Where, exactly IS Cape Town, South Africa?

Without wanting to state the obvious .... :)

South Africa is just about as far from Novato, California, USofA as one can get. Located in the Southern Hemisphere, at the south/western tip of the continent of Africa, Cape Town, SA is literally night and day with our home here.

There is an eleven hour time difference, making noon here midnight there.

Summer here is winter there, so no summer for me this year. Instead of packing up my winter sweaters and warm, woolie socks, and heavy raincoat, those all will be going into my suitcase. Whatever tan I might get will have to occur before I leave, because weather is said to be very similiar to San Francisco - damp, foggy, gray, and around 49 degrees.

Both Jim and I love to travel, so it made sense for us to pull out the big atlas, the one that almost covers the kitchen table. We tried to decide which flight I would be taking, which stops along the way. That led us to Expedia where we learned that it takes almost 40 hours to get from Novato to Cape Town. United flies through London or Frankfurt, one of the other air lines goes through Paris. Because the World Cup is being held in SA this year, tickets are running at about $2500 each, and that is for economy!!

The tickets were going to be booked through the sponsoring agency - Teach with Africa - so at this point, I had quite a bit of anxiety about when exactly I would be leaving, when I would be returning, and what flight I would be on. Most important thought during those days? Can I get Frequent Flyer Miles for this trip. (and the answer eventually ended up being yes.)

Meanwhile, I spent hours on the Internet researching Cape Town and the surrounding area, along with the LEAP Schools, which is where my program will be based.