A large part of South Africa's story has nothing to do with breathtaking scenery or beautiful places to visit. Much of its history has been involved in the turbulence of Apartheid and its aftermath. Almost like the Holocaust, thousands of black Africans were forced to move not to concentration camps but to hovels and shanties in undesirable areas of the Cape. Their homes were then leveled with bull dozers. In order to see a more complete picture of Cape Town, I took a 4 hour tour of "the Townships" and was depressed and overwhelmed by the terrible living conditions. 
The tour began in the District Six Museum which attempts to tell the story of the thousands of displaced citizens treated as subhumans by the white ruling party. We then drove past miles of shacks put together with corrugated metal, plastic, and wood-- all built inches from their neighbors.
which was of better quality (below rt and center) and
would have felt like a mansion.
There are street vendors all over selling hand made products, vegetables, cooked foods, etc. I bought earrings at this little stand, as did one of the other ladies in the van. At lower left and middle, you can see a thriving medical practice--even has a cell phone number in case you need urgent help with a love affair or a court case!!! Then we have the beauty shop at lower right.
These kids were adorable, clean, happy, and in
decent clothes. They all gave us "high fives" as we left. All in all, I am glad I saw this, but I can't say it was uplifting-- eye-opening maybe. I hope I will find a more cheerful activity for tomorrow.
