Capetown:
Wednesday,
Thursday, and Friday
My baggage arrived Wednesday night so once that occurred I
was able to put the 20 hours of travel behind me. The hotel, Protea President, is fine. My room has a view of a pretty street and the
ocean. I am really glad to have a room
to myself. I have cable tv that gets US
shows from last season, news from Africa and Europe, a hot water kettle with
instant coffee and tea bags. The water
if fine to drink from the tap. We are in
a very nice section of the city so it’s ok to be out in the evening although we
tend not to go beyond the terrace since everything is so nice.
Capetown is a very modern, busy city. It reminds me of San Francisco. The climate is very cool and breezy and I see
people doing the same things here that I see in most cities—jogging, biking,
walking their dogs, reading in the lush parks.
There are 11 official languages, including English, so there really isn’t
any communication problems. The food is
excellent and pretty inexpensive compared to Europe. The official currency is the Rand, which has
a conversion of 1R=.13 or $1=7.4 Rand.
When you get a lunch bill for 110R, it can be a little unsettling but it’s
really only $14.85!
They are careful to keep us from the proverty areas although
we saw many metal shacks on the way in from the airport. The population is 9.7% white, the remaining
is people of color. Unfortunately, the
income and opportunities for people of color hasn’t risen since the abolition
of apartheid. It’s only been about 20
years, which is pretty short when trying to change a cultural bias.
I have toured the city, visited a museum, gone to the top of
Table Mountain to see beautiful views.
Again, very California looking terrain.
The Atlantic and the Indian Oceans meet to the east of Capetown, so the
water is cold here but warmer to the east.
Today (Friday), we left early and
went out of the city to a place where we boated out to look at seals then bused
to the Cape of Good Hope for a short hike and many pictures. Leaving there, we went to another town to see
the Jackass penquins (they bray like mules) and then had a terrific lunch of
sea bass, rice, and vegetables. The next
stop was the botanical gardens. Although
it is way past blooming season, the foliage is rich, verdant, and nicely
fragrant. It was a very nice tour.
One of the highlights of the day was when traffic had to
stop to accommodate the group of baboons playing in the center of the
road. They were heading up to the
ostrich farm to try to steal eggs. They
are funny but aggressive so we have to stay away from them. Everyone laughed at the one sitting at the
exit gate “flashing” the tour buses. I
got several pictures and am considering using it for my facebook profile pic.
Tomorrow, some are taking the wine tour, which promises 3
vineyards and incredible scenery. Since
the Giro d’Capo (Bicycle race around the Cape) starts on Sunday with 35,000
participants, we are escaping the city at 6 a.m. to go the airport. From there we will go to Durban and Kruger
National Park.
This is really an amazing trip.
