“Sundowners” – enjoying a cocktail while you watch the sunset – is one of the “must-do’s” in SA. As seems so often for us, we didn’t get in the usual must-do. We saw a sunset, we had drinks on safari after the sun had set (we were more intent on seeing animals than timing the sundowner correctly), and we watched the sun rise over Table Mountain from our room. But no true ‘sundowner.’ You can understand the sundowner tradition when you realize great places to watch the sunset abound. Here are a couple – Camps Bay and the Victoria and Albert waterfront. No sunset, but drinks and a good dinner.

Our last full day was built around a trip to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was jailed for 18 years. I really wanted to see the prison because it embodies a turning point for South Africa. Unfortunately, the day involves a lot of queuing since you take a boat to the island, then a bus around the island, then you get a tour from a former political prisoner. I think I enjoyed the outing a bit more than Jim because I had just read “Long Walk to Freedom,” and I was eager to see the places where Mandela was imprisoned, where he labored in the lime quarry and hid his original manuscript. It is one of those ‘must-do’s’ and I would have been disappointed if we missed it.

 

 

For our last dinner (in a sensational dining town), we headed up to the largely Muslim district called Bo Kaap. I had read about a place called Kombuis, Afrikaner for ‘kitchen,’ in a New York Times article from 2014. Aside from any popularity it might have gained from the article, I thought it would be a good local experience and a chance to sample the Malay cuisine of SA. 

 

It started off as expected – the taxi driver had a hard time finding the place, and one of the wait staff (the son of the owner), greeted me by name as we left the cab. We were seated next to a family on one side, and a South African with two visiting friends on the other.

 

Then a large group arrived, and we detected numerous American accents. It turned out to be a Washington, D.C.- based international unity group of some sort. Most of the diners were African women though, and many stunning in beautiful African head scarfs and dresses.

 

The husband-owner of the place gave a talk about the Bo Kaap to the group, and when we went to pay our check, I told the wife-owner how I heard about it. She was surprised they had a mention in a major publication since they consider themselves a simple local restaurant. She took us to their balcony for a view of the city below and Table Mountain lit by spotlights. Apparently they don’t light up the mountain regularly, so it was a treat we would have missed otherwise.

 

After a hug, we departed for our taxi, and I promised to send her the article, which I did. I definitely got my local flavor – must-do accomplished.