberg

IVHQ also organized our accommodation in conjunction with a local NGO in Muizenberg called Dreams to Reality (DTR). We were initially based in a volunteer house with lots of other volunteers, which was pretty similar to a backpacker. We were not very happy with our accommodation and on the next day we asked if they could find us a new place, which they did. Now, we are staying with a host family, in a small house, on the back of their main house. The house is great, clean and in a quiet spot. We are very happy here! Sadly, we can’t use their lovely swimming pool because the water is freezing cold.

Accommodation in Muizenberg

The family has a lovely male jack russel dog called Jonty. We both enjoy his company very much! He comes to our house every day to greet us, to look for something to eat and to play with us. He’s a very clever dog!



Jonty

Train Ride in Cape Town

I heard from a number of locals that they will not catch the train in Cape Town, which they call Metro Rail, as most of them said that it is too risky. They drive their cars instead. As my sister and I don’t have a car here, we opted to catch the train, which is the cheapest way of public transport available. We hardly see any buses around town, apart from what they call mini-bus taxi, which is also a very cheap way of public transport (it’s a mini-van).

On the train, people can opt to buy 1^st or 3^rd class tickets. Initially, we were advised by some locals to ride only on 1^st class, which is the most expensive. After meeting up with a few more locals, we were told to ride only on 3^rd class, especially during off pick hours, as 1^st class wagons are usually empty during those hours and it could be potentially dangerous for us. By this they meant that bad things could happen to us, such as being robbed. We were also told not to walk on the streets or take the train after 6pm, which is already dark and to take a taxi instead.

The trains are usually dirty as most people throw their unwanted stuff on the floor, although there are rubbish bins everywhere in the train stations. In fact, I have never seen a city with some many public rubbish bins like here. They are everywhere!

On a positive note, there are condoms available in the train stations for any passenger to help themselves. They are free of cost, which I thought to be a first-class service! J