More SA

After 5 days in Jo'burg, we are getting ready to head to Cape Town. Jo'burg is an interesting place -- the entire downtown is, for intents and purposes, completely depopulated. All major businesses, hotels, and homes have been abandoned. As in the Ritz just shuttered and chained their doors and simply left. It is quite weird. We kept asking people where was a cool neighborhood to walk around and hang out and they just kept looking at us like we were speaking a foriegn language. The population lives in high security suburbs, completely segregated. There is really no where to walk around and you don't see many people on the street. We stayed about a block away from a cool block that was walkable with great bars and restaurants. We later learned that was practically the only place in the suburbs like it. . . We were watching TV one evening and stumbled upon a show about the block we were staying on -- in Afrikaans. Kind of like Melrose Place in Jo'burg.
Yesterday we went on an amazing safari and saw a huge selection of birds and mammals. Cheetah, giraffe, lions, hippos, sacred ibis, bee-eaters, swallows, marabou stork, african fish eagle, snake eating eagle, zebras, warthog family, blue wildebeest, impalas, waterbuck, kudu, etc. It was lovely.
Getting on the train today for a peaceful 2 day journey across the country to end at the sea-side.
New Year's will be on the beach in Ghana with hopes that we will be able to cross the border back into Togo. Ghana is having a run-off presidential election on the 28th and likes to close the borders. Oopsie!
Happy holidays and much love to all. We are happy to be here, but sad to be away from our families.