On Saturday morning we woke up around 10:00 and headed off to the Old Biscuit Mill. This is where a large farmer’s market takes place every Saturday. Because of all the talk around town about the market and all of its wonderful food, we went into the day with pretty high expectations. Once again, we were blown away. We were taken back by the number of stations and vendors at the market. However it was not the number of options, but rather the quality of the food that really impressed. Each station had its own variation of food, all so fresh and beautifully displayed. It took us three times around the entire marketplace to decide which vendor would be lucky enough to serve us lunch. When we finally decided on chicken with tomato pesto paninis on fresh ciabatta bread accompanied by mixed berry smoothies, we took our food outside to sit in the sun. Some girls took home bread or sauces or fish for later that night. Next time I plan on trying the ostrich burger and drinking out of a coconut but I had to make sure I was comfortable with a dish a bit closer to home first.
Later that day we decided to take advantage of our free time and the wonderful weather by, once again, going to the beach. This time we decided to try a nearby beach that was accessible by train. Much to our surprise, we made it on the train and to the beach free of charge (this seems to be a place that we will frequent). Undoubtedly we were quite pleased by this beach, just like we had been the day before. Now it was not as beautiful or touristy as Camps Bay, for it lacked the beachside restaurants and lounges. However, it was nice to attend a beach of which many locals used. When we finished our time at the beach, we were found that we were just in time to make the next train back home. Unfortunately this is where we had to experience our first scare of this trip. Upon boarding the train, we noticed that car after car was packed with people taking up every inch of room possible. Not wanting to pay for a cab back home, we decided to give it a go and make moves into the train. As we all piled in with great difficulty, one of the girls was pushed out of the car and had the doors shut on her. Because we all freaked out and made a scene, the train was stopped and she was able to board on another car and forced to take the ride alone. Now that made us think twice about ever again taking the train on a busy weekend from the beach. This experience was not only a bit scary, but also did not help us blend in one bit. We already stuck out as blonde white girls in colorful beach attire…we did not need any more help gaining attention.
At night we were taken into town to explore the nightlife of Cape Town. Our mentors showed us many great places and we hopped from spot to spot as we got a feel for which place we might go to on a regular basis. My friend Molly and I took advantage of our early meeting with Crispy and met up with him at a place called Dubliners. Here we listened to a local band playing cover songs for the likes of Bob Marley and Bruce Springsteen. It was nice to get to meet a few additional local people and talk more with Crispy about future plans. I was extremely impressed by the diversity of Long Street (the main road downtown) and all of the options it had to offer. That’s about all I am going to say regarding the nightlife. We made it back to our apartments safe and sound and went to bed soon after in order to prepare for an exciting day to follow.
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