Ah South Africa, this was the craziest port yet! On the Day we docked I was up at 5:45 to get my first glimpse of the Table Mountain (which is keep calling the mesa and no one knows what I am talking about) and oh was it worth it. The view from the ship was spectacular and I watched the sun rise with about 300 other students. I then went to breakfast with Laura and Alexa (two girls from Puerto Rico). After that I went with a group of folks to the Victoria Warf, which here is just called the V and A water front. The whole are is a large indoor/outdoor mall and it was a ton of fun just walking around. We had lunch at a fast food place called steer and I got a burger. It also was the first burger joint I have ever been to that didn’t have ketchup, what they did have was Thousand Island dressing and bbq sauce. After that we went back to the ship to meet up with our FDP groups. I was touring downtown Cape Town with my history professor to see the impact of imperialism and how English culture had mixed with the local ones. We saw a lot of really cool buildings and even saw Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu’s church. After that we came back to the ship and I went out to dinner with Mike, we went to this great little place called the Fishermen’s Tavern in the V&A and oh it was good. I got fish and Chips, calamari, and a Castle beer. It was all so good. Then we walked with a group of SAS’ers to a local pub and club and it seemed like the whole ship was there. There were teachers, crew, and of course a ton of students and we hung out there until about midnight.
Day two
On day two we went with my geography teacher to Robbin Island where Nelson Mandela and so many other political prisoners had been held during the apartheid era. It was originally a supply dock for the Portuguese and then was held by the Dutch and then was taken back by the Portuguese and then taken by the British. The island was a fair size and still has a few hundred people living on it in the areas that were once correctional officer housing. We took a short bus ride around the island and then went on a tour through it. This was an amazing tour because it was led by a man who had been imprisoned there for 20 some years. He had been a student that had shown up at a demonstration and by the end he had been shot by a rubber bullet and was taken into custody. The prison itself was a miserable looking concrete fortress and had both large communal rooms where up to 30 men would be held, to these little isolation rooms like where Mandela was held. We toured the prison for about an hour and then headed back to the ferry to go back to the mainland. The ride coming had been great but going back we bounced all over the place and a bunch of people were puking over the railing. After I got back to the ship I met up with Mike and Brynn and we got ready to head to the town of Kommetjie where we had rented a house on the beach. Oh that place was cool! It took us about an hour to drive there but it was so worth it. It was only about 100 yards from one of the most amazing beaches I have ever seen. That night we went into the town and found this little restaurant owned by a guy named Mike and his wife. We had a great dinner that night, we ordered their signature burgers which had portabella mushrooms on them and oh man they were amazing!!!! We also had a bottle of this wonderful South African Chardonnay. Afterwards we walked back to our little house and for the first time since I left I was able to skype with my family.
Day Three
Day three started at 4:30 am Mike and Brynn were going shark driving and we had to get back to the ship so we struggled out of bed and were on our way by 4:45. We got back to the ship at about 5:30 am and Mike and Brynn met up with their group while I headed to my room on the ship for another 3 hours of sleep. When I woke up I met up with my Anthropology teacher and headed out to a San’s native preserve. It took us about 2 hours to get the preserve but it was so cool. We were met by members of the San’s tribe and they showed us the basic elements of their click language, after that they put us in these trailers that were towed by John Deere tractors and they took us out to a recreation of one of their traditional villages. They showed us their basic critter traps and all the uses they for ostrich eggs, it was really cool to see just how they were able to stretch meager resources to keep their tribes going. They also made sure we knew that there were still tribes further north that still lived the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. After this tour we headed back to the ship, and I met up with Mike and Brynn again to go to dinner and then head back to the villa. That night we went out and relaxed on the beach for several hours. The beach was massive, at least 100 years wide and miles long. The lady who owned the villa told us that there are several large surfing competitions there every year. That night we called it an early night because we were all so burned out, and we also had a 6 am cab to catch back to the ship.
