2-14-06

AFRICA!!

We finally made it!  After eight long days at sea, we finally saw land again!  The night before docking in South Africa, we (my closer friends on the ship; Maria, Meghan, Brandy, Samantha, and Jen) had all planned on sleeping out side on the deck so we could watch the sun rise as we arrived in South Africa.  After playing cards until midnight, we got our pillows and blankets and headed towards the deck.  One step outside, and we all agreed that our warm beds sounded much better.  It was freezing outside, and the wind was really blowing.  We knew that if we slept on the deck, the crew would wake us up at 5:30 am to clean the deck.  In turn, we really wouldn’t get much sleep, plus no one had enough blankets to really be comfortable outside.  I guess we’ll just have to try again some other time!  So, after waking up in our nice warm beds at the earlier hour of 6:00 am, we had all planned to meet on the 6^th deck for the sun rise.  One look outside told us that staying in bed might be a better choice.  We were in a cloud of fog.  I couldn’t even see the water below my window, it was all fog.  We rescheduled our meeting time ot be 8:00 am for breakfast.  Even when we got up at 8:00 am, it was still too foggy out to see much of anything.  The “voice” came on over head (the guy that makes all the announcements every day, we just call him “the voice”) and informed us all that because of the fog, the port was not open yet, so we had to continue to wait out at sea before the inspection and immigration process would even begin.  The fog did not lift until 10:30 am.  Finally, the process had begun.  So many people were standing out on the deck, just staring at Table Mountain.  It is so amazing!  Pictures do not do it justice!  This is my friend Jen and I as we stare at Africa, and know that we can’t get off the ship yet.  So close, and yet, so far away!

We were not cleared to get off of the ship until 2:00 pm.  There were quite a few trips/safaris that were suppose to leave the morning that we arrived, but since we were so delayed in getting in to port, two safaris had to be delayed and rearranged.  I also missed one of my day trips because of the delay.  When we finally got off of the ship, my friends and I walked around the town and got some lunch, before Samantha and I headed back for our trip to Robbin Island.  Robbin Island was at one point a leper colony, and later was turned into a prison.  It has an interesting, but depressing past.  All the lepers in the area were banned to this island to their leprosy would not spread (leprosy is not contagious, but they did not know this).  They also separated the males and the females, because they did not want babies infected with leprosy, they were trying to stop the epidemic.  Even with their preventative measures, there were a total of 41 children born on the island to mothers and fathers with leprosy.  None of the children ever had leprosy.  Because they had children on the island, they built a school for them too!  When it changed from a leper colony to a prison area, they burned every building to the ground to destroy any left over disease of leprosy.  The island became a prison for any criminal that was a “non-white” male.  Later, this prison was also where they sent political prisoners.  We had the fortune of having our inter port lecturer (we have an inter-port lecturer on the ship in between each port for the next port) who was housed in that very prison as a political prisoner.  (They were political prisoners for opposing the government and trying to fight for equality among all races.  They have come farther along over the past 10 years, due to Nelson Mandela.  Nelson Mandela was also a political prisoner with our inter-port lecturer.  He was also the President of South Africa, after getting out of prison.  There is a lot of history here, go read up on it!)  The Island was interesting, but sad.  However, this island is also a symbol of hope, as the political prisoners did not give in to the government, and continued to fight, and because of the fight, there is more equality today, but there is not complete equality, they are still a ways away from that.  The one really neat thing about the island is the Penguins!  I got to see so many of them!  They are really little, but cute!

After returning from Robbin Island, I met up with the rest of the girls, and we got all dressed up, and went out to dinner.  We somehow forgot that it was Valentine’s Day until we tried to get a table for 6 at any restaurant.  They were all completely booked.  We weren’t able to get a table until 10:30 pm.  Everyone was starving by the time we finally got our table.  We walked around the port area until we could finally return to the restaurant for our very late reservation.  On the streets though, there were like random bands and dancers and drummers set up entertaining passerbies.   It is so much fun to just sit and listen, and they all sounded wonderful! 

