Cape Town is an incredible place. There's so much history and the city is a real cultural hot spot. There's tons to learn about and experience. The landscape is simply breathtaking. Highlights of our stay included a trip to the ultra-modern Victoria and Albert Waterfront (as enjoyable as Sydney or Granville Island with its many buskers and other cultural entertainers), a tour of the Bo-Kaap (historic Muslim and slave quarter), Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years), Kirstenbosch Gardens, World of Birds, the Company Gardens, Parliament, trendy Long Street, and Greenmarket Square with its many African crafts. 
So-far-so-good in terms of safety. I'm sure that we looked like deer in the headlights the first day. Crime is certainly a national obsession and we got lots of solicited and unsolicited advice as to where to go and how to get there. One telling statistic is that 50% of the women living on the cape will be raped in their lifetime. A woman on the Bo-Kaap tour carried a can of mace with her and the tour guide had a device that could set off a loud alarm in case of trouble. The only time that we've felt threatened was when we were approached by a young man wielding an ornately carved stick (which turned out to be a pepper shaker) in a restaurant. Come to think of it, my credit card has been missing since visiting the squirrel monkey enclosure at the World of Birds. 
Our hikes up Lion's Head and Table Mountain were unforgettable. Lion's Head provides the best overall view of the city and Table Mountain is a must on every tourist's agenda (although most simply take the cable car up). We hummed and hawed about the route we would take -there are 300 possibilities. The trail from Kirstenbosch Gardens is the most lush but there had been a number of muggings there in recent weeks. India Venster is challenging and interesting from the point of view of climbing. In the end we hired a guide, Barry, who drove us around the mountain to Camps Bay where we ascended what turned out to be an easy gorge (Kasteelspoort -Castle's Door). Lion's Head, Signal Hill, Devil's Peak and Table Mountain are skyline features that you seem to see no matter where you look in the city. They get into your head. When you wake up due to the heat or some sound in the night you realize that you have been dreaming about them. Even though Table Mountain looks flat from a distance the summit actually has dips and valleys. We were lucky and observed a beautiful orchid (found only on Table Mountain) that blossoms about ten days per year. There is a large water reservoir on top and (believe it or not) a museum and old rail line related to the mountain's important role in water management. The day went well without being smothered in the the "tablecloth" (a layer of cloud that rolls over the mountain at any time and can cause serious problems with getting lost). We celebrated with a bottle of wine at pool side back at our guest house.
The papers are a good read, filled on a daily basis with fascinating human interest stories. Many are related to crime but there are lots of other stories about political corruption, Afrikaans nationalism, maritime mishaps, people falling off the mountain, poverty and AIDS. Over 250 00 South Africans alone contracted HIV last year. There's a lot of talk about the disease entering its third phase: The "Sugar Daddy" phase, so-called because older affluent men and women are getting involved with young lovers (inter generational relationships). Phase I was homosexuals, Phase II working class heterosexuals. Today we read that they're starting to produce a line of South African boy's clothing that has a health warning about unprotected sex sewn onto the zipper covering! On a brighter note, they just discovered a new species of protea (the national flower) which exists nowhere else in the world.
Our day at Robben Island was really interesting. It's like the Alcatraz of South Africa. Originally, it was used by the authorities in Cape Town as a leper colony but is best known as a prison for political prisoners. Our tour began with a tour of the facilities. This photo shows the isolated house where political prisoner Robert Sobukwe was kept for so many years...right across from the guard dog kennels!
Robben Island's most famous political prisoner was Nelson Mandela, who spent most of his twenty-seven years of captivity here before being released to become the first president of South Africa.
Our tour was guided by Michael (a one-time political prisoner himself ) who shared with us the ins and outs of life in the prison.
Talk about fear - one day we rented a car to travel the Cape Peninsula that stretches below Cape Town down to the Cape of Good Hope. Few people here drive automatics and with lots of dignitaries in town for the opening of parliament, we had no chance to get one. The stick shift on a standard is on the left side, the car is driven on the left side of the road, and there are tons of steep hills in Cape Town with many roundabouts and countless one-way streets. We learned soon after arriving that the little green man on the pedestrian crossing signs doesn't mean squat. Having nearly been run over one hundred times I was chomping at the bit to get even. No problem...just down the hill, around the corner and we would be on our way out of town. Unfortunately we missed the turn and headed straight into the inner city! After several wrong turns, near disasters and knocking over a parked motorcycle, amid great shouting we found our way to the countryside and had a lovely day. The jackass penguins (so-called because they bray like a donkey) at Boulders Beach were adorable. Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope were powerful in the mist and there were many other sites to see.
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