Durban

About to leave Durban for Johannesburg. This is a lot more like the South Africa I've heard about than Cape Town. We went for a stroll yesterday and on our way out the door, the doorman asked where we were going. We're going for a walk along the waterfront, we told him. He looked us over and decided that since we weren't carrying handbags or other snatchable items that we'd be okay. Comforting. The walk went fine, by the way. Had dinner at a place called Moyo, which could best be described as high-concept African. They had roving a capella singers, pulsating African music, and someone came by the table to paint my face with Zulu white dashes.


Your extremely dorky correspondent.

Goofy, but really fun. Oh, and I had a crazily hoppy South African microbrew! A little Oregon colonialism, no doubt, but good. And the food was great - I had a spicy chicken curry with coconut, bananas, and other stuff.


Later, I'll report on the health clinic and hospital we visited yesterday. The short story is that South Africa has the highest HIV AIDS rate in the world, and Kwa Zulu Natal, the province in which Durban is located, has the highest HIV rate in South Africa. It's truly a public health crisis, and I don't think anybody thinks they'll get a handle on it any time soon.