Day 3
The next morning we got back to the ship around 7:30 and once we reequipped and we walked to the train station. We took the train to Stanlenbach which was about 2 ½ hours away and went on a tour of several of the vineyards. One that we went to was also a leopard preserve so we got to see some big cats!!! The wines were amazing and were crazy cheap! Another vineyard we went to did a wine and chocolate paring which was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. After we finished with the wine tours we caught the train back to Cape Town. On the ride back we met a guy who had grown up in the townships and we talked with him the whole way back. He was full of insights about continuing racism in the South Africa, which was made all the more interesting because the only side we had heard was from white elites, so to hear it from the perspective of a black man was really cool. When we got back to the ship we went out to dinner at Quay Four and I got fish and chips along with oysters and a Hansen beer. It was another great dinner in Cape Town! After dinner I met up with another group of about 20 people who were all going to the Mercury Bar which was about a 10 minute cab ride away. When we got to the bar it was insane it was about half locals and about half Semester at Sea. I had a great conversation with a few South Afrikaners who couldn’t believe that I was not currently on a rugby team and wanted me to join theirs. I said I wasn’t in town for long but they bought me a beer anyway. At about 11:30 I decided it was time to head home and went out front to see if there were any other SASers calling it an early night. I met up with two guys and we set about picking a cab. We skipped the first one because it was not really a cab, but the second one was a state licensed cab with a working meter. We jumped in the cab and started home, however after we had driven for about 5 minutes the driver pulled out a 9mm handgun and the two guys I was with bailed out of the moving vehicle. I put my hands up and handed over my wallet and a small point and shoot camera that I was carrying. He then let me out of the vehicle and sped off. I saw a police check point in the distance and ran to it, and sat down with the officer. After about 45 minutes a cop car showed up and I was told to get in the back and they would take me back to the ship. However, for some reason the officers drove around for over an hour and then asked me to get out of the vehicle and they told me to take 400 rand out of an ATM. I told the officers that I had already been robbed and was unable to use the ATM. This didn’t seem to please them much but they put me back in the car for about five minutes then pulled me out again and put me into a cab they had called. This cab actually drove me back to general area where our ship was docked and as soon as he drove off I ran faster than I have ever have in my life to get back the ship. Once I was back on the ship the security crew had me fill out an incident report and by the time everything was said and done I only had 15 minutes till I was suppose to meet Brynn for our 6:15 am Safari. So I ran back to my room grabbed my big camera and another credit card and was ready to head out!
Day 5
Well day 5 was really just a continuation of day 4 but Brynn and I headed out to Long Street to meet up with our Safari group. Our plan was meet the group and head to the Aquila Game reserve. On our way there a short black man walked up and handed me my stolen wallet and then took off. I was so surprised I didn’t know what to do. All the money had been taken out and the debit card was missing along with a few expired gift cards but everything else was still there! So I still have my trusty wallet!!! Anyways we got to our meeting point and boarded the van to Aquila. The next thing I knew Brynn was shaking me trying to get me to wake up! We had finished the 3 hour drive and were at the reserve!!! We went to the restaurant and had a great breakfast of fresh OJ and some pastries. We then went out to this big ATV truck and got in the back and were off on our “safari”!!! We saw Lions, Elephants, hippos, Rhinos, and a large number of smaller animals like springboks (they are like little deer). After the 4 hour safari we came back to the restaurant and had a great lunch of all these African dishes! I didn’t recognize most but they were all sooooooo good!!! Then we spent some time just sitting on their large shaded porch and looked out over the reserve, it was amazing! Then we headed back to the ship and I slept for the next 16 hours!!!
Day 6
I woke up at 8 am and had to go talk to the ship’s security team again. They wanted to know if I wanted to report my incident. I said it really wasn’t worth the time and didn’t want to deal with the police here anymore anyway. So I spent a very calm day walking the water front and going to the Victoria Warf. I ended up getting a really cool South African hat that has a full brim but is mesh on the top so I don’t die of heat! I also got an old school Springbok Rugby jersey to go with my Scotland Ranger jersey. Then I made my way back to the ship before on ship time at 6.
Overall, South Africa was an amazing place and I plan on coming back one day. I really want to go see Roark’s Drift just outside of Johannesburg. The people on the whole were really nice and always ready to talk or give you directions. The venders were nowhere near as pushy and aggressive as the ones in Ghana which was also a nice change of pace. And now we off to Mauritius for one day and then off to INDIA!!!!
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