Cape Town!

the shift key on this keyboard doesn't work, so my capitalization is going to be erratic. i can't stop myself from hitting it, and occasionally it functions. sigh.

it has been a really good couple of days, with a very bad incident in between. i spent my last day in jo'burg at the bruma flea market doing some shopping with one of the other girls staying at the same place. bruma fleamarket isn't all that exciting, but at least i was able to get out of the house. the problem with jo'burg is that you must have a car to get around. without a car, you are basically hamstrung. to get anywhere you must take taxis which can get quite expensive. as a result, i've spent much of my spare time sitting around watching movies. it's a shame to do so in a foreign country, but i don't want to waste money unnecessarily.

the shopping was fun and it was really good to have company. when i was in zanzibar, I bought a little bao board, but i never learned how to play, and a couple of guys showed both of us the simple version of the game. the other girl i was with thought they were going to ask us for money, but they didn't. they were just being nice. the only bad spot was yet another screw up with my bank - this time with my new bank. they were unable to verify a very large check that was deposited. they gave me the fund for said check and i withdrew money. but then, they TOOK THE FUNDS AWAY. i spent the better part of an hour on the phone with them, and they are trying to get it verified as quickly as possible. i'm going to check the card again today to see if any progress was made. i wish when they left me on hold for ages, they would have thought about the fact that i told them i was calling internationally. but, whatever.

yesterday, i arrived in Cape town, and it is like night and day from Johannesburg. i love cape town. it's a very walkable city, and i did the short walking tour in my guidebook yesterday. there are lots of nice restaurants and cafes and bars and shopping, though it's quite a bit more expensive than gauteng (where jo'burg and pretoria are). it took me forever to find a place to stay, and this place that i've ended up reminds me a bit of a college dorm. no bathrooms ensuite and full of undergraduates who want to do nothing but go to bars on vacation. but it's cheap, and available, and that's really what counts. i spent most of yesterday down at the waterfront where i walked around, did some window shopping, went to the aquarium and took a sunset cruise around table bay. the sunset cruise was on an old wooden sailing ship, and they served a nice selection of wine and snacks. I met a really nice couple from Jo'burg that i spoke to quite a bit - i think they felt sorry for me because i was alone. :(









i also signed up for the tour of cape point for sunday, which will be fun. i'll be seeing the wild penguin colonies at boulder beach (!!!!!!!!!) as well as lots of other good stuff. i'm trying to decide whether i want to take a tour of the winelands as well, as i think I've been convinced to do the great white shark cage diving. looks to be the easiest diving ever - i don't even think you need to be certified. they just stick you in a cage and lower you down - no buoyancy necessary. everyone who has done it said it's pretty amazing, and i feel like it's one of those things that i must do while i'm here since i don't know when i'll be back.

i think today i'm either going to go to the botannical gardens or to a couple of museums. then on monday, it's back to work for a few days. BOO.