Cape Town Claims to be One of the Most Beautiful Cities in the World…..

…..and I tend to agree—that coming from someone who really dislikes cities. One of the big surprises was the size—it is really by American standards not a particularly large city. It is built around the ocean and the land rises pretty dramatically from the coastline. The result is a medium-sized city that literally rises from the coast. You can go to just about any restaurant here and look out over the blue ocean because you’re literally looking out over the roofs of the buildings on the street below you. Most office buildings and apartment towers are constructed in circular shapes with the elevators and maintenance areas to the back so every office and apartment has an unobstructed view of the ocean.

The big news—and I mean the news everywhere around here—is the new American president. It’s on TV; splashed across the newspaper headlines; and the topic of conversation everywhere. I had supper on the waterfront tonight and the waiter mentioned it to me. I think Obama has the most pro-American sentiment I can remember in years—I hope he takes the ball and runs with it. Believe me, I’ve seen how hated we are in parts of the world. I’m including a couple of photographs of the local newspapers this morning—on one, the subheading is “Bush Flies Off Into the Sunset.” I don’t think anybody is sad to see him go.

I’ve had another good group this week. Monday we drove out around the coast and it is some of the most beautiful blue water I’ve ever seen. Many Europeans and South Africans tend to vacation after the first of the year and South Africa is not heading into summer so there was a lot of traffic so we couldn’t stop and take pictures but I’m signed up for a tour this weekend that will give me plenty of chances to get some good photos.

Tuesday we drove into the interior behind Table Mountain and the flora and vegetation are just amazing. South Africa is such a beautiful country—if they could just get their politics and other problems solved. We drove through small villages with names like Fish Hoek and Cirstenbosch. As I mentioned it is late spring going into summer here and they had lots of rain lately so everything is green and flowers are everywhere. The temperature is in the mid-70s but there is almost no humidity—odd for being located right on the coast.

Today we drove north on the highway that goes up to Namibia and while it wasn’t as breathtaking as the other days, it was still a drive filled with scenic views of the ocean. We ate lunch as a group on the waterfront (an area I’m becoming very familiar with).

Saturday I’m signed up for a day-tour south to the Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. It will include stops in about ten villages and will have a boat trip to an island nesting area for African seals. Whales and Great White Sharks are common in the waters south of here and I was surprised to learn there are African penguins—they look just like Antarctic penguins without the snow under their feet.

I will finish training with this group tomorrow and have a one-day refresher group on Friday. Saturday I’m going to Cape Point and I haven’t decided for sure what I’ll do Sunday but it’ll probably be a guided tour of some type. I have another one-day refresher training session here Monday then fly to Durban that night and conduct a one-day session there before flying out through Johannesburg to London to Houston arriving home next Wednesday.
So far this has been my best job in Africa…..