South Africa!

It was a long and not particularly comfortable flight, 11 hours across Africa - the African continent is VAST! Because it was a night flight there was very little to see, very few lights and very little evidence of settlements (unlike Eastern Turkey) - pitch black from horizon to horizon. It got me thinking how much smaller the average carbon footprint of an African must be compared to a European. The sun rose about 90 minutes before we landed so I had a good view of Namibia and what looked like mostly red sand and rocks. The irony is that the landscape looks like it's been carved by water, and probably was, but apart from some stringy-looking rivers weaving in zigzags, and a few waterholes, everything looks wild and empty (and gorgeous). There was evidence of some sort of greenery but I couldn't make out what it was - not trees. As we got nearer to Cape Town the vineyards became clearer and the reservoirs all looked healthy.

We're staying in a house on the edge of Cape Town in a place called Camps Bay which sits right under Table Mountain. The drive from the airport was very busy - something's happening in Cape Town today - some sort of address by a Govt. minister. The roads were thick with police cars ringing their sirens, trying to move in and out of morning rush hour traffic. Table Mountain appeared in the distance bathed in cloud as it often is. The road from the airport seems to have been gentrified - all the townships which once showed so clearly, are more hidden. There seems to have been more building of better housing.

There's a swimming pool at the house...I'm the first one in the water. Other than that we're all snoozing, having been out and got provisions. I'm cooking tonight, spag bol! The internet isn't great here - my posts may be sporadic.