Just finished six action packed days in South Africa! WOW!!!

We arrived early than expected in port on February 19^th at 0530 hours. Arriving in port is probably one of my favorite times on the ship. Seeing the city lights in the distance, the anticipation of what you’re going to experience and see, the chilly dark morning while watching the sun rise, students out on the deck with cameras in hand listening to the drums and music play is indescribable. The ship docked at the Victoria and Alfred Water Front (V&A Water Front) in downtown Cape Town. The waterfront looked like a Fashion Island situated in Dana Point Harbor. This area was very touristy, safe and upscale. It was nice to have some comforts of home-like a Haagen Daz, KFC and a Pic’n’Pay which is a grocery store.

After arriving very early in the morning I actually went back to sleep until noon because my trip didn’t leave until 1300. The night before arriving in port it is VERY difficult to get any sleep with all the anticipation and excitement. Fifteen of us, along with our trusty guide Amelia, went to “Walk with the Baboons.” Walking with the baboons was started by a conversationalist named Jill who wanted to protect the animals from extinction along the peninsula. These animals faced a grim future when residential areas began springing up in their habitat. Residents would often shoot the baboons to keep them out of their trash and yards. We were split up into three groups of five and were led about 100 yards into this canyon. To my surprise we found a colony of 34 Baboons just playing and scavenging for food. We kept our distance but they kept coming up to us. This one juvenile who they named “Mikey” actually grabbed onto my leg! He felt very furry and cuddly. After we returned to the Waterfront and the ship, Kristin and I set out to tour the area and see the mall. We went grocery shopping and purchased some snack essentials-Tea, Cereal, M&Ms, crackers, and peanuts and also found the South Africans version of a Jamba Juice called Natural Kaui. I had about 5 while we were in port! Kristin left for her safari in the morning and I had a full day FDP the next day.

Wednesday, Mason, Lauren and I, along with 18 other classmates and our professor left for a full day tour of Cape Point, the Peninsula and the Cape of Good Hope. Once we got out of Cape Town, I fell in love with the scenery and atmosphere of the small fishing villages, beach coves, vineyards and people. Kind of mix between Laguna’s coves meet Paso’s landscape of hills, ranches and vineyards. Our first stop was Hout Bay Harbor where we looked at different types of fishing methods- longlining and purse-seining for the overfishing part of the curriculum for my Human Effects on Coastal Systems class. Our next stop was a Table Mountain National Park-Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape of Good Hope is the most South-Western point of the continent of Africa. The most southern point is Cape Agulhas. (To find on your map, Val). The national park was beautiful! Lots of ‘fynbos’ or protected plant species, wild life and jagged cliffs. We actually climbed up to an old lighthouse and had a terrific view of False Bay, Cape Point, and the Cape of Good Hope. After the national park we entered False Bay and had lunch at an oceanfront seafood restaurant. The food was delicious! We had fresh swordfish while the group next to us was eating on grilled lobster! After lunch, before falling into a food coma in our amazing luxury coach, we visited Bolders. Bolders is another national park famous for the ‘jackass’ penguins that nest on the beach. There are four species of South African penguins. Jackass penguins got their name because their mating call sounds like a donkey. There were over 3000 penguins just chilling on the beach, enjoying a swim in the 50 degree water of the Atlantic Ocean and nesting under nearby brush. Afterwards we headed back to the ship where Lauren and I walked to find our pick-up location for the next days adventure-skydiving, and had lunch at a wannabe Mexican restaurant. I had chicken nachos and although it didn’t really satisfy my Mexican food craving, it was nice to have guacamole and chips!

Thursday the 21^st Lauren and I woke up really early to catch our ride out to the Skydive Cape Town’s drop zone. It was about a 25 minute drive to a private air-strip and large hangar. Once there, we met two other SAS students. My name was the first one up on the whiteboard. After we paid, (don’t worry mom, I got a video and over 100 still frames) I was fitted into a harness, introduced to my tandem partner and videographer and put into a Cessna 182! I was going up by myself without any other SAS students!! There were 4 jumpers crammed into the cabin with no seats, except for the pilot. My partner, Hugo, in his tshirt and jeans, has been jumping for over 17 years, although you’d never guess it by his sweet personality and young face. My videographer, Paul, has been jumping for about seven years. We climbed for what seemed like forever. I didn’t realize how high 9,000 was! Hugo explained everything I was to do in about 4 seconds and before I knew it the door opened and the free jumper was gone, then the videographer and now it was OUR TURN! My feet swung over the edge and landed on the step outside. The look of terror on my face in the video is hilarious! The free fall lasted about 30 seconds and once the parachute opened it was nice, quiet and peaceful. The view of Table Mountain and Robben Island were breathtaking! Hugo let me steer for a little bit and before I knew it we were landing in a big giant sand pit behind the hangar. I was the only tandem that landed on our feet, probably because I have really short legs. After skydiving we drove back to Cape Town where Kathleen Lauren and I caught a cab to the base of Table Mountain to catch the Cable car up 7,000 feet to the top. I was a little worried about my elevation sickness but it actually never hit, thank goodness. The view from Table Mountain was awesome as well. You could see the city with its skyscrapers, the suburbs of Cape Town and the buildings and stadiums that are going on for the FIFA World Cup in 2010, the city is littered with cranes! We met another SAS student named Cliff who had lost his buddy so he descended with us and caught a cab to Green Square Market where we shopped for about an hour. After returning to the ship, Lauren and I headed out to use the payphones to call home. It was so great to hear familiar voices and definitely made my day!!!

