Some might have thought yesterday would have been a total bust. It was cold (high expected to be 51), damp, and rain off and on all day. Terrible weather that caused our tour of Robben Island to be cancelled. (As you may know, Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for so many years.) Well, when you are in a totally new place, nothing is really a bust because everything is a new experience.
We headed out and went to the African Women's Trading Market. This is a storefront downtown that is kind of like a flea market with individuals having their own space to sell their goods. Some really beautiful stuff and very interesting people who are willing to talk with you. That may have been because there were not a lot of customers due to the weather.
From there, we walked over to the Green Market. The Green Market is very similar except that it is all outdoors. It is on a cobblestone square in the middle of town. Apparently it has a history of being used to exchange good when ships came in to Cape Town. It is kind of amazing. The people come and set up this area every day, not unlike the flea market, but they also take down the infrastructure (the skeleton on which the tents are built) of the each day. It is an amazing process to watch. Again, there is a range beautiful good for sale. It seems as if in both places there are people who buy and re-sell goods from across Africa.
We were caught in a huge down pour while at the Green Market. While others headed off to a museum, I headed back to regroup. For me that turned into some playing on the computer, taking a nap and watching a movie I had downloaded from iTunes before I left. Interestingly enough, the movie was Amazing Grace, the story of William Wilberforce's work to see that the slave trade was abolished in England. I am counting that as part of my educational experience in South Africa if anybody asks!
For dinner we went to a game restaurant called Khaya-Nyama, which means "house of meat". We all have been very brave in our eating over here. I had a game kabob that included Eland, Ostrich, and some other deer-like animal. It was an amazing "presentation". Everything was great. That dinner cost the equivalent of $13. Simply amazing.
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