Catch up...

So, I fell off the blogging wagon but I'm going to try to jump back on... To get caught up, here's the last 2 months in a nutshell. I was home in San Francisco for two weeks before returning to Cape Town for our next phase of work. I was in Cape Town for 3 weeks and spent the weekends wine tasting (first picture taken in Franschhoek), hiking (second picture taken of False Bay), and finally visiting Robben Island.

Robben Island was staggering – think Alcatraz for political prisoners. The ‘guides’ are ex- political prisoners or ex-warders (guards) themselves and share their personal stories. I’m reading Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom and it is fascinating living in and visiting places he’s written about. It amazes to me to hear about and to read the ways of apartheid knowing it all occurred in my lifetime. The second picture reveals how even in prison the food rations were based on race. The tour was a very moving experience and better shared in person – pictures will have to suffice for now. I took this last picture looking down at Robben Island on my last flight back into Cape Town.

Then I went home again for 2 weeks (perfect timing for Fleet Week but a little heavy on the overnight flights in a short period of time).

One flight was made a little more interesting than the rest - if only passengers could still visit the cockpit enroute! I returned to Cape Town last week and should be avoiding flights for at least a few more weeks...

The weather has finally turned and it’s beautiful here. Light in the mornings before work and in the evenings after work – it’s fabulous. Last weekend, we went to Muizenberg for the annual kite festival and for a walk on the beach.

Muizenberg is where I go surfing but it was only on this trip when I learned more about the shark spotting program. This picture is taken from where the 'spotter' sits on the mountain with binoculars and is apparently able to see the sharks. The next is of the hut on the beach with the key to the different shark flags. What bothered me the most is that there is a flag that is put up after it’s been at least 2 hours since the last sighting; I think I’d almost prefer that the ‘shark spotted’ flag wave a little longer??

We then drove back into Cape Town to watch the rugby match with some folks and we had strong represent- ation of both South Africans and Brits (of course, I was wearing green). Cape Town came alive; I can only imagine when they won the '95 tournament in South Africa!

Anyway, another week down. It's great having Andrea and Stacy here. Bring on more excuses for going out and exploring the city.