At long last, I've finally posted the bulk of my back-logged Amazon jungle pictures and stories. Of the many wonderful things about Cape Town here in South Africa, there is a 24-hour Internet cafe with good Earl Grey and a fast connection in which I've spent much of the past three days. Whew.

But about South Africa: am I the only one that didn't know there's a gorgeous first-world nation here at the southern tip of Africa? Partially out of a sense of adventure (though mostly out of laziness), I've done almost no reading on my destinations and instead try to figure things out on arrival. Thus, on the plane ride here I was honestly a bit nervous, conjuring up images of Somalia and "Black Hawk Down" to fill my expectations of what's to come. However, I couldn't have been further from the truth.

South Africa, at least the portion that I have seen, is every bit as modern as any American city. Indeed, staying here in Cape Town is just like staying in San Francisco, but everythin... [more]