Transportation

A picture Carlyn snapped of us in a shared taxi. I am in the backseat window seat

This weekend I am headed out with the UWC hiking club to a fisherman's village, but when I get back Sunday I hopefully will have updates on this week, including a wine tasting and tour and my first day of service. In the mean time, I thought I'd explain transportation in Cape Town. There are a few options. Besides walking, which is a great choice for getting around Obs and being driven by Pearnel in the program's van (we are transported to and from our service sites and school, with usually a morning departure, an afternoon departure and pick up, and an evening pick up), there is the train, taxi, and shared taxis (called kombis). Trains are pretty similar to any train system. Crowded, covered in graffiti, and a little too hot. Taxis also operate in a very similar way, although some do not have meters and instead you can name your own price (or attempt to at least). Finally are the shared taxis. These are uniquely African. Essentially mini buses, (think ancient VWs), kombis run along side the main roads and provide transportation to Cape Town. Usually, there is a caller who hangs out the window whistling and shouting the end destination (our usual routes, Cape Town or Wynberg/Mowbury). At first I thought every passing car was cat calling me! Once you wave down a bus, you pile in with upwards of 20 other people, all cramming in, sometimes in makeshift seats. From there, you entrust your fare (usually 6 rand, although with Katharine's assistance, we've bargained a record 3 rand) to the person in front of you to pass up. Considering how illegitimate the shared taxis seem, there is an elaborate and chaotic station in downtown Cape Town with signs to pick up other kombis (this is how we got to Camps Bay). We have had some difficulties in the station standing out (which we do a lot here. Shared taxis have few if any other white passengers). Once, a man tried to lead us to the Wynberg taxi even though we knew where we were going, expecting we'd pay him for his assistance. A woman walking near us berated him for trying to take advantage of white people and told him he was an embarrassment to South Africa. The best part of shared taxis is meeting new people who are gracious enough to engage in conversation as you are smashed next to each other! One recent example was a woman I met originally from Durban who was explaining to me Capetonian accents and her own experience during her four years in the city. Its certainly a new and exciting experience every time you cram into one!