Fourth month with Remote Year, so fourth country – South Africa.  To get from North America to Europe, I crossed longitudes, and had to face jet lag.  To get from Europe to South Africa, the time zones weren’t a challenge*, but I crossed latitudes – or rather, I hopped right over both tropics and woke up in the middle of summer when my brain is used to January being winter.  I’m facing season lag?!  But no complaints about so much fun in the sun!

Where is it? The country of South Africa, per the name, is the southern part of the continent of Africa.  The Cape of Good Hope is a promontory near (without actually being) the southernmost point of the continent.  Cape Town started at this navigational milestone, as a pit stop and supply station for sailors going all the way around Africa to/from Europe and India.  

What does it look like? Everything is dominated by the iconic Table Mountain.  The city doesn’t have a skyline as much as it has an internationally recognized ridge line.  Next to Table Mountain is Lion’s Head (mountain) and Signal Hill, and together they form a bowl.  The city quietly fills the bottom of the bowl, with endless awesome views.  If you are able to turn away from the peaks, you will see a coastline of beach after beach after beach.  If you get to the other side of the peaks, you will see a countryside of vineyards after vineyards.

Is there a major ‘claim to fame’? In 2011, Table Mountain was voted onto the New7Wonders of Nature list.  There is a legend that a pirate entered a smoking competition with the devil, which causes smoke (aka clouds) to form on top sometimes.  This phenomenon of having clouds hover on the mountain, and sometimes look like they are going to flow right down to the city – but don’t – is called the “table cloth”.  I have spent many hours sitting on the couch mesmerized by this mountain.

What else is it known for? There is a lot of painful history here, from multiple colonizers over centuries to fresh memories of (and still active efforts to resolve) apartheid.  It is indeed inspiring and amazing, how the country is embodying the ideals of a rainbow nation as an example for others, while it continues to work on strengthening its economy.  

Any surprises?  On the food and beverage front, I realize I had no idea that the Nando’s chicken place that was one block from my office in Washington, DC, was first started in South Africa, based on Portuguese recipes for peri-peri, and using the Portuguese symbol of a rooster.  And while I generally new that South Africa has a wine industry, I didn’t realize that around Cape Town it was a substantial region like the Napa Valley in California.  Nor did I know that a special grape variety was created here that makes quite a delicious red wine – the Pinotage.  

More on Cape Town ahead as we find our way!

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* Fun Fact: Right now, Cape Town’s clocks align with cities like Athens and Jerusalem, and when Europe moves their clocks in March 2020 (for their last summer of daylight savings before Europe ends this practice), then Cape Town will align with cities like Rome and Paris!