Cape Town, South Africa

Oh South Africa… what a place! We approached Cape Town on February 14th to a very overcast sky. Due to all of the clouds and rain that was in the area that port was actually closed for the morning and we arrived 4 hours later than scheduled. It killed many of us to sit off the coastline and be able to see land but not get off the ship for so long. People were really starting to get quite restless and I can only imagine what people will be like when we arrive in San Diego. Since we were so late, many people missed their trips that were supposed to have early departures from Cape Town International and therefore had to run around and try to re-book flights and hotel rooms and various other details.

The 4 hour delay was actually a blessing for me because it gave me an extra few hours to finalize details on the 4 day Safari that I had booked about 20 hours before I had to be on a plane on my way to Kruger National Park… on the other side of South Africa. Yes… I know it was quite last minute, but as I have said before I am learning that this trip is about taking risks and just sailing along for the ride. As a person that very much needs to have a regular schedule and likes to know exactly where I need to be and when I need to be there, this has been a total change of pace for me. I am learning to love it!!!

I spent the early afternoon of my first day in Cape Town making phone calls to the lodge that Jess (my friend from Pittsburgh who goes to Penn State) and I would be staying in before our Safari. I also walked around the waterfront area and explored a bit where our ship was docked. The waterfront area reminds me a lot of Baltimore or Annapolis and is truly beautiful. It was not what I expected, and I was quite pleasantly surprised. There is a huge western mall just footsteps from the ship (complete with an Apple Computer Store, a Hallmark, and a store that almost resembled Target.) The waterfront also had tons of restaurants, a Nike concept store, and a small amphitheater where there was constant live entertainment. Like I said, it was nothing what I expected South Africa to be. After exploring a little bit, I had to meet Jess back at the ship around 6:00 to drive to the airport for our evening flight to Johannesburg. The flight was fine and like Brazil I was once again impressed with the standards of non-US airlines. South African Airways really prides themselves on their hospitality and when they say they will do anything they can to make your flight more comfortable, they really mean that they will do anything. Jess and I had already eaten dinner before the flight and since it would be almost unheard of for South African Airways to not serve a full meal on one of their flights, Jess and I politely declined, however, since it was Valentine’s Day our chocolate cravings were in full swing. We asked the flight attendant if she could do anything to find some chocolate and within about 5 minutes she returned with some chocolate bars that she had found complete with Happy Valentine’s Day written on the label. It may sound insignificant, however, she really went out of her way to do something nice for us and we appreciated it. It might be generalizing, but I can’t imagine that US Airways would do something like that just to satisfy two girls’ sweet teeth on Valentine’s Day. You are lucky if you get 4 pretzels in the bags that they serve these days.

Jess and I met a local South African businessman and talked to him on the flight for a bit. He started the conversation by asking us how long we American girls would be spending on our “holiday” in South Africa. We asked him how he knew we were Americans on vacation. He said… and I quote… “It wouldn’t be less obvious that you were Americans if you had flashing light bulbs above your heads that said American.” So much for blending in and not acting like tourists. Oh well. He was very nice and clued us in on some local terminology to make us stand out a little less. I think it is mostly the accent that we Americans use that really is the factor that makes us stand out.

