Mar 5 The changing racial and economic face of South Africa.

The massive influx of northern Africans is totally changing the character and landscape here. Huge shanty towns have grown up on the edges of all the large cities and living conditions are appalling . Classes have up to 75 kids and clearly many of them don’t go to school at all. The crime rate is soaring, there are many no-go parts of towns and cities.  Those who have property have it locked, barred, barb wired, armed patrolled, guard dogs.

  Close to people living in total squalor are shiny new glass and steel malls with all the latest stores and limitless spending. Massive wealth has accumulated historically from the proliferation of mines and resources here, but the infrastructure is badly deteriorating.

  Power cuts and outages is clear proof of the failure of government to manage their energy requirements. Now the prospect is for at least 5 years of privation, random and planned cuts any time of day, every day, which makes it impossible for business and the general populace to plan anything that requires energy! Imagine your fridge, freezer, washer, drier not able to function for 12 hours a day but different hours every day! 

Apr 12 - Best winter away ever (per Ted...)

 Ted has declared this was the best trip we have ever taken over the winter in his opinion. I wasn’t quite so strong because I think we have had many wonderful trips, but this was good for being a new continent.

  South Africa is the most beautiful country geographically and very interesting culturally. We visited so many lovely places and found them not overrun with tourists. In fact, in the whole 2+months we did not meet another Canadian! That was weird. Some Americans, not a lot, but many many German and Dutch visitors.

  Many South Africans have retained homes there but virtually live elsewhere. They would love to sell and get their asset out but it’s not possible. Young white people are having difficulty getting jobs, as 80% must now be filled by non-whites, so opportunities for recent grads are drying up. But isn’t that true a lot of places now.

  We were not prepared for the sheer magnitude of the black township problems and terrible abject poverty there. It is only 30 years since apartheid tore the country apart and it will not recover from that for a long time to come.

  First really free elections will take place in May this year and it will be interesting to see the results. They have had a very corrupt regime recently and people are rebelling against that big time. We experienced some rioting/burning nearby. But people living there are hopeful for their future and their kids’ futures too.

  Inflation has run at 8.5% for the last 4 years so it is squeezing a lot of people. Tourism, once a huge part of their economy is down 40% but accommodation prices are pretty high. We tried to aim for $100 a night accommodation but rarely achieved it. Having said that, value for money was high, the owners of the places we stayed mostly gave 110% to make their guests happy and comfortable. Everyone wants you to get on Trip Advisor and give them full marks. 

  Once over the long journey there and jet lag, we had a wonderful time. 

April 11 - Home in a blizzard!

Calgary airport has really improved handling incoming international visitors. It’s an automated customs declaration and passport reading system. Ted insists on listing we are bringing in fruit. Some of our snacking dried fruit. They don’t care. 

  By the time we reach baggage, our bags are there. Dear friend Mark is almost there to meet us in a drizzle sleet. Once en route, it turns into honest to goodness big snow flakes and continues throughout the night.

  Ted made a quick foray out for break and milk and must have found something to eat I guess. I took a long bath, fell into bed and slept for 12 hours. Not so lucky for the next week, my brain kept on in its Cape Town timing mode.

April 11 Home - via Frankfurt - less than stellar experience

A lovely sunny day is dawning in Frankfurt but although we have 12 hours to kill, we are not inclined to go Ito Frankfurt to meet up with Canmore friend Christa staying in her home town then. It’s a massive airport, very confusing. We walked about 2km from one end of the airport to the other and a train ride into the bargain. 

  I have to say the food on Lufthansa was pretty awful but they sent us off with a Mars bar each, yeah!

  We returned to Cloud Hotel (going from Area A to Z to get there. We had a 10% discount from last time so settled into a nice comfy room for a shower and sleep. Ted had not slept on the plane but only rested for an hour before he went off on walkabout again!

  I’d made smoked salmon sandwiches before we left CapeTown. We had bought sandwiches in Frankfurt on the outbound trip and they were awful!.  We ate the sandwiches and I bought a nice mango yogurt, and that sustained us for the duration.

  The last leg - Air Canada Dreamliner direct Frankfurt over the pole to Calgary (only about 8 hours) was pretty comfortable.

  It was a full plane, calling standby passengers, and insisting you check everything except ONE onboard bag. Again very organized boarding from Frankfurt and Air Canada staff. On board, what a difference, nice friendly atttentive staff, our lovely Dreamliner plane (doncha love that window in the bathroom to see what’s going on outside!) And we are allowed to use our bathroom! Nevertheless my bladder feels the pressure from too much sitting and not enough water and walks to bathrooms, and it takes it a few days to settle down from that.

