Leaving South Africa

Sunset in Cape Town

District 6 as it is today

Monday we toured District 6 where more than 20,000 families were removed from that area of Cape Town. District 6 was stripped of all shacks while the owners were at work one day when the government went in with bulldozers and ran over them like they were weeds. The government wanted to build new homes for whites only, but the locals didn’t want to move. It was a very sad time for the locals.

A local in the township cooking sheep heads for sale

When we where in the township, there was a lady cooking sheep heads. She actually held one of the heads up toward the bus. No doubt in our mind it was a sheep’s head. Our local tour guide said he, when he was about 10-years-old, did eat one from the same lady that was cooking today (he does not partake anymore).

Eray in Bo-Kaap

Next, a short tour of Bo-Kaap with all the colorful buildings you will see in the photographs. Next we went to the Grand Daddy Hotel in Cape Town to view and take pictures of the 8 Airstream trailers on the roof of the hotel which are used as individual suites for guests.

Tuesday we went to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, then boarded the SAA (South African Airways) jet for our 17-hour flight to New York with a one-hour fuel stop in Dakar, Senegal. After refueling, a final security check, and prior to closing the airline door, they walked through the entire inside spraying bug spray — go figure!

Well, here I sit at JFK International Airport in New York – we just arrived. First was customs, then immigration, and then security. We have a 3-hour layover until we board our United flight back to California – all total will be 10 more hours before we will land at SFO.

Nelson Mandela's Golden Bird of Paradise at Kirstenbosch Gardens

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