South Africa - Days 9 ,10 & 11

Days 9, 10 and 11 have come and gone swiftly.

Day 9
We rushed out of the Hilton a few days ago and grabbed a flight to Cape Town. Cape Town is roughly a 2 hour plane ride from Johannesburg. We arrived in the Cape and headed to our accommodations at an upscale guesthouse called the African Villa: http://capetowncity.co.za/villa/.



Very nice accommodations once again. We ate out at the Africa Cafe the first night. It was a wonderful authentic dining experience complete with African dance, song, and drumming. There was no menu at this restaurant. They bring you bowls of 12 or so different dishes... you taste everything... and you ask for more of what you like until you get full. The food was good, but the fellowship was great.

Day 10



We visited the District Six Museum today. We heard the awful yet fascinating story about how the coloured people of Cape Town were removed from their homes, their homes were demolished, and they were relocated to a flatlands area outside of the city. Their entire lives were uprooted and many were never the same. It was eminent domain to a degree that even poor inner city dwellers in America have seldom known. The tour was especially poignant as told by our museum guide, a member of the community that was uprooted: http://www.districtsix.co.za/frames.htm.

Here is something that especially struck me... Our guide said that the whites justified displacing the coloureds because this section of the city was in disrepair and it was a "slum." Our guide told us of the rich history of the area and the people. and showed us the beautiful architecture on the buildings that were once there. He commented that the place was a little run down, but it just needed renovation, not displacement and demolition. My question to him was, "What were the conditions in the community prior to the displacement that led to the community falling into such disrepair?" I asked this question because I have seen this happen in many minority neighborhoods in the U.S. and not all of them poor. The people in District Six were working class people as near as I can tell. Our guide said that it was white landlords who didn't care about the properties because it was "just blacks" living there. I thought to myself, "With South Africa's history, that's a fact, but there's more." Feel free to post your thoughts on that one.

The rest of Day 10 was spent at the African Market and at the waterfront. I found my knobkerrie, a Zulu weapon I was coveting for my collection, and my lion count is up to 6. The wife says, "No more lions for me this trip." It was a nice day.

Day 11



This was shark diving day. It started EARLY, 5:30am. I had no anxiety whatsoever, and was looking forward to the experience. We drove 2 hours out to a township who's name I can't pronounce or spell. We got on a 32 ft. boat and went out to a point between Dyer Island and Geyser Rock, a place frequented by juvenile Great White sharks... and that's where it all went wrong for me. I have never been seasick before and never want to experience it again. The boat anchored, started rocking, and my stomach went queasy. I tried to throw up, but couldn't get anything to come up. A few other folk threw up, but I was left to sit there holding my head for most of the trip. I did manage to look up and see a number of Great Whites attempting to take bait from the boat. Even though they were small (for Great Whites), they were pretty big and exciting to see that close. I finally got to a point where I was able to squeeze into my wetsuit and get into the cage to see the sharks up close. It wasn't exactly diving. The cage was tethered to the side of the boat and it was 1 meter above the water. You basically stood up in the cage with your head above water, and when a shark came near the cage to take the bait, a dive master yelled "down." At that point, you took a deep breath and ducked under the water to see the sharks. I'm happy to be able to say, "I did that," but more happy that I am no longer seasick.

After a nice dinner with Cienai, DC, and the wife... I'm off to bed!

Written by Frederick A. Hanna