Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Cape Town is running out of water. Sounds like a great time to visit.



In case you missed it, Cape Town South Africa is running out of water.  As a result, they have instituted severe restrictions on water use.  Each person is allowed 13.2 gallons per person per day.  That translates to a 2 minute shower and 3 flushes a day.  And even with those restrictions they are due to turn the taps off on July 9th. (Steinhauser, 2018)

So you can imagine my surprise when I was served a "Visit Cape Town" ad on Instagram last week.

I suppose it made sense to them because I have visited Cape Town in the past and have posted photos from that trip on my Instagram.  But still.  Do they think I don't know how to read?  Or that I don't want to take showers when I am on vacation?

When I went to Cape Town, in January 2000, Nelson Mandela was stepping down.  There was rioting in the streets and the Hard Rock Cafe was bombed.  When I heard that they were running out of water.  All I could think was  - oh boy - this is going to get ugly.

So save your money on Instagram.  You're going to need it for more important things.  And I will not be visiting Cape Town again, no matter how many ads you run.

Here's a link to the blog I posted when President Mandela died.


Steinhauser, G. (2018, March 3) Parched South Africa City Struggles to Avoid 'Day Zero': Water Shutdown.  wsj.com  Retrieved March 5, 2018, from

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