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Family, Bo-Kaap

On one of my last days in Cape Town, I wandered northwest of City Bowl to the neighborhood of Bo-Kaap. The area is known for a few blocks of colorfully painted 19th cenutry houses, and a number of mosques sprinkled through the neighborhood. It's a beautiful part of town, with some streets paved in cobblestones.

I never felt unsafe during my time in South Africa, though I was always cautious, given everything I had heard. As I started walking through the area, one of the residents saw me and asked if I were alone. I said I was and he cautioned me against turning to the right. He told me I was fine to walk along the street, but once I reached the end I should turn left and not right. I thanked him and did as he advised (it was the route I had planned given the sights I had wanted to see) but it made me curious what was down the opposite end of the road.

The other time I remember being cautioned was against walking down Adderley Street at night. This was after I had already left Cape Town, and in truth I had for one reason or another ended up walking up Adderley Street most nights en route back to my guesthouse without feeling threatened. In the end, I chalked up the heightened safety to the World Cup. Or the proximity of my guesthouse to its proximity to the houses of Parliament.

For those interested, I've posted a series of photos from South Africa of which this is an outtake.