Interview with Russian lady about her visit
to Cape Town, South Africa

"Russia………. It is soooooooo far!" anyone will exclaim ….. And no wonder – one glance on a map of the world is enough to make one realise that Russia is far and as "out of reach as another planet in the sky". And generally speaking, we, South Africans, hardly know much about modern Russia. For us the image of Russia is still associated with "Kremlin, communism, vodka and lately, perestroyka". Strangely, just as we barely learnt anything about "New Russia", in the same way most of people in Russia neither have a slightest correct idea about today's image of South Africa nor about climate or society here. Most likely it is partly due to the huge distance between Russia and South Africa… South Africa in imagination of most Russians sounds like a country with an extremely hot weather, typically an African image with lions, wild animals and jungles. My friends and family couldn't believe my stories when I told them the truth.

That the exotic African touch is harmoniously blended with European comfort and Eastern and Middle eastern cultures to form a unique combination. Thus, regarding life-style they were completely wrong. Secondly, regarding the weather – on the contrary, here, especially in Cape Town and surroundings, you will get all four seasons, it could be rather cold in winter – temperature can fall even below zero at night only 300 km from central Cape Town (Sutherland), and in winter some people do wear warm coats and long boots. And it is not very hot in summer either. Rather, here you will find a very mild pleasant climate: nether scorching heat and burning sun (like in some Gulf states on the Indo-Pakistan continent) in summer, nor freezing cold in winter. Moreover, the its location near oceans and mountains have much influence – refreshing breezes make Capetonian summers very, very pleasant.

And, at least, regarding to comments about wild animals… It is another rather funny story. When I planned to visit South Africa for the first time I imagined that I would be able to ride on an elephant here. And was already seeing the surprised faces of my friends to whom I would show such exotic photos. Alas, to my disappointment I was able to see animals only in the zoo. Leave out animals, – even pigeons are not to be seen in the streets like in Russia. To see the pigeons and other birds you should go to the zoo or to "Bird paradise" - a special place where one can view all kind of birds in cages.

In short, unless you specially go to the world-renowned Kruger National Park or other animal parks, you won't see wild animals at all. Some exceptions are baboons in some mountainous areas near the city and in the rural areas.

... to be continued...

With compliments from
MarryMeCity.com