On to Cape Town

Pat putting some of the bits and pieces back together again. You can  see the scraped up bit on the front fairing and the missing mirror where I exited to the street. Look closely at the helmet where it scrapped along on the road -- hate to think what my face would look like if I weren't wearing it. I really should have put on my riding gear pants this morning! Sprained ankle and big toe on the right, the left is almost getting back to normal size after the fall on Sani Pass which put a bump on the left leg a few days ago.

All that adventure just riding back to our "home" in the suburb of Cape Town where I rode out to this morning to pick up my Carnet de Passage for the trip up the rest of Africa. I almost made it back home without incident -- then an oil slick on the curve around a turn signal. 5 cars stopped (rather than run over me) to help pick up me and the bike and put us right and on my way the last few kilometers to "home". I am sitting here with foot up, a couple of pain pills in me and feeling no pain - almost.

We have been Couchsurfing our way along and everyone of our hosts have been terrific. In Sedgefield (between Durban and Cape Town, we met up with my Irish friend John - who came to ride for a while with us - and his sister and brother-in-law Anettee and Kevin. They have now become couchsurfers too!

Our Couchsurfing hosts here in Cape Town are fantastic! We are only the second CSers to stay with them and after us they may well rethink their invitations. There have been 7 of us bikers to show up in the last 3 days, John from Ireland left when Dom from England arrived and just now Daryll and Angela from Canada arrived -- 6 of us will enjoy another South Africa Braai this evening courtesy of our hosts, Marlies and Chris. The house is 5,000 square feet and we have been attended to like as though we were royalty. Wonderful people, but we are getting used to the idea that perhaps all South Africans are exceptionally hospitable and friendly toward foriegners like us.

There are penguins in South Africa - at the bottom of Africa - which are native only to this place in the world. There is a colony at Robin Island and another at Simon's Town up the coast a bit. In traveling all along in rural parts of South Africa, there are traditional round homes with conical roofs. They differ in size and construction (some stone, some reed, etc.) but everywhere (except cities) and very attractive to the passing tourists.

One of the changes in South Africa steming from the onset of democracy 17 years ago is the promise of a house for all South Africans. The Black South African population had been restriced to shanty towns (must be in the "Township" from night to morning). These are being replaced by new very small and modest, but well constructed homes in (depending on the population to be served) very large blocks of up to 1,000,000 ???? homes. They look much better than the old shanty towns, but to me, they look like the getthoes of ten years hence.

The government is building the new towns at a hectic pace (I think the number I heard was 1,000,000 per year for the next 5 years.) The people without homes are being given these homes without charge. They are basic small shells of homes, and the new owners have to furnish and finish the homes themselves. It is a very large undertaking by the new united "rainbow" country.

If you come to South Africa there are many interesting places to see, but Cape Town is a must. It has a very interesting history and lots of museums and places of local color. Of course, the back drop of the city is Table Mountain and we have been lucky to get perfect weather every day we've been here. The cable car ride to the top of the mountain provides great views of the city and sea beyond. The waterfront has been refurbished and is a great place to shop, eat, ride a ferris wheel, look at yatchs, etc. There is also where you catch the boat to Robin Island, where Nelson Mandela and thousands of other political (as well as criminal) prisoners spent many unpleasant years. Now the guides for the tours are the former inmates of the political inmates. It is a must do 3 hours for anyone visiting South Africa.