South Africa :D

Cape Town, South Africa
Fri, Sept 26 – Thurs, Oct 2

After spending a long rough night on the ocean, sailing toward the cape, we arrived in South Africa. My initial reaction to South Africa was Wow! It was breathtakingly gorgeous. The city of Cape Town is set on the water and in front of the very tall, Table Mountain. It kind of looks like a…table, very flat and long. The first day I spent wandering the waterfront. There is a lot of action in that area due to the incredible amount of tourists who visit. I ate at a small hidden pub on the first night. It is always so strange to eat a couple tables over from someone smoking a cigarette. They served lots of different types of steaks, Ostrich, zebra, as well as schnitzels and seafood. Then we treated ourselves to Hagen’ Doz. Heard of it?
The next day a whole group of us from the boat took an all day tour into the wine lands. There are so many vineyards in South Africa! A European influence, of course. It was spectacular. The morning was spent bicycling through the mountains. I was a bit surprised because I thought it would be some leisurely ride through the vineyards, but I was pleasantly surprised. We rode for a couple of hours to one of the wineries were we were offered a large array of tasting options. The winery treated us to a picnic lunch and we then set off for the second winery. That wrapped up the day, so we headed back for the ship.
On Sunday two friends Ali, Caitlyn and I made arrangements to take a day trip to Cape Point. It was a beautiful two hour drive. The other passengers in our tour van were from, Ireland, Germany, Spain, and England. I was blown away by the number of languages and accents going on! I shot so many photos on the way there because the landscapes were constantly changing and it was just plain stunning! We must have seen half a dozen humpback whales from the road side. The entire drive was along the coast line. We past many towns that draped themselves down the hillside, and overlooked the water. When we got to the point, the driver warned us about the baboons. The baboons have built a strong reputation for aggressively stealing food from people. There were warning signs everywhere, cautioning people to keep any food out of sight. I sat in the parking lot eating my sandwich. I was slightly terrified that I might be surprise attached at any moment by these food thieves. Luckily I am still in one piece today, although I did see those buggers more than once. We walked up to the lighthouse that was perched at the very edge of the point. At the light house, there is a post sticking out of the ground pointing to the direction of major capital cities around the world. On the way back to the ship we enjoyed a beautiful ride back, along the opposite coast line. Our tour guide was a fairly light hearted fellow. Our entire trip was supposed to be from 1:30 to 5:30p.m. but the guide was willing to lengthen it till quarter past seven since, he explained, his wife would just have put him to work anyways if he were to return home early.
The following day, I hopped on a school trip to Robben Island, a historical sight which was once a leopard colony and later a prison where black government resistors were eventually held. The tour took us to Nelson Mandela’s prison cell. All of the cells are ridiculously small. Yes, I have seen the inside of prisons in movies such as the Shashank Redemption, but when looking at it personally, I can just imagine what it must have been to be locked in one. My cabin on the ship is itty bitty but it is at least twice as big as that cold concrete space. I also say the last cemetery left of what used to be many from when the island was a leopard colony. They were almost all destroyed with the creation of the prison and the housing of those who worked in the prison and their families. It seemed somewhat strange that in such a historically important location, there were hundreds of Penguins wobbling around!
I went to the Malay district in Cape Town. A group of students and teachers were shown around to the different shops for spices and kosher meats. We were invited into the house of a Muslim family. The mother in the household taught us how to make samosas along with many other dishes. We sat down for lunch and ate many dishes. We had chicken and curry, ate with fried flat bread that we made ourselves. For desert we were treated to tea and these bread balls coated with sugar water and sprinkled with sweetened coconut. The meal was a great change from the routine ship food. We left with happy, full bellies. Oh, how I miss home-cooked food!!
At the last minute on Wednesday, I was fortunate to be able to hop on a school trip to the Amy Biehl foundation. Amy Biehl was a Stanford student who was studying in South Africa on a scholarship. She was dedicated to the fight against apartheid. One day she was giving a friend a lift back to her township. There was a heated rally going on in the streets. The slogan was “one settler, one bullet.” She was white and therefore a settler. She was taken from her car by the ralliers and brutally killed. Her parents decided to take on the cause of their daughter and created the Amy Biehl foundation. It provides help to schools as well as afterschool activities for students, such as dance, music, singing, sports, etc. It also helps to provide resources to students in townships. I went to the headquarters in Cape Town as well as one of its project schools in a township. All South African schools were on holiday that week but that didn’t stop students coming from many schools around to put on a performance for us. It was absolutely fantastic! The Dancing was incredible to say the least. Boys of no older than ten years old were dancing like miniature Michael Jacksons. Some women put on a traditional African dance. Brass instruments were played, drums were beat, and others belted out singing. I was impressed by how accomplished all of these students were. They had really made these activities their own and excelled. We were taken to a near by bed and breakfast, for a late lunch. The owner was such a humble lady. I can’t imagine that it would be easy for any woman, let alone black woman to run her own business. She served us traditional Xhosa food, which consisted of chicken and beef, sautéed cabbage sweet bread, rice and garbanzo-like beans with beef gravy. It was really delicious and much needed after such a big morning. In the ship’s conference room that evening, Arch Bishop Desmund Tutu came and spoke to us! He came for a quick forty-five minute stop then had to leave. On a previous voyage he was a partial voyager, meaning that he sailed for one port to another, teaching South African history to students. He enjoyed that experience and keeps Semester At Sea close to his heart. I loved hearing him speak. He is so light hearted and he laughs like a little kid! It was refreshing to hear his perception of humanity. He spoke of how all people are inherently good, and it is maybe fortunate we don’t see all of the glory within us…Otherwise we might be blinded by the purity and goodness that we all shine! Not even an hour after he left two of the men who were convicted and put in prison for Amy Biehl’s murder came to the conference room and spoke of their experiences. It was captivating to hear their story and how they have changed their lives since. They now work for Biehl’s parents with the foundation they started. It was a pretty touching story of forgiveness.
Around these trips I managed to squeeze in time for perusing through the water front. I visited their gigantic mall, stopping for some much needed time at the internet café. I also got to try different cuisines. Some friends and I sampled lots of seafood, South African favorites like ostrich, and made small pit stops for gelato as well.
South Africa was an awesome experience!
I will be back on this ship until oct. 14th.