After a two hour flight we arrived in Johannesburg. The manager of the lodge picked us up and drove us back to the lodge. While we were driving, we could tell that we were in a really nice part of Johannesburg, but we had no idea that we would be staying in a mansion for the evening. After we arrived and I picked my jaw off the ground from shock at how beautiful the place was. There were 5 guest rooms that were beautifully decorated in all white linens and huge over stuffed furniture. It was just beautiful. We woke up the next morning at 6:30 and had a quick breakfast at the lodge and met our guide, Phillip, and got in the jeep and headed towards Kruger. It was about a 5 hour drive and by the time we got there we were ready for our first game drive through the park. In total over the 4 days we had 6 game drives and were successful in seeing what Africa calls the “Big 5.” The Big 5 are lions, buffalo, elephants, leopards, and rhino. We missed the leopards, but were no more than 5 feet away from any of the other animals. I was able to take some really amazing pictures, and only wish that I could have had more time in the park for the game drives. We also saw giraffe, hippos, wildebeest, all kinds of birds, zebra. Basically, you name it, and it was there! The best time of the day to see animals in either in the early morning or the late afternoon/ evening, so the trip included lots of long days and early wake up calls. It was all worth it though to be able to see some of the animals that I saw. We took a night drive on our second night in the park and it was really amazing to drive in an open air jeep in the late evening when everything is starting to settle in for the night. I just can’t describe what it is like to watch a lioness and her cubs hunting in total darkness less than 3 feet away from your jeep. It is really amazing.

After what seemed like mere hours in the park we had to head back to Johannesburg to catch a flight back to Cape Town early Saturday morning. (Are you getting the feeling that I don’t sleep much on this trip?) We arrived in Cape Town and was greeted by the same little taxi driver that took us to the airport a few days earlier and he drove us back to the ship. He had told us that he would come back and pick us up after we returned from our Safari, but Jess and I didn’t believe him. I guess it just goes to show you the kindness of the South African people. They really are wonderful!! The taxi driver told us that two students were kicked off of our ship for possession of drugs and he had heard the news from standing at the end of the pier at speaking with the security officials from our ship. Sure enough, when we got back to the ship and asked around, the taxi driver was correct… two students were asked to leave- no questions asked. They don’t mess around here, that’s for sure!

After a relaxing day in Cape Town, I went out to dinner on the waterfront with some friends. We all ate fresh seafood and enjoyed ourselves constantly reminding each other that we were actually in Cape Town and encouraged one another to soak up every minute of this experience that is possible. Yes, it sounds corny, but when you are here experiencing the things that I have been experiencing, I just have to take a minute every once a while to remind myself how fortunate I am to be doing the things that I am doing this semester. It’s a once in a life time experience and I am SO grateful!!!

Monday finally arrived and it was my last day in Cape Town. It was incredibly bittersweet because as much and I didn’t want to leave I know there are still so many things on this trip that I am looking forward to. I went to Robben Island, the prison island where Nelson Mandela was held during his struggle against Apartheid in the morning. It was a very interesting tour and all of the tours are actually led by a political prisoner that was once on the island. Prisoners were separated by race and were put into groups. There were awful divisions between the race classes as far as who was able to eat what each day, and who was able to exercise and study each day. Obviously, blacks were treated as second class citizens and received less food, time for exercise, and time for study than the other prisoners received.

As if the last day in Cape Town wasn’t packed enough, after Robben Island, I headed off to the Cape Winelands with 5 of my friends for a quick vineyard tour, wine tasting, and lunch at a restaurant called Moyo. The vineyard was beautifully situated between the mountains and the Mediterranean climate of South Africa makes it a perfect place to grow grapes… and let me tell you the grapes are pretty perfect here because the wine is as close to perfection as I have ever tasted. Lunch was incredible too and at the restaurant they paint your face and there are tables situated in the trees. After a quick stop at a local market outside of the vineyard we jumped in a taxi for the 40 minute ride back to the ship. We left Cape town last night (Monday, February 20) and I already can’t wait to come back.

I could write forever on this port, but I realize if you have gotten to this point you have read over 2.5 pages of single spaced text- so thanks for getting through to the end. Thank you also to everyone for the e-mails. It is so great to keep in touch with everyone from home and it means the world to me that you are following me on this incredible journey that I am on. Tell you friends and family about this program…. encourage people to read about it and consider it… I’m less than ½ way through my voyage and I already want as many students (and adult passengers can travel on this program too!) as possible to be able to experience what I am experiencing because I can already feel that its changing me. I love it out here and I am so thankful for the opportunity to live and learn about this incredible world of ours this semester.

Thanks for reading and look for more updates soon!!
Love,
Leah