Friday, January 6, 2012....
After the morning session at AIMS, we boarded a tour bus with a guide. 
I am posting some of my notes that I took as we rode along so if they seems disjointed, they are!
We went to see the penguins again which is really a treat no matter how often you see them.  There are actually 3 large penguin colonies with the one we visited at Simon's Town the largest one.
On the way there, the guide spoke of the beach at Muizenberg where we are staying and said that the beach there is 36 km long.  It just seems to go on forever.  The average water temp is between 9-16 degrees CENTIGRADE which is 40-60 degrees fahrenheit.  No wonder you see so many people in wetsuits -- and not just the ones who are surfing.  Because of the wind that comes in surfers are in their glory.  There can be waves of 18 meters (approx. 55 feet) in the winter months of April through November with the cold wind that blows in from Antarctica it is just not pleasant.  Because of this, the beaches are basically abandoned in the winter.   
As we passed a "petrol" station, I remembered that when we refueled you are not allowed to pump your own petrol in South Africa.  Attendants MUST pump the petrol.  Petrol is 10 Rand 80 cents a liter which is at least $5.50/gal. with most of it being imported from Iraq.  There is no oil production in South Africa although they are starting to do some off shore exploration.  There is a group that would like to create wind farms since the wind is always blowing and it would be a great form of energy.  Our guide told us that Shell Oil is disliked here because of its exploration methods they have that could cause water contamination.  Shortage of water is a big problem in South Africa as well as other parts of the African continent.
Maize is considered the main crop in Africa, though not in this country.
The country of South Africa was founded by the Spanish, Dutch and British who all ruled at one time or another.  It is now it's own country.  Slavery was prevelant until the mid-19th century and then abolished.
There has been a pandemic in Africa of tuberculosis for the last 50 years with no end in sight at the present time.  Alcoholism is also at pandemic proportions.
The population of Cape Town has gone from 1.5million to 4.1 million in the last 5 years.  50 million people inhabit South Africa with 10 million of them being foreigners and 20 million of them being under the age of 18.  Family planning is desperately needed.  The lack of planning and the population explosion has created a lack of housing as well as problems in the school systems which need to be revamped.  The country suffers from a lack of scientists also.
Homes in South Africa do not have central heating as we do in the States.  If you are fortunate enough to be able to afford it, you can install heat panels on the walls that are powered by electricity which is quite expensive.  In winter, it can dip down to 1 degree C. which is about 33 degrees F.  However, here in Muizenberg it feels much colder due to the south wind that comes off False Bay.  
There are also a variety of snakes in South Africa with the mostly deadly being the Cobra followed by the Spitting Cobra and Puff Adder.  Haven't come in contact with any of them so that's a good thing.
According to our guide, white collar crime in South Africa is literally uncontrollable.  Does that sound familiar?
The official language in South Africa is ENGLISH since there are 9 provinces and 11 languages in the country this was the best solution.  In addition, they speak Afrikaans which is a dutch/german/african mix that was started by the slaves years ago.  Every once in a while, I catch a word or two that makes sense to me.
As to housing -- What we consider condos in the US is called an apartment in South Africa.  An apartment in Cape Town that would be 80 square meters can sell for 3-6 million rands while a 2000 square meter one can sell for 34 million rands.  1,000 rand is worth approximately $125 so do the math.  We were told that the real estate taxes here are unreasonable just as they are in the States.  Funny how some things don't change. 
All beaches are owned by the State and, therefore, open to the public.  Even those home owners who have a beach outside their door do not own that. 
We saw a lot of seaweed in the various bays but you can only harvest it in certain places.  This seaweed is then harvested and exported to various places in Asia for the manufacture of iodine and sushi. 
We got back to AIMS at about 7PM and had dinner and then went back to the apartment and crashed.  Long day.  During the night I woke up because the wind had increased and was making a whistling sound.  Too tired to recognize the tune so I went back to sleep.
Last day of the conference today.
More later...