Good Bye Cape Town

To start off on a bad note, I did not get to jump to-day. Woke up to a grey sky, it had been raining during the night. However went into Cape Town (I know my way there now) and amongst other things visited the aquarium. Its quite big, with two big show pools with sharks, rays and all kinds of large fish. There are smaller displays also, all interesting with some fish with vivid colouring.
One thing I have learned over this first week, is I need to make the most of the place I am in. I have concentrated all of my efforts over the past 4 months into planning the skydive side of things. There really is a lot to see in Cape Town and I have only touched the edges. What I have learned is it is a place of contrasts. You pass some of the Townships on the way in from the airport, they are slowly improving the housing and you can see that also, but its going to take I don't know how many years to get the standard of living up to what we would consider reasonable. For all that I have found everyone friendly, courteous and helpful. You also see the wealthy side of Cape Town with smart cars and offices and buildings, shopping malls to match anything we have at home.
There is also a contrast in the places you go to. When I went down to Simon's Town, the feel of the place is like another country again, more like going back a 100 years. The buildings are brightly coloured and well kept. On speaking to Esther the lady who runs Elements where I am staying, she says this is typical of the area, lots of different experiences in the places you visit. I did not get to the wine region, mainly because I was hoping the weather would change. But if I do come back here and I would like to, I will certainly make the effort.
I am going to sign off now, need to finish packing and I have half a bottle of SA wine to address !!. Hopefully will post a few more pictures from my stay here when I can.
Johannesburg in the morning, not sure when I will be able to log on next, but will manage it somehow. Finally Cape Town is a wonderful place and if you want somewhere to stay, check out the Elements web site http://www.elements-capetown.com/ john 15/5