I stepped off the plane in Cape Town, shuffled my way through immigrations and picked up my pack. As I walked out into the balmy air a smile pushed it's way across my face. I was standing on African soil. The scene was ordinary, an airport, it could have been anywhere. But the fact that I was on a far away continent that I had only dreamed about was very exciting.

I looked around to find Clive, a surfer that Phil and I met while we were in Costa Rica. Clive not only picked me up at the airport but his family opened up their home and made me feel welcome. His dad, John, took me on an insiders tour of the Cape. We visited Kayalitsha, one of the townships making news during the early 90's when the aparthied government was being replaced with democracy. Another trip was to the Cape Point where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meld together. Here we saw some wildlife including baboons, Bontebok, a Puf-Adder and a Cape Cobra-two of the deadliest snakes in the world. Other trips to Boulders Beach to see some penguins and Seal Island, where Great White sharks feed, were a good introduction to South Africa. My home for two weeks was in Sun Valley, a stones throw from Fish Hoek on the False Bay side of the cape peninsula and Nordhoek on the Atlantic side. The coast and the beaches are amazing, so much so that they are featured in many movies and music videos. The coast surrounding Cape Town is the stomping grounds for the rich and famous. In spending some time in this beautiful place, it is very clear why.

I was suprised to learn how modern the cape area is. At first glance it seems very much like America. However, there is a dark side. Tremendous poverty still exists in South Africa and with one in every four people infected with AIDS the country remains a third-world nation. The township wars of the early 90's were not long ago and they were terribly violent. Change of this magnitude does not happen overnight. Crime is not uncommon and it can be violent. Despite the diverse cultural mix of races and religions co-existing in South Africa, or perhaps because of it, there is a feeling of intensity in the energy here.

The Cape area is very interesting and I am enjoying my time here. However, I am looking forward to getting out and about in Africa. Seeing different cultures and landscapes as well as some wild animals! Stay tunned! Jeff.

So it has been forever since I posted a blog. I could make all kinds of excuses for being lazy but I won't. I will try to catch you up as quickly as I can.

I left off somewhere in Patagonia. I had many magical experiences there but will not go into detail descibing them all. I will say that hiking and camping in Patagonia was the highlight of my South American experience. All said and done I spent six months in South America and almost two months was in the Southern region of Patagonia. That time can be broken into four parts: El Calafate, Argentina and the Perito Moreno Glacier; Puerto Natales, Chile and the Torres del Paine National Park; El Chalten, Argentina and the Fitzroy Range; and finally Ushuaia, the sothernmost city in the world located on Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

The area is pristine and breathtakingly beautiful. It is no wonder that Charles Darwin formalized his ideas about evolution after exploring this area. The earth down here is still in the process of being created. Fossils from the sea are found all over mountainsides, glaciers are still carving out the mountains and it's so clean that you can drink the water right from the rivers and lakes. It is a backpackers paradise!

I camped in my tent for about six weeks straight with only an occasional night in a hostel. The scenery was spectacular and camping is cheap! My favorite leg of the journey was an eight day backpacking trip into Torres del Paine park in Chile. The trek was about 130 kilometers long and involved every kind of terrain and weather you can imagine. Rain, wind, snow, heat, cold, blue sky and sunshine were the elements as I lugged my backpack through some of the most majestic mountain scenery in the world.

Other highlights were the Perito Moreno Glacier, advancing at six feet per day it is the fastest glacier in the world. Also Mount Torre and Fitzroy where world class climbers like Yvon Chounard (founder of the Patagonia company) test their skills with some of the most challenging mountaineering routes in the world. And Ushuaia, a crusty old sea town at the sothern tip of South America only 600 miles from Antarctica. All of these places created an incredible travel experience that I will not soon forget.

There is much more to see and do in South America but after six months and some great memories I was anxious to move on to Africa. I flew up to Buenos Aires, spent a few days and caught a plane to Cape Town, South Africa.

Stay tuned for some interesting adventures on the African continent! Jeff.