Cape Town

Day one:

We woke up to the song Waka waka playing on the intercom- the view out of our window was the sun rising and hitting table mountain- not a bad wake up call. It took a while to get through immigration but since it started so early we were off the ship and getting the shuttle into the town by 10:30 am. The weather was absolutely perfect- and the sky was bright blue with incredible whispy white clouds. We were dropped off at the v&a waterfront which is a cobble stone walking area on the water with tons of shops, restaurants, bars, places to sit, vendors, etc. Traveling in a group of 4 was absolutely perfect for the day.   We stopped (circa 11am) for Beer and margaritas at Mitchell's brewery on the waterfront. We did some people watching and chatted with our awesome waiter. Inside the bar was a semester at sea flag that had been given by a captain a few years ago. We convinced the owner to let us sign it so he unlocked it from the display window and the 4 of us signed it!  We walked across the street to get sandwiches at a cute cafe- it was one of the most amazing delicious crispy French baguette with avocado, cheese and chicken sandwiches of my life (and it helped the fact I have been eating crappy ship food for the past 2 weeks) but the 4 of us were in heaven: people watching and eating delicious food.   We walked around the waterfront a bit more then headed over to the Ferry to robben island- Lucas had purchased tickets weeks ago which is so lucky because they are sold out all week! The ferry we took was actually a ferry that prisoners were transported on. The views from the boat of table mountain and the city of Cape Town against the blue clouds that looked like marble wisps in the sky with the perfect weather and cool breeze was absolutely incredible. 

Robben island is actually huge so we got on a bus with a tour guide who drove us around the town (people actually live in the island and kids ferry over to Cape Town each day for class) the population is very small and there really isn't a town just some beautifully painted concrete houses. When we got to the prison we had our Tour with an ex prisoner. He was in prison for 4 years then he worked at the prison and he was the one who drove the car that Nelson Mandela was in when he was freed. Our guide had such a profound voice- slow, very loud and deep. He was honestly very hard to understand and when I tried to ask him questions he was very slow and hesitant to answer. I can't imagine how he takes tourists around all day and yet this history is so strong and real to him I bet it's almost frustrating for him because there is no way by a four hour visit we can even begin to understand what he has gone through. We saw Mandela's cell- which was tiny and we were able to walk around more cells that had stories on plaques which were so interesting to read.   The 4 hour visit flew by but I am so glad we took the time to go to the island and learn more about the history that is so recent and real for the people of South Africa.   The ferry ride back was on more of a yacht this time and we had fun meeting some more local people who were very funny and happy people. The view of table mountain coming back was even prettier this time.   When we got back we walked around a bit then got in a cab to head to haut bay market. We found an awesome driver, Nemo, who's old Mercedes struggled to get up the hills. The drive to haut bay was about 30 minutes but we drove along the coast and through a few towns like camps bay- the road was windy and went up into the cliffs then dropped back down by the ocean and reminded a bit of the California coast- absolutely gorgeous!   We put all our faith in Lucas taking us to this cool market and we were a bit nervous this long cab ride wasn't going to be worth it but we couldn't have been more wrong. This was the best market of all the countries I have been to. It was half clothing/ jewelry/shoes/ homemade arts and crafts and the other half drinks/ food/ bar local organic vendors and to top it off there was live music! It was so fun to shop, drink and eat. We got and shared thin crust bacon avocado pizza, lamb sandwich, prime rib sandwich and a few other things then many deserts and mojiots! Nemo waited for us and drove us back to long street for a fun night of going out! There were lots of semester at sea kids at the bar we went to and a great dj! I made it back safe and sound but took a while to get back because the port is soo confusing! Back on the ship I got to hear all about Morgan and Bridget's fun day too and we all concluded that Cape Town is incredible and we never want to leave!

