One Face in a Million Book 1: Mu Shangaaniana. William Bond
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what kind of passengers would be boarding the ship in Cape Town. Perhaps there would be some interesting conversationalists—or possibly some attractive young men! Clearly, the two men from LM were too old for her, and it did not seem that they would care to mingle with anyone else. Of course, time would tell.
As she ate her breakfast, she studied the distant coastline. In the far distance, she could see a rocky promontory that rose dramatically up from the sea. She vaguely remembered seeing that point of land on her last trip to and from America. That rocky promontory had first been seen by some Europeans in 1488 who had ventured to the southernmost tip of Africa with a Portuguese seaman named Bartolomeu Dias. Later, he had given the location a name which meant the Cape of Good Hope because he believed that he had finally found an all-water route from Europe to Asia.
Around 1498, Vasco Da Gama and his expedition had passed this coastline and had eventually sailed on to India before returning by the same route to Portugal. The Portuguese subsequently opened up a trading route that helped make Portugal a prosperous nation, and Mozambique had served as a useful way station that soon became a Portuguese colony in southern Africa. Later, the Dutch and the English wanted to use this same trading route, and both countries had tried to colonize this southern part of Africa. The Dutch had held the land for some time, but after deposits of gold and diamonds were discovered in a region called the Transvaal, the so-called Boer Wars occurred, and the British managed to gain control of a large portion of southern Africa. Christine recalled that her paternal grandfather, David Cartwright, was one who had left England to make a life for himself in South Africa, so she realized that she had roots in this part of the world.
Later in the day, she stood on deck as the ship rounded the Cape of Good Hope and steamed on to the port of Cape Town. Long before they had reached the city, she had seen the famous landform that rises up majestically behind the city. What city could be more beautiful than Cape Town as it edges a lovely broad harbor and rises up on various hills to overlook the sea? And the rising up steeply behind the city is a seemingly flattop formation that is known as Table Mountain. As the freighter made its way toward the harbor where the Tropical Sun would dock, it was hard to imagine that there could be any city in the world that was as captivating as Cape Town.
Although she didn’t know a specific location, she knew that her grandparents had lived in this city, and that her father, Paul Cartwright, who was half English and half Indian, had lived in this place during the early years of his life. Christine was not personally familiar with the city, but in a sense, she almost felt like she was coming home. During the time that they were in port, she was determined to see a bit of this city where some of her Cartwright ancestors had lived.
Shortly before they arrived in the harbor, Captain Stevens had announced that they would be in Cape Town for at least twenty-four hours, so everyone on board would have plenty of time to visit the city before their time of departure on the following day.
After docking, Christine disembarked, passed through customs, and exchanged a bit of money. Then, she walked out to a nearby street and hailed a taxi. She indicated that she was interested in seeing some of the area’s highlights, and she asked what the driver recommended. The options sounded interesting, and so they agreed on a price. After Christine took a seat in the back of the taxi, the driver began to show her the city.
The first point of interest was a monument dedicated to Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town. They then drove past the parliament building where the laws for South Africa are made. They saw the cathedral and the commercial center of the city and then viewed the city from a hill called Lion’s Head.
The driver pointed out a number of lovely old Dutch-style homes that are characterized by having graceful rounded gables and tall chimneys with rather ornate flues. The finest example of this gracious architectural style was seen in a lovely mansion called Groote Schuur which had once been the home of Cecil Rhodes, the diamond tycoon who once governed the Cape Colony and had eventually established the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, which has helped many individuals to afford a fine college education. The property surrounding the grand residence has colorful manicured flower gardens that were the most beautiful ones that Christine had ever seen.
Later, Christine was driven along the scenic coastal highway that leads down the rocky promontory that is known as the Cape of Good Hope. After viewing this world-famous landmark from various spots, the driver returned to Cape Town through the peaceful rural countryside that was graced with small farms and numerous groves of orange trees. In time, the driver brought her to a place where one could take a cable car to the summit of Table Mountain. The driver indicated that the experience was well worth the small fee, so Christine decided to leave the driver, for a time, and make the trip by cable car to the top of Cape Town’s famous mountain.
As the cable car began its ascent, Christine was amazed that she was actually being brave enough to venture into this first-time experience. As she looked through one window, she could see the shadow of the cable car as it moved along the ground below and gradually continued on a course that was moving slowly up the rugged face of the mountain. Through another window, she could look down upon the city that was now receding further and further into the distance. She could see the hill called Lion’s Head where they had been earlier in the day. She also saw the downtown area, and noted how the city stretches from the harbor to the base of the mountain. In the distance, she could even see the Tropical Sun docked along a wharf. Beyond that, the blue ocean stretched toward the horizon where it seemed to meet the cloudless blue sky. In the far distance, she saw a few small recreational sailboats and a couple of freighters that were heading to who knows where.
A few moments later, the cable car eased up into the station at the summit, and after the doors were opened, she stepped out with the other passengers and walked with them to various breezy overlooks which offered views that were too magnificent for words. Surely the views from the summit of Table Mountain made for a memory that Christine would recall for the rest of her life! After she had descended from the summit and returned to the taxi, she acknowledged to the driver that she wouldn’t have wanted to miss visiting the top of Table Mountain.
“You are very lucky, young lady,” said the driver. “Today, we are having perfect weather. Frequently, it is sunny down here, but clouds can often linger around the summit. We call such clouds the tablecloth, but fortunately there is no tablecloth today.”
They then returned to the harbor area, and Christine paid the driver the amount upon which they had agreed. She also gave him a small tip because he had proven to be such a pleasant guide. The driver was pleased with her tip, and he wished her a good day before she got out of the taxi and he drove away.
In the vicinity were a number of shops, so Christine decided to browse in some of them.
After visiting two or three, she realized that she had no need of colorful African apparel, animal skins, carved wooden animals, postcards, or other kinds of souvenirs. There was no point in buying anything, because it would only increase the weight of her already crowded luggage, and also, she had no home yet—so where would she keep such things? To use up the rest of her South African currency, Christine bought some snacks for herself.
There seemed little point to do any shopping or to eat out because all of her meals were included on the ship, so she returned to her cabin on the Tropical Sun and ate some of the snacks that she had purchased. She then arranged some pillows at the head of her bed and spent an hour or two reading Wuthering Heights.
During the afternoon, other passengers boarded the Tropical Sun, and everyone met for the first time at a seven thirty dinner that was hosted by Captain Stevens. Hors d’oeuvres were served in the dining room, and the evening’s meal featured South African lobster tails. It was the first time that Christine had eaten lobster, but she enjoyed it very much. She also enjoyed the butterscotch pie that was served for dessert.
The new passengers included three American couples who were returning to the United States. The Carlsons and the Fieldings were returning to Louisiana after spending four weeks sightseeing in South Africa. The Jordans were returning to Colorado after visiting the area where they had once served as missionaries, and the Vonderbergs were a South African couple who were intending to visit their daughter and son-in-law who were living in Texas.
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