Cape Town

Overall, I would have to rate Cape Town as one of my favorite cities on the planet. It's gorgeous. It's located right on the Atlantic Ocean and has the oh-so-impressive Table Mountain towering over the city. It looks and feels very much like San Francisco (my former home of eight years prior to moving to Austin, TX to attend the University of Texas). The weather felt very similar to San Francisco, which makes perfect sense as both climates are moderated by their location right on cool ocean waters.

The people of Cape Town seemed very friendly too. Actually, as far as my experience goes South Africans in general tend to be very friendly people. Everyone at the hotel and in our interactions tended to be warm, friendly, exceedingly helpful, and happy to offer a smile. Sadly however I have been told that crime in the area is growing. According to the gentleman (dude) sitting next to me on my flight home from Africa, much of the crime interest from Jo'burg is moving down to Cape Town because Cape Towners tend to be "unsuspecting" and therefore "easier targets" for criminals.

I did come across some sketchy activity while in Cape Town actually. It was the morning of our shark dive and we were loading up the van at around 5:30 AM. I was one of the first people to meet the van. I knew I would need cash for the day and so after dropping my bag in the van I told the driver that I wanted to hit the ATM right across the street. As I started walking towards the ATM however I noticed several young black africans take notice of me. Things got a bit sketchy when I noticed that three or four of the bunch begin to walk towards the ATM. I got about halfway across the street before thinking to myself, "Self, this just doesn't feel right. I think you're about to get mugged if you keep walking towards that ATM." In any case, I made the call to retreat back towards the safety of the van with its enormous south african rugby player for a driver. I've never felt so cowardly in all my life, but it was probably the right call given the crime levels in South Africa.