Hello from down under - no, I mean South Africa!

  I'm off on another adventure, this time toCapetown, South Africa and then an OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) tour called Ultimate Africa. (You cancheck out their website for details of where we're going)

I'm traveling with Pat Bartlett (see China trip blog) and her husband Randy. We decided to spend ten days first inCapetown. We left Wellfleet on Monday after Tom and Rosemary, Larry and Hope, Rod, and Kerry et. Al. Left after a wonderful Oysterfest weekend.  Oh, I forgot Jackie and Paul were there, too.  FUn! 

Randy drove us down to Fairfield, CT, to friend Judi's house for the night and to leave the car there. After a lovely catchup for Judi and I (we used to work together in my last job), she drove us all to catch the 5 a.m. Train to Grand Central and then a bus to Kennedy. Our 11 a.m. Flight on SAA went pretty smoothly after a few air bumps that I didn't like got us to Johannesburg at 8:30 a.m. And then on another flight to Capetown by noon.

Our taxi driver to town was a tour guide so pointed out a lot of stuff along the way to picking up the key to our apartment. Hospital where Christian Barnard performed first heart transplant in 1967, two of the townships (read slums) where blacks live (many are being replaced by stucco real buildings by the government, Habitat projects by foreigners, other philanthropic groups). He went with us to find the office and then drove us to our apartment high rise in central city, only several blocks from the Victoria & Albert Waterfront district, the top attraction here for tourists.

I made the accommodations reservations for this trip through Airbnb.com (check it out) Go to Cape Town and find "Waterfront View 1bdrm apt501". We have 1bdrm and sleeper sofa, full kitchen for breakfast and lunch or whatever in a great location for about $30/person per night.

After "nesting" we headed down to the waterfront to book tickets for Robben Island where political prisoners (Mandela for 18 years) lepers, and murderers were held during apartheid period. Think Alcatraz - 7 kms off shore.  We got tickets for boat at 3 pm next day. We went up cable car to Table Mountain the next morning as both these sites are weather dependent and people hadn't been able to go for quite a few days before this. We got in both visits the next day!

Tired so will continue later!