Monday, February 4, 2008

Some of My Favorite Photos - Day One

In previous posts, I selected photos that illustrated what I was writing about. For this post, I just want to share with you some of my favorite photos I took during our first day in Cape Town, specifically, our visit to the Masiphumelele township.


When we went to the Welcome House preschool, we arrived during nap time. I loved seeing the children sleeping head-to-toe, four on a mattress. Notice that there is at least one mattress next to them without any children at all, so they must enjoy sleeping close together.


The homes in the township were mainly constructed in one day, according to our tour guide, Charlotte. We were amazed that some of them were even two-story structures, although we couldn't figure out how people got in and out of the second story.




I told you that we had aftertoon tea at Zukie's Bed and Breakfast in Masiphumelele. They offered two rooms for guests. By American standards, the rooms might not even earn one star, but they were clean and welcoming, and the hosts were wonderful people. Here is a picture of one of their guest rooms (there is a second bed against the opposite wall, but this picture shows you most of the room). And for $23 a night, including breakfast, you can't beat the price.




A few minutes drive away is the costal town of Fish Hoek, where we stayed in a deluxe bed and breakfast. Fish Hoek was a whites-only town during apartheid, and the homes are big and beautiful, with breathtaking views of the ocean. Near the beach, there is this statue of two white folks in bathing suits having fun. The title of the statue is "Frolic." It's hard to imagine how these two different worlds can exist so close to one another.