Cape Town (Scratch Patch, Mojo Market, Green Point)

EY has been looking forward to her birthday for months. She was thrilled to be celebrating her birthday in South Africa because this is the home of her former teacher, Ms. S, whom she adored. For the past few days, we had been thinking about how to make her birthday really special in this place that we are just getting to know.

When we arrived at the Waterfront, we were lucky to stumble upon Nobel Square. The four sculptures are of South Africa’s four Nobel Peace Prize winners – Albert Luthuli, Desmond Tutu, F.W. de Klerk and  Nelson Mandela. All of the winners are celebrated for their contribution to the struggle against apartheid.

A short walk away, we arrived at Scratch Patch. I had read about Scratch Patch a few weeks ago and the reviews were overwhelmingly positive, with some parents even remarking that it was their children’s favorite experience in all of Cape Town. Scratch Patch is a nod to South Africa’s strong mining industry as the country is not only abundant in wildlife, it also has rich mineral deposits. South Africa is a leading producer of diamonds, gold, platinum, coal and has rich reserves of many other raw minerals including manganese, uranium, titanium, silver, copper, etc. According to the Minerals Council South Africa, mining contributes about 8% of South Africa’s GDP.

Scratch Patch is essentially a “mine” with common and semi-precious minerals scattered across the floor. We purchased a small bag for each child to fill with the stones they liked. The kids had fun sifting through the stones and selecting the ones they favored. We then tried to identify and classify the minerals they selected using a poster that had pictures and names of the minerals. EY is very diligent at collecting and organizing the things that she collects. She worked quietly to study the stones and select the ones that she deemed the most beautiful. RY gifted EY his bag in honor of her birthday so EY was able to fill two bags with her favorite stones. She was just overjoyed and filled the two bags to their fullest capacity.

After a morning digging around in Scratch Patch, we wandered into the Water Shed at the V&A Waterfront and were delighted at the variety and quality of the locally designed and crafted clothing, art and souvenirs. EY immediately saw a colorful dress made out of fabric scraps that she wanted to get. The dress is made by a collective of women who live in one of the townships and they sell the dresses to earn their own income. We hadn’t prepared any gifts in advance for EY so we got the dress that she liked best.

We hopped onto the HOHO and took a ride to Sea Point. Sea Point is one of Cape Town’s seaside enclaves and it is easy to locate because it is the site of the public outdoor swimming complex that caught the kids’ eye the day before. A short walk from the HOHO bus stop is the Mojo Market, a collection of local food stalls featuring live music. We feasted on a variety of food with something to please everyone – fried fish, calamari and chips, sticky chicken wings, sweet potato fries, ramen and fried udon.

After lunch, we got back on the HOHO and headed to the place that EY chose to spend her birthday. The strong winds didn’t deter the kids from having the time of their lives at the Green Point playground. After some playing, EY and AY took out the stones they had gotten at Scratch Patch and set up a “shop” on one of the benches. The rest of us entertained them as their customers.

Back on the HOHO and we headed for home. This time, we took the HOHO to the stop closest to our Airbnb, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town’s botanical gardens. We all fell asleep and woke up just as we approached the stop. It was too late so we didn’t have a chance to go into the botanical gardens, so from there, we called an Uber to go home.

The day was not over for us yet. RY fired up the grill again and with AY and DY’s help, prepared a grilled chicken and vegetable kabob birthday feast for EY. In lieu of baking a proper cake, we ordered 6 donuts from Krispy Kreme for delivery and we assembled a donut tower cake on a pretty glass cake stand that we found in the kitchen. Singing “Happy Birthday” never gets old, especially when celebrating another year of life for one of your children.

We ended the evening, by EY’s request, roasting marshmallows in the backyard over the fire pit. Leo and RY aimed to create the perfect roasted marshmallow, slight char on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside, to present to EY. After her first roasted marshmallow, she said she just preferred to eat one more straight from the bag.

EY was overjoyed and exhausted after a day of non-stop celebration. After brushing their teeth, the kids fell asleep immediately. EY slept in the big bed between DY and RY with AY on a mattress beside them. My heart was full celebrating the 5th birthday of my youngest child. At the same time, my heart ached for the time passed that would never come again.