 

Day Two:
We woke up around 8:30 to get off the ship to get picked up for our safari! It was a bit of a wait because the driver got lost picking us up and the port we were at is super confusing to get around. We finally got picked up and we were off on the 3 hour drive to Aquila Private Game Reserve. I did the safari with Bridget, Gretchen, Abby, Alex, and Sadie. Gretchen has become one of my really good friends on the ship and the other three girls are absolutely awesome and I am so excited to have gotten closer with them. The countryside of Cape Town is gorgeous. The mountains are massive and rise out of nowhere with big fields, wine vineyards, and cute towns. When we got to Aquila we were so shocked at how beautiful and nice it was. The resort has a big nice pool, fire pit, 10-15 private bungalows, a lounge/bar, and a big beautiful dining area. It felt very African and rustic and was stunningly beautiful. We saw elephants walk literally 200 yards away when we were having lunch! They had a gorgeous big buffet for the guests and we enjoyed that with a few Savanna’s (the local hard cider that everyone drinks) and wine! There are peacocks walking around the grounds so they were fun to play with! After relaxing for a bit and checking into our cute bungalows we were off on our 3-hour evening game drive! It was the 6 of us girls plus one other couple in the safari truck. The park is gorgeous- I really cant describe just how huge the African sun is and the light it gives off which makes everything look even more stunning. We saw Hippos, zebras, lions, elephants, rhinos, tons of springbok, and birds. We took pictures and just soaked in the beauty. We stopped half way for champagne and snacks too. The whole time being able to see the animals so up-close was so cool. Literally I 5 feet away from these animals and it was awesome!! After the game drive we came back and showered, had another delicious dinner, drinks, and relaxed by the fire pit. The stars were some of the most incredible I have ever seen. With my astronomy knowledge I taught some of my friends new Southern hemisphere constellations! We slept like babies that night- beds were soo comfy!

 

Day Three

We were up by 6am for our morning game drive. We got some coffee and some Wheaties (little biscotti cookies Africans use to dip in their coffee) and headed out. The sun rise was incredible and seeing more animals was awesome! We also got to see the animal rehabilitation center at Aquila and they are really doing good things to help and protect animals from all over. After the game drive we were back at the resort for breakfast and lounging by the pool until our driver came to take us back to cape town. The Safari was such a highlight of my trip and I loved doing it with new people who are now some of my good friends! It was very relaxing and fun to be out in nature with a down to earth and relaxed group. I know for sure I want to come back and do a longer safari but this one night was absolutely perfect given the time we had and we saw so many amazing animals!

 

Gretchen found us an awesome apartment on long street which is a famous street in cape town for the best restaurants, cafes, bars, shops, etc. It was perfect and we wanted to eat, shop, and drink at every single place! We kept on saying over and over how we wish we had another 3 weeks here! Bridget, Ginger, Gretchen and I stayed at the apartment, which was perfect!

That afternoon Bridget Gretchen and I dropped our stuff then walked around long street, got food and beers at Salt and Pepper then went grocery shopping so we would have snacks and breakfast and supplies to cook a dinner one night! After this we showered and got a taxi to Camps Bay for dinner! Camps Bay is about 15 minutes away and is a big long beach with a boulevard with lots of awesome restaurants. We went to one that was recommended to us and had a great time with some locals at the table next door. One of the guys was blowing fire with the candle oil from the table! After dinner we went right next door to Café Caprice which is the place to go out on Sunday nights. It was packed and we had a great time! I met up with Olivia (my friend from Deerfield) and it was awesome to hang out and catch up!! We talked straight for about 2 hours!

Day 4

We were up by 8am for our wine tasting Tour! Quite an early morning given our night before and the fact that we would be drinking all day long! We were picked up by our “Wine Lord” a hilarious guy who was incredibly knowledgeable about wine. For example Ginger asked him “Do you have Advil” to which he responded- “no. We call it champagne”.  I had organized a group of 11 of us to go to 5 different wineries- It was 10 girls and one guy! We drove to the first one about 30 minutes away and started with a champagne tasting and spent the most time learning about the process of wine making- literally from the grapes (we went out into the field and picked grapes off the vines) to the de-stemming, crushing, fermenting, blending, storing, tasting, bottling, labeling, distributing process. It was really interesting and I learned a ton. We proceeded to 4 more vineyards where we did cheese tasting and pairing, chocolate tasting at another, lunch at one, and just lots and lots of wine! We had an absolute blast. The weather was warm and the driving between the vineyards and seeing the countryside was awesome. The group was really fun and we bought lots of wine and cheese along the way!

