Day 29
Today I'm in: Cape Town, South Africa
Today started early (again) when I was picked up for a tour of some of Cape Town's townships. The townships were developed by the apartheid government, which forced almost all of the city's black and colored (a loosely-defined classification for mixed-race individuals) out of the city and onto the sandy Cape Flats east of town. We started off our tour in the District Six Museum, which commemorates a historically mixed neighborhood downtown that was cleared out in the late 1960s and then systematically razed and resettled as a white suburb.
From there we headed for the townships. The Cape Flats were hidden by a thick layer of fog when we started out, although it burned off as the morning went on. Today about half of Cape Town's four million residents live on the flats, but as we learned on the tour, a "township" can take on a lot of forms. Since 1994 the townships have been improved tremendously, and nearly all now have paved streets, running water hookups, metered electricity and, in the larger ones, massive shopping centers with the same stores you'll find in other malls. Langa, the first township we visited, is the city's oldest, dating back to the 1950s, and while it's not as nice as any of the former whites-only suburbs, many of the residents have risen into the middle class and have elected to renovate their homes and remain in the township with their families and friends.
From there we went to Bonteheuwel, a former coloreds-only township. Coloreds were preferred above blacks on the apartheid totem pole, and the homes in Bonteheuwel were larger and better-built than the ones we saw in Langa. According to our guide, however, the colored townships have more problems with alcohol, drugs and gang warfare than the black townships, since their residents have more disposable income.
The final township we visited was Khayelitsha, which means "Our New Home" in Xhosa and has the dubious distinction of being the last and largest township built by the apartheid government. It was opened in 1985 after the government lifted "influx controls" on black residents (prior to that, the number of blacks allowed to live in cities was strictly limited) and although it has a very American suburban road layout, it's developed very haphazardly, with vast shantytowns in the middle of what was supposed to be parkland, squatters building shacks in backyards, and thousands of residents living without sewage, water or electricity. If Langa showed how much the townships have improved since 1994, Khayelitsha showed how much further they have to go.
When the township tour ended, the driver dropped me off at the airport and I picked up a rental car to drive to Simons Town, my home for the next two days. Simons Town is technically part of the Cape Town metro area, but it's located about halfway down the cape, on the eastern side bordering False Bay. The drive took me through some of Cape Town's fanciest suburbs, and it was hard to believe the Cape Flats were just a few miles away. I passed through really picturesque coastal resort towns like Muizenberg, St. James, Kalk Bay and Fish Hoek before arriving in Simons Town in the late afternoon.
Simons Town is the southernmost settlement on the cape and is a really pretty place full of Cape Dutch and Victorian-style houses, all with postcard-perfect views across False Bay. The South African Navy fleet is based there as well, and there were two large ships in the harbor when I arrived. This end of the cape is strikingly beautiful - blue skies, massive mountains, sparkling water and small, safe, familial beach towns.
The big attraction in Simons Town, though, is Boulders Beach, which is where I'm staying. The beach is home to a colony of about three thousand African Penguins, and from April until November they come ashore to mate and nest. Over the years the penguins have made their way further and further into the surrounding neighborhood and now they routinely nest in peoples' gardens and even in the median strips of roads.
Right now I'm sitting on my patio, which is the only place I can get wireless reception. There are penguins nesting in the bushes on either side of the patio, and I don't think they are very pleased I'm out here. The receptionist has assured me I'm safe out here, but they are keeping a close watch on me and I am keeping a close watch on them. If I'm going to die in South Africa, I'd rather it not be from getting pecked to death. They're making a lot of noise, but I hope they'll quiet down when I go indoors. If not, there's a good chance I will hate penguins by morning.
Today I'm in: Cape Town, South Africa
Today started early (again) when I was picked up for a tour of some of Cape Town's townships. The townships were developed by the apartheid government, which forced almost all of the city's black and colored (a loosely-defined classification for mixed-race individuals) out of the city and onto the sandy Cape Flats east of town. We started off our tour in the District Six Museum, which commemorates a historically mixed neighborhood downtown that was cleared out in the late 1960s and then systematically razed and resettled as a white suburb. 
From there we headed for the townships. The Cape Flats were hidden by a thick layer of fog when we started out, although it burned off as the morning went on. Today about half of Cape Town's four million residents live on the flats, but as we learned on the tour, a "township" can take on a lot of forms. Since 1994 the townships have been improved tremendously, and nearly all now have paved streets, running water hookups, metered electricity and, in the larger ones, massive shopping centers with the same stores you'll find in other malls. Langa, the first township we visited, is the city's oldest, dating back to the 1950s, and while it's not as nice as any of the former whites-only suburbs, many of the residents have risen into the middle class and have elected to renovate their homes and remain in the township with their families and friends. 
From there we went to Bonteheuwel, a former coloreds-only township. Coloreds were preferred above blacks on the apartheid totem pole, and the homes in Bonteheuwel were larger and better-built than the ones we saw in Langa. According to our guide, however, the colored townships have more problems with alcohol, drugs and gang warfare than the black townships, since their residents have more disposable income. 
The final township we visited was Khayelitsha, which means "Our New Home" in Xhosa and has the dubious distinction of being the last and largest township built by the apartheid government. It was opened in 1985 after the government lifted "influx controls" on black residents (prior to that, the number of blacks allowed to live in cities was strictly limited) and although it has a very American suburban road layout, it's developed very haphazardly, with vast shantytowns in the middle of what was supposed to be parkland, squatters building shacks in backyards, and thousands of residents living without sewage, water or electricity. If Langa showed how much the townships have improved since 1994, Khayelitsha showed how much further they have to go. 
When the township tour ended, the driver dropped me off at the airport and I picked up a rental car to drive to Simons Town, my home for the next two days. Simons Town is technically part of the Cape Town metro area, but it's located about halfway down the cape, on the eastern side bordering False Bay. The drive took me through some of Cape Town's fanciest suburbs, and it was hard to believe the Cape Flats were just a few miles away. I passed through really picturesque coastal resort towns like Muizenberg, St. James, Kalk Bay and Fish Hoek before arriving in Simons Town in the late afternoon. 
Simons Town is the southernmost settlement on the cape and is a really pretty place full of Cape Dutch and Victorian-style houses, all with postcard-perfect views across False Bay. The South African Navy fleet is based there as well, and there were two large ships in the harbor when I arrived. This end of the cape is strikingly beautiful - blue skies, massive mountains, sparkling water and small, safe, familial beach towns. 
The big attraction in Simons Town, though, is Boulders Beach, which is where I'm staying. The beach is home to a colony of about three thousand African Penguins, and from April until November they come ashore to mate and nest. Over the years the penguins have made their way further and further into the surrounding neighborhood and now they routinely nest in peoples' gardens and even in the median strips of roads. 
Right now I'm sitting on my patio, which is the only place I can get wireless reception. There are penguins nesting in the bushes on either side of the patio, and I don't think they are very pleased I'm out here. The receptionist has assured me I'm safe out here, but they are keeping a close watch on me and I am keeping a close watch on them. If I'm going to die in South Africa, I'd rather it not be from getting pecked to death. They're making a lot of noise, but I hope they'll quiet down when I go indoors. If not, there's a good chance I will hate penguins by morning. 
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