Tag Archive : Sightseeing

/ Sightseeing

I – a tourist

2019-02-19 | South Africa | 1 Comment

The Cape Wheel and Table Mountain 
in the background

The last few days I’ve focused on being a tourist in Cape Town – no interviews, no writing, no editing. I’ve been exhausted and extremely tired. I’ve had writers block – not being able to write anything that made sense. So, I needed this break, relaxing, watching Netflix and not thinking about the next steps.

This is the most touristy place I have come across on my journey. Off course the safari places in all the other countries are for tourists as well, but it doesn’t feel like it in the same way. It’s not the same kind of tourism. When you chose a safari, you are interested in the animals and proper accommodation. When choosing to be a tourist you are interested in historic sites, entertainment, shopping, beaches and animals in a mix.

My journey has so far been a mix of going on safari and meeting humanists. It has been a good mix – I wouldn’t have managed travelling and only doing one thing. I like the change in focus. But I have forgotten to give myself a break occasionally. When I was on Zanzibar the purpose was to relax for a few days, instead I worked, I edited the podcast and wrote some texts.

I have met so many people, seen so many countries, met so many different cultures, basically my brain has been overloaded with impressions. So, whenever I was thinking about writing a blog post or edit a new episode, I felt tired and wanted to lay down and sleep. I finally listened and decided to go with it and do absolutely nothing and if it required laying in bed watching Netflix all day it would be ok.

Whenever I needed to leave the hotel, I’ve followed the beaten path of any tourist in cape Town. Jumping on the sightseeing bus to get to know the city better. So, I have seen the sights from the top of a bus or walked the city thin.

As a tourist here you don’t have to interact with the population at all if you use the sightseeing buses, hotel shuttles and only visits the tourist attractions. You can keep to yourself and only interact with others if you choose by yourself. So, I choose to keep to myself trying to process all the things I have experienced the last two months.

I have visited 7 countries, interviewed 27 people, published 11 episodes of Babelfish and wrote several blogposts. Which is quite an accomplishment thinking about it. Off course I deserve to take a few days off doing absolutely nothing, watching Netflix and getting room service.

Now I am relaxed and ready to continue – in a few hours I’ll visit Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spend so much time in prison. In a couple of days, I’ll visit Cape Point and, in the weekend, I’ll meet a lot of humanists. No worries – I’m back on track 😊