To get more of a feel of other parts of life in South Africa, we took a three hour guided township tour. We started our tour in downtown Cape Town heading through the brightly colored Muslim area and then on to District Six. The area is still quite desolate since the families were forcibly moved out in the 60′s and 70′s by the apartheid government which wanted it to be a whites only area. Their homes were bulldozed, dumped into the sea and about 50,000 people were moved to Cape Flats townships. Gradually some of the homes have been rebuilt and previous residents have moved back to their old neighborhood. 
Out next stop was the District Six Museum, quite an emotional history of the area. The floor included a map of the district and former residents had labeled where their old homes had once stood. Apparently one man involved in the demolition of the area saved all the street signs and donated them to the museum where they are now on display. Many photos and documents from the time are also mounted around the walls. Comments from residents and visitors are documented on canvases located on some of the walls – even including some about our change and new President in the US.
Our first township stop in Cape Flats was Langa, an area with deplorable housing with residents from Cape Town and other countries looking for work in the area. There were a number of hostels originally used for single men and now divided into rooms which contain three beds. We toured one which had a kitchen with only tables and a sink. Each room housed three families with only dividing curtains for privacy. Any children would have to sleep on the floor. We drove back by open markets with meat for sale and common cooking areas. Sheeps’ heads were visible between two boards waiting to be cooked in the heat of the day. We passed by some animal parts drying on a line in preparation for medicinal use. We also noticed a few new government houses being built.
Our next stop was Guguletu which was similar, but a town originally divided by race, black or colored. Our driver, who grew up in Langa, explained the determination of color segregation. 1) Pencil in hair – if it stays when the head is moved, one is black. 2) Pinch test – the person is stuck with a needle or other sharp instrument and depending on the language of response, color is determined. Apparently some families were separated when one member or spouse was of a different color. While in Guguletu we toured Tembaletu (Our Hope), a workshop for brain injured adults who are taught to embroider designs on burlap bags. They all seemed so proud of their work so I bought some for family gifts.
In the 60′s all residents were originally forced to carry thick passbooks for identification or be fined. Years later all men and women protested and won.
We visited another workshop where the women were taught weaving to make money while their children were in school. Some were also trained as medical aides and visited area homes to find children who were sick or possibly malnourished. We visited some of their children in a school and were entertained with song.
As our tour continued, we passed by more towns similarly rundown and created out of whatever the residents could find to make shelter. They did have some blue portable toilets and occasional power poles for electricity. Some residents got power by connecting extension cords to their neighbors who had electricity. The census states that a village with 1000 residents could easily contain as many as 2000.
Back in Cape Town, we went to the downtown Green Market where natives bargain to sell their wares. Despite the intense heat, it was fun and challenging to see what kind of price I could negotiate for the few souvenirs I bought to take home.
This was our last day in Cape Town before heading to Hermanus, the southern most point in Africa.
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