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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Well, I can’t say that I’m having fun yet. It’s been more of a comedy of errors, without the comedy.

I started off well enough in Baltimore. The security lines were short, and I was prepared - shoes, belt, and jacket off, laptop out of the bag. I was at the gate very early and kicked back to enjoy a coffee. That’s when the enjoyment stopped.

My first leg of the trip was to Atlanta, but before we even hit the runway, the captain came on the speaker saying that the tower had to evacuate because of a fire alarm.

Now, it was a false alarm, but we were delayed a good 45 minutes.

That meant I had to run to my gate to catch my 3:50pm flight… and wouldn’t you know, the international terminal is on the other side of the airport. I think I need to exercise more, cause I was really out of breath. And I was worried that my bag wouldn’t make it.

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I had lunch with the Taipan Publishing Group’s executive publisher, Sandy Franks, today. I collaborate with Sandy on my Taipan Insider articles that come out every Tuesday and Thursday.

We talked about my next trip… I’d been considering Australia, and contributing editor Archie Bayvel has offered to help me put together some great contacts, but he said I’d have to be nuts to come visit during “The Wet.” So I’ve pushed that trip back.

In the meantime, South Africa is on my radar.

In the past few days, I’ve seen a number of negative articles about Africa:

• Botswana Diamond Firm Shuts Mines
• South Africa Sees Economy Shrink
• Zambian Miners Hit by Copper Slump
• Wilting Flower Ecports Hit Zambia
• Economic Ill Winds Hitting Africa

So my goal will be to find out how South Africa, the economic hub and biggest market south of the Sahara, is fairing. South Africa is supposed to be hosting the World Cup in 2010. That means a lot of hotel construction and infrastructure investments. I have to say, there’s been a lot of discussion about whether or not the country will be ready in time, but tickets have already gone on sale, and there’s no turning back.

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