Gym's Ramblings: Cape Town

As my first order of business, I would like to wish my father a Happy Birthday and my goddaughter, a belated Happy Birthday from Cape Town, South Africa.

We boarded a South African Airways airbus last night at Heathrow and flew the 12+ hours to get in at at about 10 AM this morning. Our flight path took us over the Spain, the Mediterranean Sea, Algeria, Niger, Nigeria and then out over the Gulf of Guinea, subsequently crossing the equator somewhere off the west coast of Gabon. We then continued south over the Atlantic flying over the west coasts of Angola, Namibia and finally crossed over the border of South Africa at about 8 AM this morning, as we were being served breakfast by the exceptional South African Airways staff.

At this point let me ramble a bit and continue a thread from an earlier posting. Although Air Canada has won some North American awards recently for top carrier in several categories, South African Airways blows our national carrier away. The long flight from London was as painless as a 12-hour flight could be. The seats were more comfortable, the food was better and the staff more courteous than on any Air Canada flight that I have been on in the last couple of years. I don't want to offend anyone, I am just telling the truth.

When we arrived here we were met at the air-bridge by a Micato agent who lead us through customs and handed us to a Micato employee, name of Alan, when we got into the main part of the terminal. Alan, who will be with us for the next three days in the Cape Town area, informed us that our tour group is comprised of the two of us and one other American couple that we will meet at dinner tonight. Alan and our Micato driver, Achmed, then whisked us off to our hotel whilst giving us a tour of the city. We were checked in at the hotel and the Micato guys left us to have the day to ourselves but we will be hosted for dinner tonight by Alan, at 7 PM.

We are staying in a beautiful hotel called the Cape Grace. It is right in the inner-harbor and has a private pedestrian bridge that connects it to the major upscale shopping area here, on the waterfront. I snapped a few pictures and include them here but they don't do the place justice. It is like nothing I have ever seen before. And we have joined some famous company that have been guests here recently, including the Clintons, Morgan Freemen and Matt Damon.

Most importantly I have made it to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. The Boss has been down below the equator many times, but it is a first for me. We have seen no endemic species yet but tomorrow we go to study the Jackass Penguins also known as the African Penguins which are an endangered species. I plan on getting in the water with them and warding off the pesky sharks that are decimating their numbers. Until tomorrow then...