2/28 thru 3/1

On Wednesday 2/28, we drove to Capetown, via the coast route. It is very beautiful with big mountains with steep, rocky sides coming down to the ocean-somewhat like the PCH1 highway in northern California at Big Sur. Found a nice 3-bedroom flat at Sea Point in Capetown-up a very steep street. Many of the streets in Capetown are steeper than those in San Francisco! Doug did such a good job driving on the left side of the road, shifting gears (our car was not automatic) and trying not stall the car on those steep streets. Our apartment in Capetown cost R700 per night ($100) and we rented it for 5 nights. Capetown does not have any cheap lodging, but we thought we got a good deal for the place. We went swimming at a beautiful swim complex located right on the ocean-3 pools, a freshwater, seawater and dive pool. Had lunch at NY Bagels-R120. We went to see the play "Truth in Translation" at the Baxter Theatre, a wonderful theatre complex that houses movies, theatre and music. The play was about the hearings held in London the mid-90's to give people a chance to confess and be forgiven for killing so many blacks and whites during the struggle to end apartheid. We have been fortunate to see three good plays while in South Africa that have given us an historical understanding of the country, primarily from the viewpoint of the blacks and coloureds (mixed race/Asian) people. We had dinner at "Barrister" after the play. It was recommended in our "Eat Out" magazine and was very good. Meal cost R280 and service was just okay. The average tip in SA for a waitron (name for waiters/waitresses) is 10%, however we have been giving 15% when satisfied and 10-12% when not as satisfied.