January 21st, Bo-Kaap and Kirstenbosch

 

Hello! This is Andrew and Lucas reporting in for another blog in our Cape Town adventures! Today we visit Bo-Kaap, a uniquely diverse neighborhood facing gentrification at every corner. Later in the day, our group walked upon Kirstenbosch Gardens, a famous national grounds in South Africa which is home to plentiful species of plants. This day was extremely hot, but also full of incites and beauty. Let's get moving!

We began our day in Bo-Kaap, one of Cape Town’s most beautiful and unique historic neighborhoods. Most of the area’s residents are descended from the slaves and other laborers who built Cape Town, and unlike many other neighborhoods, they were mostly able to avoid being forcefully evicted during Apartheid, giving it a sense of community that has lasted for centuries.

You can always tell that you’re in Bo-Kaap when you see rows of colorful houses on steep roads. The residents have full control over how their houses look, and the neighbors consult with each other to make sure that no two adjacent houses have the exact same color. The looks of each house can mean a variety of things. For example, the owner of the pink house (pictured) chose that color because she really likes flamingos!

Near the tail end we visited a garden where some communal crops were grown. During prayer, a group of locals had a nice set of samosas prepared for us, the potato flavor of which was Lucas’s personal favorite. This photo is of the park adjacent to this garden.

Next, we traveled to Kirstenbosch Gardens, a historic plot dedicated to the preservation and display of South Africa's natural flora. Pictured here is a tree canopy boardwalk, which winded through the brush. 

The park wasn’t just made for our enjoyment, as plenty of local species of wildlife call this place home as well, like this family of ducks that decided to join us sitting down in the shade.

Overall, today was a day where we got to see human resilience in action, hearing from the residents of Bo-Kaap about their fight for their community’s survival in the era of large-scale development and gentrification. We saw with our eyes that something special about Cape Town would be lost if the community gave in. We also saw the resilience of South Africa’s native flora and fauna, being able to flourish in a park not so far away from the city center.