  Then we sit on the tarmac for over an hour. Huge winds have closed a runway and we wait for a slot at this really busy airport.

  I watch the movie “Girl in the Spiders Web.” I had just read the book. The movie is much different and I do lots of fast forwarding through blood-and-guts stuff. 

 There is also a wonderful documentary on the Okavango Delta, a popular wildlife area in Botswana, to watch.

  Bad news, we have an inveterate loud talker behind us and he talks the whole flight to some poor woman sitting beside him. Even with headphones or earplugs I could hear him droning on. Many beers later, we were on the approach for landing and he asked for another one - refused fortunately! 

April 10 The Longest Day

Fortunately, we have an easy start to this return trip as we have late checkout til 2pm and don’t fl til 5:30pm. 

  It’s sunny and cloudy and 19 in Cape Town but only going to be from 5-16 in Frankfurt, but clear and sunny. 

  Leaving at 1:30pm it’s an easy drive to the airport, 3 attempts at finding the right on-ramp to drop the Hertz rental car, and get help to get our bags to checkout with a cheery helpful porter.

  We’re flying Premium Economy which gives us priority check-in - 2 bags (we only have 3) - no lineup - and roomier seats in the 4 rows at the front of Economy which are quite good for sleeping.

  Unfortunately the German stewardesses guard the entrance to the hallway in front of us (first class only!!) and we are not allowed to use the washroom there! Also they have swapped out the Dreamliner for another plane which is in my opinion not so comfortable. I guess the walk to the back of the plane is good exercise and I’ve never seen so many washrooms in one hallway on another plane - maybe 7, so very few lineups, which is good.

  With plenty of time to spare, I wander around the duty fee area. The ostrich purses look nice but are incredibly expensive considering you see ostrich farms with masses of the beasts in fields all over the place. I do find a few nice souvenirs.

 It’s a 12 hour flight and the German Lufthansa staff and Cape Town airport staff are incredibly efficient at loading the plane. WE are airborne on time and I manage about 5 hours sleep, along with watching a couple of movies and reading to pass the half day.

  The more than efficient German staff wake us at 3:30pm when I am just into a deep sleep. They have prepared hot breakfast and muesli, which I eat because I don’t want to fly on an empty stomach. And we pull into Frankfurt right on time at 5:15 am.

  

Apr 9 Reunion!

 It’s sunny with clouds, cool an big winds today At 10am I empty the fridge of most of what’s left and we drive up the north shore with great views back of Table Mountain, to a huge beat and affluent suburbia. We get a bit lost trying to find the Secret Garden Guest House but are charmed when we find it is an interesting multi tier B&B with fascinating small gardens linked with pathways hidden in this nice suburban development. 

  Our good old friends Dave & Sylvia French’s lovely daughter Helen has come for a wedding with her husband Andy and 7 year old daughter Annelise. Their best man from Norwich  is getting married in his original home here in Cape Town and by chance, his parents run this guesat house. So 11 people have come over together for the wedding and are enjoying their home from home north of the big city.

  We take off for the day to the lively and fascinating V&A waterfront area and introduce them to some of our favourite places there. We stop off for an outdoor lunch but it is cold in the wind and shade, and we don’t linger. We take the little water ferry to and from the waterfront, which leaves conveniently from outside our apartment. 

  It’s great they have a kitchen to look after themselves beasue we have far too much food left over and happily donate it to them a we leave.

  Back to town e are fortunately going the opposite way tot he rush hour traffic.

  Something I ate today did’t agree with me. After it all came back out, I skipped supper, ate some yogurt drank lots of water and hope the pills will see me through the 34+ hour trip home tomorrow! Poor Ted snacked on fridge remains - not so bad really ham/melon, cheese, franks and champagne!With a somewhat uneasy truce in my gut, I had a good night’s sleep ready for the mammoth flights next day.

Apr 8 Filling in the gaps

With only 2 days left here, we are filling in gaps of what we have missed. We had not driven around the GreenPoint or down the west coast of Cape Town’s suburbs so its off on another cloudy/sunny 26 degree day.

  Trying to get ahead of jet lag, I get up at 7 and we are off by 10, early enough for us. WE enjoy a drive around the beautiful west coast of the peninsula below Cape Town, with massive expensive houses set up on the hills, down through Llandudno, where you can’t get anywhere near the shore for barbed wire and electrical fences and high protective walls around waterfront estate homes. WE drive past lonely beaches and rocky shores back to Hout Bay, where we buy fresh scallops on the shell - 10 for $5!

  We return to our lovely deck in the sun and I cook up seafood pasta, after which Ted goes off for a last walk around the area, Ok during the day, and I catch up with my blog.