Laundry and Dreams

Some hope that I saw in the townships was the number of kids in school uniforms. It seemed like there were many kids attending school and I saw some primary and middle schools within the townships themselves.
Also, the townships seem to have a benefactor in Ireland who goes there on a regular basis to replace shacks with small woooden homes. You can see his little neighborhoods of yellow houses with red roofs throughout the townships.
Finally there is a lovely community center in the Langa township where locals sell their crafts and perform traditional dances for visiting tourists. It's a small way for tourists to give something to the communities.
For now, this is the end of my Capetown experience. With all the beauty and sadness, I have lost my heart to this city and it was hard to leave.
I'm now in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. After catching a bug my last day in Capetown, I've spent 2 days in bed here with a raging fever, but now I'm ready to go out and see this beautiful city. The entire country of Namibia has 1.8 million people -fewer people than the 6 million people in Capetown alone. It's a country of beautiful deserts and oceans. Now I just need to get out and see it!

Mzoli's Meat-the Place to Go in Guguletu

It seemed that this was the in-place to go if you want to hang out in the townships. While I was there, one mostly white corporate group was having a luncheon there and having their pictures taken with the locals. The townships of Langa, Nyanga, Crossroads, and Guguletu provide quite a contrast to the California-like Capetown.

Barbecue for Sale

A big item in the townships is a concoction made out of sheep's heads. I passed on that.

A Peak Inside a Township Home

Self Sufficiency in the Capetown Townships

Little Mom and Pop operations are everywhere throughout the townships - selling everything from groceries to beauty shops and open air barbecue pits.

Township Bathrooms

During the years when the white government was actively trying to turn South Africa into a white stronghold, blacks (who represented 75% of the population) were moved into 13% of the country's total land area. My guide Frank remembers this time when his family was forced to leave thier family home of generations to move to a designated black area.

Capetown Townships

Faucets with clean water can be seen about every 20 yards, but it still must be carried to your home. The faucets are set up in a trough-like structure where people bring their laundry.

Townships-Living Off the Grid in Capetown, South Africa

Out of the 6 million people who live in Capetown, 2 million live in the rambling townships, with houses made out of cargo containers, scraps of corrugated metal, bits of wood, cardboard, or cloth. Electricity is stolen from nearby powerlines, but the government has finally realized that it needs to bring in fresh water - and empties the buckets from the outhouses twice a week.

A Reading Problem

My last day in Capetown, this photo was in the morning paper, of a photographer being attacked by a baboon. I can't tell you how many posted warnings I saw throughout the Cape, telling people not to get out of the car around the baboons. I actually saw a baboon attack a Safari jeep full of people in Kenya.

Table Mountain - Capetown, South Africa