Yay! Pictures!

Who is looking at who?

Yes, I exchanged my battery re-charger for a new one that works. All the following pics in this entry were taken at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. I walked there from the Radisson Waterfront after I checked in.




Schlepp-on Luggage:
I have been meaning to rant about this for awhile. I HATE the “carry-on” luggage that people drag behind their sorry asses. If it is too heavy to actually carry, you need to check the damn thing, or go to the gym. I believe it is dubbed “carry-on” for a reason. It is small, and convenient, and you carry the damn thing, dispensing with it quickly once you reach your seat. When these people (and I realize many of my travel-mates are these people) drag this shit behind them it creates a serious obstacle, especially when they forget they are taking up three times as much space as they should be, and stop with it right in your path. Every time one of these idiots cuts me off I am tempted to drop kick the thing and see how durable it really is. Then, most of them can’t pull it in a straight line, so when walking the aisle, they snag it at least half a dozen times on the way to their seat. As a finale, if they are feeble, they will then ask for your help to stow it in the overhead – at which point you give yourself a hernia.




So I get to Cape Town the night of the 31st. I have made no reservations. No problem. I found a place called the Road Lodge online. It is right across the street from the airport. Just so happens that a shuttle from the Lodge is picking up someone from my flight. I hitch a ride. It actually is not the hell-hole that it sounds like it might be. I’m in bed a half-hour after my plane landed. Bliss.




I sleep in and try to let my body adjust to local time. Then I get a cab in town to the Radisson. I have a few hours to burn before our first group meeting, so I go down to the Waterfront district, get a bite, walk around, and look at some fish. After I have seen enough fish, and smelled enough penguin poo, I head back to the hotel to meet my travel-mates for this trip. Typical ice-breakers and going-over of itinerary. It’s a killer, by the way. The 14 of us then go downtown to Africa Café and gorge ourselves on traditional dishes served communal style. This means I eat way more than I should, because I don’t even have to ask before eating off other people’s plates – it’s just there for the taking.


We stink!


Then to bed with my distended belly. I seem to be on local time already, so I’m not going to ruin it.