As Tina so eloquently described on her post on the Adriatic coast, songs can be a bookmark in time. Hearing them brings us back to a particular moment in our lives that can’t be replicated. There are two songs in particular that will always remind me of my time in South America.
The landscape of Buenos Aires apartments is one of the characteristics that make the city for me. I have never lived in a city where the apartment buildings and city blocks have had such character. Looking out over the city is akin to watching a bee hive.
Photo Credit: Sericea
Cape Town is one of the world’s most beautiful cities, particularly for nature lovers. Below are my top ten favorite sights and activities in Cape Town and the surrounding suburbs.
Photo Credit: ifijay
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens is a UNESCO World Heritage site about 15 minutes outside of the city of Cape Town. The gardens are a beautiful refuge where tourists can see the Cape Floral Region kingdom, the smallest but richest floral kingdom in the world. The area boasts a variety of fynbos (Africaans for ‘fine bush’) which can be seen nowhere else.
UNESCO states, “The outstanding diversity, density and endemism of the flora are among the highest worldwide. Unique plant reproductive strategies, adaptive to fire, patterns of seed dispersal by insects, as well as patterns of endemism and adaptive radiation found in the flora, are of outstanding value to science.” The Hottentots Holland mountains provide a dramatic backdrop to the garden.
Protea Flower, Kirstenbosch Gardens, Cape Town.
As you probably noticed, the blog has been barren for a few weeks now. Part of the reason is that we were in the process of returning to Buenos Aires from Cape Town. It feels much like our second home now. We are slowly unpacking our bags and are really hyped for the Argentina-Uruguay soccer match on Wednesday which will most likely decide if Argentina progresses to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Are you going to watch?
Today I was stunned to find that Still Life in South America was chosen as one of the 15 Best Expat Blogs by Jessica Spiegel of Bootsnall Travel. Spiegel said that the, “writing is great, and the photos are plentiful.” I am elated to be included with such blogging legends as David Lebovitz in Paris. Thank you!
I appreciate all of my steady readers and the wanderers and expats who drift through. I’m glad that I can share my photos and impressions and perhaps even help other travelers on their journeys. You’ll be hearing my voice a little more often.
Chau y suerte.
E. found these water flowers in the produce section in Cape Town and suggested that we try them for dinner. I was hesitant since the flowers looked like they had recently been sitting on lily pads, but I stepped up to the challenge.
In a previous post, I introduced a slightly perturbed rodent named a rock hyrax, more commonly known as a dassie. I’m not sure that the photo truly conveyed the dassie’s character, so here are a few more photos.
A must-see attraction for Cape Town visitors is the view from the top of Table Mountain. On a clear day, you can see 360 degrees, the coasts and the city. There are a number of trail options to climb up the mountain; however, we decided to take the cable car to save time.
A Portuguese man o’ war jellyfish washed up on the beach in Simon’s Town. Its tentacles are stretched out on the rock below it.
We saw these guinea pig-like creatures at Boulders Beach. They were hanging around the penguins and looking generally sour about life. Their true name is rock hyrax, but South Africans call them dassies.
Dassies look like miniature bears, and you can barely resist the urge to grab their nubby little ears.
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