Quick note: We are now actually in Mauritius, or rather the harbor, we aren’t allowed off the ship until morning because of the past drinking behaviors of SAS students. It is quite unfortunate that they have forced Mauritius to shorten our stay because of past SASers drinking need. That being said we actually arrived early (we weren’t supposed to get here until tomorrow) because someone on the ship has a non life threatening medical emergency and we got here so they could go to the hospital (that person has been off pretty much since we got here several hours ago). So now we get to look longingly at this lovely island for the rest of the night before experiencing it for one short day (which has been extended now since customs did our paperwork tonight so we are allowed off starting at 0600 instead of shortly after 0800!!!). Thank you Mauritius Customs!!!!! More about Mauritius, Sea Days, and Sea Olympics soon!
Ok so South Africa was one of the best places I have ever been! I did so much there, and I learned a lot during my time in Africa in general. During our orientation meetings way back when (was it really only a month ago?) one of the people said something to the effect that the unfamiliar will become familiar and the previously familiar will become unfamiliar. I am still processing Africa but I felt that concept in South Africa. It was strange, everything was backwards; spring in September and cars driving on the opposite side of the road. Our first two ports we were in working ports, as in we had to go through a maze of containers to find our way to the city. We happily discovered that the city was literally on the water, no buses needed; no 20 minute walk to get out of the port. Instead we were greeted by a hotel and a mall just yards away from our ship. How could we possibly still be in Africa? Where is the poverty? This is not the Africa we learn about in school. We watched our arrival to Cape Town and were greeted by a sunrise over a developed city; there was even a ferris wheel right down the street. We could see the FIFA world cup soccer stadium, also within walking distance. Another difference was set prices, we have joked about how when we get back to America we would miss our bartering, we enjoy seeing if we can get a better deal than our fellow voyagers; well we were met with set prices and people looking at you like you were crazy when you said that price was way too expensive. We have only been away from home for a month, give or take, and already things that are home-like are strange to us. What will being back in America be like? So many questions have come out of Africa, we have had 3 very different experiences, 3 different views of Africa, and how do we meld that into what we know of Africa? If we have experienced such different things what is the rest of Africa like? Which countries resemble each other? Which are different? How will we ever figure out the answers to these and many other questions that arise daily now? South Africa had much in common with America, shopping, ease of access to everything, KFC (but to be fair I have actually seen KFC in each country except Canada), McDonalds. Yet at the same time we were in Africa, there were ostriches and baboons crossing the streets instead of deer and rabbits (that’s when you know you are actually in Africa). We were in a different hemisphere, time zone, world yet it felt normal, familiar, and comfortable.
So now onto what I actually did in South Africa. The first day we woke up early and watched our arrival into Cape Town. We have some amazing pictures of the sun rising over the mountains and of our first view of Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was once held prisoner) and table mountain with its lovely cloud tablecloth as the locals call it. Then we went and got breakfast and laughed at the fact that apparently our captain wanted to give us 360 degree picture opportunities because we had to do a few donuts in the harbor waiting for the pilot boat to lead us in (not sure why we didn’t just pull up to a stop like all the rest of the ships were, so we went in circles and rocked like crazy because we kept going over our own waves). Finally the pilot boat came out and we went into port, now the long process started – customs. South Africa’s policy is to meet face to face with each of us so as you can imagine, it took a while to get through that process as we were called up by seas (how we are divided, basically by floor) to get our passport, meet the customs official, have them stamp the passport. None of us could get off the ship until everyone had cleared customs, so even though our sea was called second we still had to wait for a long time. Eventually we got off the ship and were set free to explore Cape Town. The first thing we did was walk to the soccer stadium. We were very disappointed to find out that it is under renovations (seriously what is there to renovate????? it is like brand new!) and we couldn’t go inside, so I have 7 billion pictures of the outside. We then went to a nice little outdoor café and got some lunch, I had a Hawaiian wrap which was ham, pineapple, cheese, and mayo (that was the description, not sure why they included mayo….) anyway it was pretty good. We didn’t do much the rest of the day, just walked around the waterfront and discovered the mall and went to the bank and exchanged money.
Day 2 I was supposed to go great white shark cage diving but found out at 6:30 am that it was canceled because of the currents so instead I got back on the ship got some breakfast and went to Tymitz Square (on the ship) and met up with a life long learner that wanted to do the Hop on Hop off Tour bus around Cape Town, which is a double decker bus that goes all around and you plug your headphones into the bus and you can pick from 16 languages (can you tell they recently had a worldwide event in their town). I got off at Table Mountain and she stayed on the bus, and I took the cable way up to the top of Table Mountain. It was really cool, and the floor of the cable way rotated so you got a 360 view of your ride up. Once up there I discovered that I could see my home from the top of the mountain! There is such a sense of comfort seeing the ship, it represents safety and familiarity. There were a ton of SASers up on Table Mountain which was funny because I kept running into people I knew. I then went back down and got back on the bus and eventually made it back to the waterfront. I had bought a combo ticket that combined the bus, cable way and the aquarium (which I went to later) which was a really good deal price wise.
