Cape Town and Beyond

After being the organizer of the first three days I was happy to relinquish all control on the fourth day in Cape Town. We picked up our rented car Ryan and I made our way to pick up one of his friends who had been living in Cape Town working in a program called Africa Jam which provides a safe interactive space for teens living in the townships to be creative through dance, art, music, theatre, etc. The three of us headed off to Stellenbosch and then Parrl to meet up with other friends of Ryan's (he's been here a number of times) and go wine tasting. i have never been wine tasting but it Boschendall seemed like the idyllic place for a first timer. As we sat under the huge oak tree sipping our varieties of wine the mountains rose in the distance beyond the rows of leafy green grape vines. It truly was picturesque.
For dinner we had a Gatsby, and if you ever go to Cape Town you must try it! This sandwich was the largest thing I have ever seen. It looks like a large sub-sandwich however it is filled with pulled chicken, lettuce, tomato, some sauce they call Portuguese sauce, french fries and who knows what else. It was absolutely glorious and I am drooling now just thinking of it! From the sophistication of wine tasting to yummy greasy food I enjoyed every second.

Sunday morning was a lazy one, hanging around the waterfront enjoying the day. However, that afternoon I, along with Brooke and Michelle, trekked up Table Mountain. If you Google image search "Cape Town" I am sure one of the first views you will see is that of this beautifully plateaued mountain in the center of the city. We couldn't have picked a more perfect day. Most days the clouds come pouring over the mountain appearing to be its tablecloth; however, on Sunday, none were in site. We wanted to make it in time for sunset but we had to time it just right because sunset is around 7:20pm and the last cable car down is at 7:30pm. The hike was aw-inspiring and both the view and difficulty took my breath away. In all honesty, it wasn't too difficult but something you certainly don't want to rush. We reached the top just in time to hear the announcement that the ticket office would be closing in 5 minuets, watched the sun go down, and were down the mountain by 7:35pm.

Monday and most of Tuesday were spent on SAFARI! We gathered on the bus and drove the 2 1/2 hours to Aquila Game Reserve. I, not getting must sleep the night before, slept the entire way! You come to find, after traveling around for bit, that when you sit down on the bus or in a car, you take the time to doze because you don't know when you will get another chance. The reserve consisted of a number of large gates, thatch covered small buildings, and a breath-taking view. We had lunch, settled into our rooms, and reclined by the pool waiting for our 5pm game drive. Between the Monday night ride and the 6am ride the next morning we saw everything: giraffe, lions, springbuck, buffalo, zebra, wildebeast, hippos, rhinos, and even elephants - along with a number of animals I could not identify. Aquila is a small reserve that just made its start 7 years ago. They are working to get more and more animals and hoping they will mate in the reserve. Because of a lot of the settlement in Cape Town many of the animals were forced north and have not returned so the reserve is trying to bring back animals that were once native to the area. In fact, while on the reserve I saw a rhino that the guide referred to as a baby, which I didn't entirely understand because he was so large! However, apparently he is the first white rhino to be born in the Western Cape in nearly 300 years!!!

We return to Cape Town with a couple of hours to grab the necessities and jump on the ship. Due to high winds we were advised to stay docked until the port authority determined it safe to leave the harbor. I must admit, I was quite sad to leave Cape Town. It was a beautiful city and one I hope to return to. I met the friendlies people and fell in love with everything that i did.

Getting back on the ship has been a new experience. We are more than halfway now and officially only have a month left of school. Everything is just flying by. Most of the time, when you talk to people who have studied abroad they feel obligated to say it is the most amazing time of their lives, which is true in my case as well, but that doesn't discount the fact that it can be difficult. Day in and day out on the ship can be monotonous and I miss the simply pleasure of taking a walk, or going out to lunch, or even sitting in a park with my book. This will be the longest stretch we are onboard and know by the time we hit Spain everyone will be ready for a break. However, they are keeping up quite busy. Things have really started to pick up in school and we are getting down to the wire with papers, tests, and projects. In two days there will actually be a wedding on the ship! One of my professors is marrying her longtime partner. It's pretty cute and we are all pitching in to help out with the big day. Then we will have a 12 hour stint in Cape Verde, where I hope to try surfing again and then back to the classroom and off to Spain.

We pass the time by studying, or pretending to study, and religiously checking our emails. So if you get bored and have a few tid-bits to share, I would love to hear how everyone is doing. To whomever reads this and wherever it reaches you I hope this finds to healthy and happy.