Friday the 22^nd, my safari left at 0445! 37 of us, including a faculty chaperone and a tour guide, departed for Cape Town International to take our 0630 domestic flight from CT to Durban Airport, kind of the North East of South Africa. The security in the airport was less intense than using your credit card in America. I literally put my backpack, with a full Nalgene water bottle, a container of sunscreen, and food, on the scanner and walked right through the metal detector with no one watching. It was amazingly convenient! We walked out on the tarmac and up the steps to board our Boeing 737 for the 2 hour flight to Durban. The Airports in South Africa, as I’m sure with any other less developed airport, are so simple! We boarded our bus for our three hour drive to Zululand Tree Lodge. I slept the entire flight and almost the entire bus ride there. The landscape reminded of North Shore Hawaii- red soil, sugar cane and the occasional chalet and house. Zululand Tree and Safari Lodge is located on a Nature reserve where the wart hogs, monkeys, Uyala and Impalas roamed freely through our open lobby and dinning area complete with a thatched roof, wooden walkways, large pool and bar. After our arrival we were assigned rooms and roommates, my roommate Heike and I stayed in a chalet at the Safari Lodge, about a 7 minute walk down the dirt road from the Tree Lodge. We embarked on an evening safari where we boarded these 10 seater open Land Rovers. We drove for about two hours and say lots of impalas, Uyalas, four giraffes, lots of zebras, two ostriches, and lots of birds. Everyone went to bed pretty early because we had a 0600 wake up call the next day.

Saturday, Feb. 23^rd. We boarded our rovers to drive twenty minutes up the road to the HluHluwe Infolozi Nature Reserve. Once we entered the reserve we took lots of dirt roads over looking water holes, large open fields, and the rolling hills. We saw one elephant, eight rhinos, 6 giraffes, tons of zebras, a herd of water buffalo, warthogs (pumba), a crocodile, a dung beetle and many birds. We saw three of the “Big Five” (Rhino, Buffalo, Elephant, Cheetah, and Lion) and was the only rover that didn’t see a Lion! The day was exhausting with a lot of sitting and driving. Our driver Ecebo was excellent!

Sunday, Feb 24^th- We woke up for our six hours of travel back to Cape Town. It was probably the most turbulence I have ever felt on a commercial flight! The landing gear on the plane touched the runway three times before our wheels were finally on the ground. It felt like home returning to the ship. I was very excited to take a LONG shower, unpack and see and hear everyone’s South Africa adventures. I found Kristin and we went to the mall to spend the rest of our rand where we purchased yoga mats and more food. We ran into Mason and Kelly at the wannabe Mexican restaurant close to the ship and had a farewell South African dinner. We were anticipating a very long line to board the ship but were surprised to see no line! Mostly everyone was already on the ship waiting to see a local Award winning South African high school choir perform on the ship. Their performance lasted over an hour and was amazing! Around 2200 the loud speaker came on and the assistant dean stated that we would not be leaving because the fog had rolled in.

Monday, Feb. 24^th- Woke up at 0800 to grab breakfast and head off to class. I was surprised to see that we were STILL in Cape Town and the fog was very thick. Finally, around 11am we left to a crowd of people that had gathered around the port. It was sad to say goodbye to South Africa and it was the first port that I didn’t want to leave! It did not take us long to hit rough seas. While napping, you could actually feel yourself catch air. The ship isn’t rocking that much because we are hitting the swells head-on rather than at our side. The spray from the bow is higher than our four story window!! My seasickness bracelets are on and classes are back in full swing. Five days until we reach Mauritius!!

South Africa has a very laid back, friendly atmosphere. The people in these townships are so happy and hopeful although they live off of almost nothing. I remember visiting an orphanage in Mexico where we handed out tarps and while the people were receptive they were not overly friendly. The people here in the townships in South Africa would welcome you into their homes and let you take their pictures all while telling you their life stories.

Thanks for all the letters, emails and comments. Internet is sporadic while we are going around the Cape.