Since Captain Richard Phillips was dramatically rescued by U.S. Navy Seals on Sunday, pirates of the coast of Somalia have stepped up their attacks on ships.

On Monday, they hijacked two Egyptian fishing boats and two freighters… On Tuesday, two more freighters and four skiffs were taken by force… And just last night, a U.S. cargo ship carrying food aid for Africa was attacked.

The international community is working together in a joint task force to try and tackle the problem, but it’ll take a lot of work, and a lot of ships. In the mean time, one might expect to see shipping costs and insurance premiums escalate for this region…

Yesterday was action-packed, and today was all business. Let me fill you in on what I’ve been doing.

First off, if you’re coming to South Africa, you must see Cape Town. In fact, unless you’re coming for business and have to see Johannesburg, fly into Cape Town. There are even direct flights from Atlanta. Not that there aren’t things to do in Jo’burg. Its proximity to some game reserves, like Kruger and Pilanesburg make it a good stopping off point.

But Cape Town…

My attraction was instant. I’m a sucker for mountains, and if you put mountains by the ocean, you’ve got me hook, line, and sinker. Driving into Cape Town from the airport, Roger, my driver let me film part of the route.

As Table Mountain grew in the distance, I kept switching between the video camera and the digital camera, and then just looking in awe as we came around the bend to see the Waterfront with a live Jazz stage at full tilt.

It was the tail end of the city’s annual Jazz Festival… and I’d missed it. Not to worry, my tour of Cape Town more than made up for it, with the creme de la creme being the top of Table Mountain.

But let me back up. My hotel, the Protea Hotel President is situated in the residential area called Bantry Bay. It’s just after the city and just before Camps Bay, the city’s best beach. A good location. Quiet, and a bit removed from the hectic city, but easy to get to and from…

In fact, I picked up a double-decker topless tour bus just around the corner from The President. I’d bought a tour on the popular Red Route when I booked my room. I made my way to the top deck and took out my video camera. It was about 10:30 in the morning and the sky was nice and clear, offering spectacular views of Table Mountain and the Lion’s Head.

The bus wove its way through the touristy Waterfront and then into the heart of the city.

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And I don’t mean market bulls, either.

It’s been a rough couple days in Johannesburg, starting with my delayed flights that caused me to miss my Zurich Club chapter meeting put on by MoneyWeek SA. I was also supposed to have a round-table lunch engagement with the editors of MoneyWeek SA on Friday, but as it turns out, Friday was a school holiday and many of the editors had to leave early.

Something that should have been known before hand, I’m sure, but done is done.

And to top it all off, my rather rude “cab” ride to the airport got his bumber whacked as we were exiting. He said a few choice words and ran across several lanes of traffic to yell at the guys who hit him. It wasn’t bad, but it was his car, and the back taillight was damaged.

Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to get out of Jo’burg.

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I woke up fairly early this morning, considering my 21-hour, three-legged flight yesterday. I was still a little tired, but I was hungry, and my stomach won out, particularly since I remembered that I bought the breakfast buffet with my room stay at the Protea Hotel Balalaika.

Let me start throwing some numbers at you.

I booked two nights at this hotel for $73 a night, including the breakfast buffet. The coffee was outstanding by the way. Somewhat a cross between an espresso and a cafe americano. I was happy… I booked through Expedia, and I’m not sure if I just got a special, or if that was the regular going rate. I’m literally 200 meters from the Hilton, and a quarter mile from a large Radisson, both of which had rooms at more than triple the rate I got.

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