Brenda Hammond has been happily traveling since her
earliest teenage years. Her latest novel for a romantic story imbued with South
African sun, culture and adventure. Learn more about Brenda and her books at
her website.
What a pleasure to be here
and to share something of my love for Cape Town, a city I was fortunate enough
to call home for almost a decade and a half. These days I live in Canada, but every
two years or so, I get the chance to go back and visit old haunts. On the
flight I make sure to book a window seat so I can look out the plane window
when we come in to land in South Africa’s mother city. I thrill to the sight of
the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean, majestic Table Mountain as it stands, the
rugged rocky altar at the foot of Africa… and I’m not the only one. Just last
week I read this airport approach is judged one of the most spectacular in the
world.
However, by air is in fact
my second favorite way of encountering the city. My first, most favorite is one
I’ve experienced only a handful of times in my life. That is, like Alexa my
heroine in Sailing for Trouble, to
arrive by sea.
Many years ago I left Cape
Town harbor on my original voyage to Southampton, England to take up a place at
the Royal Ballet School. Still, it’s not the leaving but rather the arriving
some time later that I remember, maybe because the latter occurred during the
fresh light of early morning. So I recreated this moment in my story. One
ex-South African reader responded by writing that the description brought tears
to her eyes. Read it for yourself, included in the free first chapter on my
website.
Whichever way you
arrive—plane, train, ship or car—one thing is for certain: you’ll be blown away
by the beauty of your surroundings. Let your eyes soak up the sights of
nature’s magnificence: soaring mountains, flowering shrubs, tall pine trees and
more. Enjoy viewing gracious and quaint buildings, historic areas such as the
Bo-Kaap that are brimming with colour and character. Coffee shops, bars,
restaurants… all guaranteed to bring you the experience the French call
‘dépaysment’ i.e. the delight of feeling yourself far from the daily drag, wafted
away to a different country.
Recently a friend wrote that
she’d been wondering why living in Cape Town always made her feel as if she was
on vacation. The answer? Because of the beaches. Ah yes indeed. Choose Clifton
for continental (as in Mediterranean) sands and glamourous surroundings. But be
warned, on the Atlantic side of the Peninsula the water is quite icy. So, if
you prefer warmer waves and sands stretching as far as your eye can see, head
for Muizenberg on the Eastern shores, St. James for a protected pool in the
rocks, or Fish Hoek or Boulders where you can also be entertained by penguins
(for free!) You are, in fact, spoilt for choice, as you will be if you decide
to venture north into the Boland wine estate country. South African wines are
excellent—and cheap—so treat yourself.
The exchange rate makes a
stay in the Cape pretty affordable, but as always, do your research. You’ll
enjoy eating out and I can recommend fish fresh out of the ocean at one of the
Harbour House restaurants (Victoria and Albert Waterfront, or Kalk Bay Harbour).
When I visited this time last year, the great Barbara Kingsolver was doing
exactly that!
Sailing for Trouble
A mysterious
legacy. A long lost half-brother. An unknown saboteur out to stop her. And
every clue unraveled leads to more danger… and romance.
Driven by a longing
for family and fired up to discover whether her late father's legacy of a
strong box really does contain clues to his left-behind treasure, Alexa Lloyd
sets sail for South Africa.
Subject to a series
of life-threatening 'accidents', she's soon caught in a web of deceit and
treachery. The brother she seeks may want her dead. The uncle she trusts may
have designs on the treasure. The guy she's falling for may not be what he
seems. But she's strong, resourceful, and absolutely determined to succeed in
her double quest.
3 comments:
Sounds like a lovely place to visit and an intriguing book!
Makes me want to book a flight right now, and guess what my choice of reading would be? :)
Susanne
Thanks Sandra and Susanne. Cape Town truly is amazing to visit. I see it's also considered one of the most colourful cities because of the Bo-Kaap (previously Malay Quarter) where the row houses are painted in lovely bright colours. You might be able to find an image on the web. :-)
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