We got back to cape town around 6 pm and headed the Beer House where they literally have 99 bottles of beer on the wall- you can learn and pick from all of them. Most of us just got lots of lots of food though! Even the beer food in cape town is a big step up from most places in the US. We got these huge crispy thin crust pizzas with pesto and goat cheese and I was in heaven! We had planned to cook dinner that night but I don’t think any of us had the energy to do that!  We all fell asleep pretty early which was much needed after our long and fun day!

 

Day 5

 

We were up and ready to Sky Dive at 9am but due to the weather we were unable to go. We were really bummed because we really wanted to sky dive and had gotten really pumped about it but it was cloudy and the winds were too strong. We tried to reschedule but they were booked and the weather wasn’t clearing. Instead we got an awesome breakfast at a cute café next door and headed out to hike Lion’s Head! It was me, Bridget, Gretchen, and Abby and we had a total blast! The hike was intense!! Supposedly it’s one of the easiest in cape town but at some points we were literally climbing ladders and getting up with just ropes and little foot holes! The view was insane. 360 views of cape town, the water, the city, the 12 apostles (massive mountains along the coast above the beaches) and big blue sky. After heading down we walked back into town stopping at little stores and peeking into cafes to get various snacks along the way. We decided we wanted to go to the Mount Nelson for high tea because it had been recommended to us by tons of people. We got dressed up and headed to the mount nelson hotel. It is a huge old colonial style hotel that reminded me a lot of the Raffles in Singapore. Tea was really fun and we had tons of yummy snacks and deserts and tea!

After tea we headed back to our apartment for showers and we cooked some of the food we had intended for the night before. We also had a massive amount of cheese and wine that people had bought from the wine tour- probably not realizing that we really wouldn’t have enough time to consume it all! We gave a lot of the extra to Gretchen’s friend Sasha, who is studying abroad in cape town. She hung out with us a bunch and it was great to get her inside scoop! After we went back to beer house to see morgan and a few other semester at sea friends then we headed to camps bay because one of the guys (Moses who mom and dad met at the airport in Myanmar) was having his birthday party at a club he rented out! Had fun seeing friends and dancing a lot!

 

Day 6:

We were up pretty early to take advantage of our last day in Cape Town. We checked out of our apartment, got some breakfast and juices at a café and headed to the Greenmarket square which is just off long street with tons of open air stalls to buy wooden bowls, paintings, clothes, jewelry, etc. We spent some time and money here then made our way up to Kloof Street to get lunch with Olivia! She picked out a great spot and she got to meet some of my friends, which was fun! In the afternoon we walked around more, popped into more shops, and did a bit of grocery shopping to get snacks that we could take back on the boat. Then we headed to the waterfront again (where I was the first day) and got drinks and a bit of sushi at harbor house on the water. Last day in port so we decided we wanted to try as many different things as we could before 7 days of ship food so we proceeded to get a delicious crispy flat bread pizza and carrot cake at the cute café from the first day! We were stuffed but ate it all quickly in the cab on the way back to the ship (you cant bring unsealed food back on the ship). We got to the boat at 5pm and it took us until 5:50 to get through... It was the longest line outside and it was moving so slowly and we were SO nervous because on ship time was 6pm! No dock time for us- but there were tons of people behind us who will have dock time in Ghana…

All in all Cape Town was one of my very favorite ports. I know for sure I want to go back. There is so much to do from hiking to safari to a beach vacation to wine to sky diving and just exploring the gorgeous city. Also Cape Town is pretty cheap compared to home. Cocktails were never above $5 and we had the most incredible meals for under $10. I wanted to spend way longer than 6 days!

Back on the boat and already on our way to Ghana! Ill post some pictures tomorrow- but for now I’m exhausted and going to head to bed!