Cape Town and African Penguins

Every day at noon there is a canon fired in Cape Town. This odd habit dates back to sailing days when sailors could calibrate their chronometers by the boom. I heard it a short time ago, and that means I only have a little time left in this wonderful place. I'll tell you briefly about the birds I saw.

On the drive along to Cape Point you travel through a national park that is also a wildlife sanctuary. I saw signs for baboons, who apparently can be very much like the bears in the US in that they are reported to be aggressive, especially when there is food or garbage around. I didn't see any baboons, but just seeing warning signs was curious.

I did see ostriches alongside the road. I opened the side door of the van and took a few pictures. They were totally unimpressed with me and went about pecking at the ground.

It was raining when we walked down to see the penguins on Boulder Beach in Simon's Town. I guess because the weather was dreary, the penguins did not feel like being very active. They just stood or laid there, and you might have wondered if they were figurines. I can't download my own pictures, so I pulled some off the internet to share.






I begin my journey home this evening. I've been told there's a record snow at home, so I put my warm jacket on the top of my bag. I haven't worn it since leaving Miami.