Day 3 was yet another early day but it was totally worth it. I went on a safari and we saw 4 of the “Big Five” (which for those of you who aren’t up to date with their African wildlife they are elephant, water buffalo, rhinoceros, lion, and leopard) the only one we didn’t see was the water buffalo, which our game driver told us is not uncommon. So along with those 4 we also saw: black wildebeest, blue wildebeest, hippos, ostrich, zebras, cheetahs, wild boars, crocodiles (apparently I have been to Florida too much, they didn’t excite me, also we saw them last), springbok, and elands (which are the largest type of antelope). All in all I would say it was a very successful day. It was really funny because when we got to the game reserve we were offered a “welcome drink” of either champagne (they called it wine) or sparkling grape juice. Most of us went for the grape juice since it was like 9 am and none of us had eaten breakfast yet. Later on in the middle of our safari we took a break to stretch our legs and have a drink. We got some good laughs about being in the middle of this game park drinking champagne out of actual glasses watching the elephants and the wildebeest walk by.
Day 4 I again had to be off the ship really early (are you starting to notice this theme in ports?) and we got into the buses to go on a half day cape tour where we went along the coast all the way to Cape of Good Hope which is the most South-Western point in Africa, we walked up the cliff and got some pictures of the Atlantic ocean and where (way off in the distance) the Indian ocean joined it. We then went off to Boulder Beach which is naturally inhabited by penguins (so does it seem like this voyage is turning into a wildlife trip? Camels in Morocco, monkeys in Ghana, incredibly long list in South Africa and I promise it gets longer yet); on the way to the beach we had to stop because there were a bunch of baboons in the street. We had planned this trip independently of SAS (everything I did in South Africa was “independent” and it was the best decision I have made so far, I saved hundreds of dollars doing this independent of SAS) and we talked our driver into making a detour to Cape Point Winery for some wine tasting; it was really funny watching everyone’s reactions to the driver agreeing so readily.
Day 5 was my ocean wildlife day. I went shark cage diving! We saw 7 great white sharks and also a pod of great right whales who are breeding and migrating through this area right now. But I actually got in a cage and was inches away from a great white shark! We had a 2 hour bus ride from Cape Town to Gansbaai (which for you shark week fanatics should recognize as one of the places where many specials are filmed) and then we were given breakfast (we left the ship at 5:30 am) and were briefed about safety and logistics of our day. We then got back on the bus and went 2 kilometers down the road to where we would get on the boat. As we were going to the dive place we had to stop for a few whales to pass by, you know one of those no big deal kind of moments. Then the moment of truth, we were at the dive site, the cage was in the water, they called us into the cabin and one of the guys determined what size wet suit we needed in about a 2 second glance and then we were all wrestling into our wetsuits while trying to stay onship because the waves were huge. It is never really a good thing when you are standing on the deck and have to look up to see the top of the wave. But once we were all zipped in one of the guys slapped a mask on our face, another strapped a weight belt on and we were ushered to the side of the boat and told to hop in the cage. As I was getting into the cage a 12 foot great white swam inches away from the front of the cage. We were in the cage, 8 at a time, and we waited, and waited, until the spotter yelled Down! Down! Down! So we took a deep breath and went under water and there right in front of us was a shark, about 15 feet long going for Gladys the seal dummy. Finally we got out of the cage and they pulled our masks off and our weight belts, asked us how it was and directed us to a cooler filled with water (cause there is never enough water when you are on a boat right? Well at least the water in the boat was for drinking and didn’t have more salt than anything else in it). At one point when we were in the cage a huge wave came and rocked the boat and we were all unexpectedly under water (that would be how I know about the salt content of the water) so we all swallowed more salt water than can be good for us, and later (much later) realized that we probably got a good amount of chum in those unexpected drinks. Not surprisingly with how big the waves were (and possibly the amount of chum and salt in our stomachs) many of us got seasick, me included, and therefore spent more time looking at the nearby mountain trying to keep from vomiting. Which was to no avail as many of us, me still included, ended up aiding in the chumming process (well it made the sharks happy at least). When we got back (finally) to shore our skipper told us that he had never been out with clients when the swells were that large (finally felt better about getting seasick) and that he was canceling all other tours for the day and for the next day. We found out later that we were the only company that even went out that day. I bought the video that they made of the day (should I submit it to shark week?) because the water had very low visibility so it was hard to take pictures.
Day 6, can you believe we still had one more day after the sharks? I went to the two oceans aquarium which was cool to see things from the Indian ocean and the Atlantic, they also showed a lot of wildlife where the two oceans meet. The aquarium is really close to the port and we all just kind of hung out at the waterfront, using up the last of our rand, buying snacks for the upcoming sea days and eating one last lunch off the ship. Then what is yet another highlight of this voyage occurred at on-ship time. We got to meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and he gave us a short lecture. I was surprised at his sense of humor, I highly recommend trying to hear him speak if you ever get the chance. He has sailed on SAS twice before and one of the first things he said was it was nice to be back home but who the heck were all these people that were in his home. He also made a point of mentioning it is a ship not boat, one of the first lessons that they give to each new SASer. I don’t think there are words to describe Desmond Tutu. I sat in the union for almost 2 hours before he was supposed to speak to ensure a front row seat, so that was pretty exciting! And then he had to get off the ship, we had to eat dinner, and shortly we were leaving what had fast become the favorite port for many of us.
If any of you are still reading (I promise I am almost done), congratulations you made it through 6 packed days in South Africa. There is so much that I haven’t been able to process yet, let alone verbalize. My next port is now 6 days away and we are only there for one day. I will try and add some sea days descriptions in there so you can find out about life on the ship. We also have our sea Olympics the day after Mauritius, so there is stuff coming up, I will not drop off the face of the earth even though it may be a while until my next post. Until then, I shall reflect upon Africa as a whole and see if I come up with any answers.
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