This morning we had banana French toast, lattes, and tea in the cafe inside the Company Gardens before strolling to two museums nearby. The stark historical contrast between our idyllic breakfast spot and our first museum was palpable. The Company Gardens were the original gardens created by the Dutch East India Company to supply produce for sailors traveling around the continent. The gardens have been in use continuously since their planting hundreds of years ago, and a small cafe now sits among the produce and flowers.

The first museum we visited was the Slave Lodge, which once held up to 2,000 slaves in the city of Cape Town, many of whom were brought by the sailors who enjoyed fresh fruit and vegetables from the gardens across the street. Slaves were brought here off of the ships in the harbor to be sold under a tree in the park behind the now-museum, and others lived here permanently. The San bushmen, the native people of southern Africa, were difficult if not impossible to enslave because they had been living on the land for thousands of years. Instead, both the Dutch and British brought enslaved people from all over to build the Cape Dutch Colony, including Malaysia, India, Madagascar, Zambia, and Ethiopia. Generations later the influence of these people from all over the world can be seen in Cape Town’s vibrant downtown, where Malay, Indian, and Ethiopian restaurants are common.

Music, languages, architecture, and religion in the city have also been dramatically shaped by its colonial past. One room in the museum was dedicated to celebrating the descendants of slaves who live throughout the city. At one point in time it was common for slaves to be given the last name of the month they were sold in Cape Town, resulting generations later in many people having surnames like October, May, or September. It was eye opening to realize that the last name of our guide who took us on our apartheid history walking tour on our first weekend in Cape Town had the last name of “January.”

Next we headed to the South African National Gallery of Art where we did a pseudo-scavenger hunt to learn about pieces of art that depicted apartheid and South Africa’s growth since the transition to democracy.

After a morning full of museums we decided to head back to Muizenberg to go surfing again! It was a beautiful day and a few of us went back out to hit the waves. Others decided to explore the boardwalk and cafes on the ocean. It was a full but fun day.

— Anna & Peter