South Africa!!!
We arrived in Cape Town on Friday, February 24th at sunrise. I woke up bright and early to watch the ship pull into port with some of my hall mates. You know you’re up early when you can still call friends from home that are awake from the night before (it is a 7 hour time difference at this point). Anyways, the sunrise was beautiful and I was immediately taken by Cape Town- from the mountains, to the beach, to the luxurious city buildings, it offered all that a modern city could. A seal even led the ship into port, which made the early morning wake-up even more worth it.
Although I was so excited to finally get off the ship and explore amazing Cape Town, I had 2 FDPs (field practicum for my classes onboard the ship) in the way. First, I attended a poetry session for my creative writing course. Poetry is bad enough during the afternoon, much rather in the early morning without coffee. My second FDP was for anthropology and we went to the Cape Town museum, walked through the Company Gardens, and eventually ended our discussion of race relations during the Apartheid at the Slave Lodge. I attempted to make the most of these rather dull FDPs and finally as they ended I rushed to the V&A Waterfront area for one of my first of many shopping trips. Our ship was docked right by the waterfront, so immediately I realized it was a tourist trap. Unlike our other ports though, the South Africans did not harass you and beg you to buy; it was a much more modern and luxurious shopping experience (and the inflated prices only proved that). Just think shopping in Myrtle Beach, SC- this area looked just like Broadway at the Beach. The first night I went with my roommate Liz, Paige, Amanda, Meagan, and Liz’s friends (who happen to be studying abroad here for the semester) to an “authentic African restaurant” called Moyo. Although the wine was cheap (as it was everywhere in South Africa), the food was over-priced and if this was authentic African food then I would be fine not eating it ever again. After dinner it took us 3 hours to beg a taxi to come pick us up, yes I meant 3 hours. The concept of “African time” is still valid in South Africa, although not as bad as in Ghana. Now= 30 minutes, Quickly= when I get to it, Hurry= I’ll tell you 15 minutes, but really I never plan on coming. I’m really not exaggerating about this. Anyone who knows me, can tell you I am a punctual and organized person, this lack of discipline in all of Africa is truly one thing I will not miss…I had to constantly remind myself to calm down we would make it somewhere sooner or later, but just to rely on later.
Saturday morning at 4:30 am Liz and I went cage diving with Great White sharks. It was a lot of fun and a check on the bucket list! Honestly though, I can’t say I would ever do it again. It was all just too fake- luring a shark in with fish heads and chum- eh just not my thing. On the other hand, it was exciting to see a shark up close and jumping out of the water. That evening I went to a great seafood restaurant on the waterfront and got an upscale meal for less than $10 USD. I’ve come to the conclusion that food is way over-priced in the US. Afterwards Paige and I were supposed to go to the football (soccer) game at the World Cup Arena, but lost our group/tickets, so we decided to make the best of it and head back to the waterfront to watch the game etc. We went in Quay Four with the initial intent to finally try a Sahara hard-cider (which are amazing FYI) and to get free wi-fi, but somehow along the way we met the Argentinean rugby team. We spent the remainder of the night with them, as I attempted to use my broken Spanish (I impressed myself with how much I recalled, but I do really want to learn more).
Another early morning wake up. After 2 very short hours of sleep, I departed for my safari in Kruger National Park. We flew to Johannesburg, and then our tour group- Viva safaris- picked us up and drove us the remaining 6 hours to Marc’s Treehouse Lodge in Northern South Africa. The next 2 days were spent in Kruger and on other small game reserves spotting animals such as- elephants, giraffes (my favorite), zebra, impala, water buffalo, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus, but sadly no cats! So therefore, I did not see 2 of the Big 5 – lion and leopard, I think I’ll survive though. The safari was a great experience and something on my bucket list, but like shark diving, I don’t know that I ever want to do it again. It is just a lot of money to see the animals from so far away if you ask my opinion.
The last day in Cape Town I rode the train to Boulder’s Beach, about an hour away. The train ride was pretty uncomfortable at first, especially since my friends and I were the only white people on the train. We later learned that we were supposed to ride in the first class seating and a fellow SASer was threatened that they would get thrown off the train for not riding in first class. Thankfully none of this drama happened to my friends and I, but just to be safe we rode in first class on the way back to Cape Town. You can definitely say that the Apartheid still affects the daily lives of all South Africans, especially the division between the rich and poor. Anyways, back to Boulder Beach, we went there to see the penguin colony! The beaches were absolutely beautiful and the penguins were everywhere and we even got to swim with them. Beware though, they may look cute but they are mean- there are signs everywhere warning you that they will bite and in half of my pictures I look scared. Later in the afternoon, I finished my last minute shopping at the waterfront stocking up on gifts for family and I since this was our last modern port for a while.
I was most excited for South Africa of all the ports and I can honestly say that it has been my favorite so far, next to Brazil. I will definitely make every attempt to come back here again in my life, and spend much more time than 6 days. Like everyone says- “Semester at Sea is like a sampler tray, you get to see and try everything and decide the countries that you want to go back to”. I did not have time to go to the Stellenbosch wineries, hike Table Mountain, or visit a township all of which I plan to do on a further visit. Although I missed some things I am very thankful for all that I did squeeze in to 6 days and my body is thoroughly exhausted. Now as we head to the paradise island of Mauritius it is time to catch up on many hours of sleep and ace my midterms…wish me luck!
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