We have left South Africa and are now back in London, waiting for our connecting flight to Saint Paul. We're not trying to hook up with Sam this time - he is at a different terminal that we cannot get to without the correct boarding pass.
Yesterday, our flight did not leave until 6:40 p.m., so we had time to visit a few Cape Town attractions in the morning. First was the Two Oceans Aquarium, which has species from both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
What a great aquarium! I did not appreciate how different the fish would be from what would be found in a U.S. aquarium. There were penguins, ragged-tooth sharks, abalones, sea fans, and strawberry anemones. In an enormous predator tank, a large school of prey fish shifte
d and moved in startling unison as predator fish such as sharks approached. Mesmerizing.
We then went on the the South Africa National Gallery, which had several rooms devoted to modern African art. We quickly hustled over to the South African Museum, which had many interesting displays about anthropology. There were examples of old pictographs and cave paintings, as well as displays showing traditional village life of various tribes from not so long ago. We concluded our visit with a 45-minute planetarium show, which explained the southern constellations, such as the southern cross. It also pointed out alpha and proxima centauri, our nearest stars, and the greater and lesser Magellanic Clouds, our nearest galaxies. All these we had seen in detail from Madikwe game reserve. The milky way is particularly spectacular from the southern hemisphere.
We are both looking forward to being home later today. Unfortunately, we will once again miss the U.S. soccer game, as our side will be playing Algeria while we are in the air. Perhaps it will be re-broadcast this evening. The U.S. can clinch a berth in the round of 16 with a win. Here's hoping!
Yesterday, our flight did not leave until 6:40 p.m., so we had time to visit a few Cape Town attractions in the morning. First was the Two Oceans Aquarium, which has species from both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
What a great aquarium! I did not appreciate how different the fish would be from what would be found in a U.S. aquarium. There were penguins, ragged-tooth sharks, abalones, sea fans, and strawberry anemones. In an enormous predator tank, a large school of prey fish shifte
d and moved in startling unison as predator fish such as sharks approached. Mesmerizing.We then went on the the South Africa National Gallery, which had several rooms devoted to modern African art. We quickly hustled over to the South African Museum, which had many interesting displays about anthropology. There were examples of old pictographs and cave paintings, as well as displays showing traditional village life of various tribes from not so long ago. We concluded our visit with a 45-minute planetarium show, which explained the southern constellations, such as the southern cross. It also pointed out alpha and proxima centauri, our nearest stars, and the greater and lesser Magellanic Clouds, our nearest galaxies. All these we had seen in detail from Madikwe game reserve. The milky way is particularly spectacular from the southern hemisphere.
We are both looking forward to being home later today. Unfortunately, we will once again miss the U.S. soccer game, as our side will be playing Algeria while we are in the air. Perhaps it will be re-broadcast this evening. The U.S. can clinch a berth in the round of 16 with a win. Here's hoping!
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