Cape Town - June 2004

Sunday, June 6
Cape Town rocks. At least, I think it does. Obviously, it's a Sunday in South Africa so the town was pretty dead our entire first day here, but it already feels so much nicer than Johannesburg. Mountain scenery, the ocean, fresh air; the atmosphere of this city just feels so much more pleasant. Didn't do too much today besides read and eat, but tomorrow is our first city tour and a trip to Table Mountain! Sounds exciting! Hopefully Cape Town will live up to its promise.



Monday, June 7
Today was probably one of the best days spent in South Africa yet. Cape Town is a beautiful city and we were lucky enough to tour it on an absolutely gorgeous day. The area with all the brightly colored houses that was heavily Muslim was really neat and I couldn't help but wish that I lived in a neighborhood like that. The trip to District Six was neat as well. I couldn't believe we were able to talk (however briefly) with Beatrice Davids, such a precious old lady who has experienced firsthand so many of the things we have learned about, particularly at the District Six Museum. It made me happy to see her, in the situation she is in today. Penny has got to be the coolest tour guide ever, not just for hooking up that meeting, but for the whole day. She was so enjoyable, I just loved her. I'm glad we have her again on Wednesday. I especially liked her anecdotes, about protesting as a student and being on the parade the day they released Mandela. The topping of the day, though, was the trip to Table Mountain. Everything about it was spectacular, especially since it was sunny and clear. The views were amazing! Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, too, at the last possible minute I got to see a rock hyrax. I love seeing weird animals like that. All in all, I can't decide why anyone would choose to live in Johannesburg when they could live in Cape Town. No comparison.

Tuesday, June 8
My schedule today:
7 am - 8 am:  Get ready and eat breakfast
8 am - 10 am:  Read
10 am - 12:45 pm:  Class
1 pm - 4 pm:  Read
4 pm - 5:30 pm:  Interviews
5:35 pm - 6:35 pm:  Read
6:35 pm - 9 pm:  Dinner
9 pm - 11 pm:  Chill
Today was kind of sad.

Wednesday, June 9
I'm not sure today could have been much better. It was just such a great day, which was only enhanced by the spectacular, completely unseasonal, warm sunny weather. We kicked off the day by taking a boat to Seal Island (really more of a rock) and since the boat was full, Penny hooked it up so we got to sit up with the driver. Seals are cool. Then we hopped over to Imizamo Yethu, the shantytown in the middle of Hout Bay and Tina, Holly, and I walked with Penny and Man-o-man (best name ever) to see where the big fire occurred and learn more about their situation. The new houses were nice, I really admire what Niall Mellon is doing for those people. Before lunch, we made a pit stop at the Constantia winery, where you would swear you were in New England or something rather than Africa, and lunch itself was at the Brass Bell on False Bay. Great seafood. After lunch, we saw the African jackass penguins in Simon's Town, which obviously rocked, and then hit the highlight of our day, the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape is really just indescribably beautiful. Absolutely amazing. And not only was it gorgeous but we got to see even more animals! Eland from a distance, ostriches, and baboons. A baboon even attacked a man in the parking lot! Truly one of the best days ever and certainly the best day on this trip so far. I adore Cape Town.

Thursday, June 10
Once again, not much to speak of today. I basically spent the majority of the day studying for the midterm we had at 4:00. The test wasn't horrible, but I was definitely kicking myself because I knew enough information to earn an A but had a brain fart on the last essay question so I'm kind of expecting a B or B+ at this point. Ah well. Get to do it all over again for our final in just over a week. How crazy is that!

Friday, June 11
Another simple day today... went into town with Tina while everyone else was off riding horses or diving with sharks or something else otherwise exotic. We visited the market in the middle of Cape Town, which was cool, and I actually bought some stuff for once. This lady was selling hot sauces (excellent, by the way) and so I bought a 4-pack with Zulu, Xhosa, Malawi, and Swazi sauces. So good. Then more reading until we all went out to Dockside at night. What an unexpected, hilarious, and crazy fun night. Perfect way to close out our time in Cape Town.

Saturday, June 12
Wow, 3 rather sparse days in a row. I'm slacking or something. Today was just the flight to Durban, after which I slept for 3 hours, and then dinner in the hotel (Yeehaw, giddyup!!) and then I passed out again by 8:30. Slept for eleven more hours. I guess Dockside really wiped me out! Our new hotel is on the beach, but so far I already miss Cape Town a bit. Durban seems way more ghetto and we've already had it drilled into our heads that we're in an unsafe area once again. Cape Town, how I'll miss you.