04/06/2026
Cape Town has been doing its thing for three days. The kind of wind that doesn’t so much blow as hold a personal grudge. It has also finally answered a question I never thought to ask: why people walk small dogs on a leash here. Not for obedience. Aerodynamics.
Yesterday a palm frond got me while walking Sebastian. A spike went through the side of my trainer and hiking sock with some purpose, and I limped home to find a blue swollen golf ball attached to my foot (don’t worry, I won’t attach a photo).
I have just walked two-thirds of Italy. The Alps. The Apennines. Not a scratch. I take a maltese for a walk in Bakoven and I am searching Dr Google wondering if anyone has previously survived a palm tree altercation.
But here’s the thing about Cape Town and its wind. Everyone is irritated with it — and then it stops. The mountain comes out, the light does what it does, and just like that, we kiss and make up.