We ate dinner that night at the “Green Dolphin”.  As we were standing, waiting for them to set up our table, this random guy comes up, grabs my hand and starts pulling on me.  He never spoke a word. I was standing insides a restaurant with a big group of people.  The bar tender was there in a matter of seconds and got rid of him very quickly, it was just very strange.  My friends and I all just kind of looked at each other like “what just happened?”   When we finally got to our table and our food came, it was so good!  We all got a different meal, and passed them around.  I think this is the best way to dine, then you get to try a little of everything!  I had lamb chops, which I think are my new favorite meal, so good!  Amongst our meals we also had Ostridge steak, chicken, sausage, salad, and another chicken plate.  We did the same thing for desert, and it was oh so good!  We returned to our ship, satisfied with a good meal, with great intensions to go to bed.  We actually did not get to bed until very late.  Also, with the time change, it was actually a good timeto call home, and to call Chris, so then I got to bed even later.  I knew I would be tired when I had to get up early the next day for my Safari to Kagga Kamma

2-15-06

Kagga Kamma Safari

The Safari left at 8:00 am with about 30 of us total.  We loaded into two vehicles, a van, and a truck that was converted into a bus; I was on the bus.  Before we all loaded up, we were under the impression that our safari site was about 1 hr 45 minutes to 2 hours away.  Five hours later, in the blazing heat and with no air conditioning, we finally show up at the Kagga Kamma lodge.  The bus was kind of cramped, so we all got to know each other a whole lot better!  The last hour and a half of the trip were all bumpy dirt roads, so we had to decide if we wanted to keep the windows open for ventilation and take the air with the dirt, or breath clean air but barely be able to breath at all because of no air circulation.  We kept the windows open, and we were even more thankful when we had finally arrived. 

The lodge that we stayed at was beautiful!  When I had read the description in my field program guide, I thought it would be interesting because we were staying in a lodge “fashioned after a bushman’s cave”.  Our rooms all did look and feel like we were living in a cave, but a luxury cave at that!  The whole resort had the feel of being in the caves, but everything was done so well, even the swimming pool!  And the Chefs!  Wow!  The food was incredible!  When we got there, they served us all drinks, and appetizer snacks.  We then had the afternoon to relax, before we went on our first game drive at 6:00 pm.  (The animals don’t come out until the sun goes down, or it cools down considerably.)  I took this wonderful opportunity to visit my cave and sleep, since that is what the animals were doing too!  (I had only gotten four hours of sleep the night before, and the ride on the bus didn’t help matters at all.)  A lot of people sat by the pool, or went swimming, but I really did not feel the need for anymore sun at the moment. 

Around 6:00 pm, we left for our first game drive in the open 4X4’s.  The first animal we saw was ostridges.  We ended up seeing a lot of them throughout the drive.  We also saw quite a few Springbuck, which is the national animal of Africa.  When a Springbuck runs, it looks like it is bouncing on all four legs.    We also saw elands, kudu, zebra, bontebok, whitetail gnu, jackal, and a few baboons.  Right as the sun was about to set, we stopped at this huge rock formation, and we all crawled up on top and watched the sun set.  We also had refreshments, and some to relax and enjoy our surroundings. 

After sunset, we climbed back into the 4X4’s and continued on our game drive for another hour.  This was great because most of the people in my 4X4 were people that I did not sit by on the way to the lodge earlier that morning.  I got to meet a whole new set of friends!  It is fun learning where everyone is from, and how they decided to do SAS, and what happens after SAS.  When we returned back to the lodge, it was dinner time.  I can’t explain to you the flavors of all of these foods; just know that they were excellent!  I was defiantly partial to the lamb chops (which I think is my new favorite food.)  We ate springbuck (like a very tender steak), ostridge, venison, beef, pork, sausage, chicken, sweet potatoes, squash, roasted vegetables, salads, cheeses, breads, mashed potatoes with cheese and bacon, carrot and pineapple soup, and a slice of black forest chocolate cake to wash it all down.  Everything was roasted over the open fire, or put in big black pots and cooked over the open flame.  Everyone felt the need to be rolled home after this incredible meal! 

However, the night was still young!  As we sat round the campfire, rubbing our stuffed bellies, our courageous guide announced that the 4X4’s would be leaving soon for the night drive, which would be followed by the on site astronomer explaining the southern sky.  We all piled back onto our 4X4’s, spotlight in hand, and begun our night game drive.  This is really when we saw most of the animals.  I learned that Ostridges sleep with one eye open, and with their heads up, to keep a watch out!  We also saw our Zebra on this drive.  My friend Teresa, really wanted to see a Zebra, it was the only animal she really had to see on this trip.  When we spotted the Zebra she got so excited she screamed, which definitely got the zebra’s attention, but he didn’t run away to quickly. 

After the night game drive, we all climbed up to the highest peak of the lodge where a telescope was mounted.  The astronomer pointed out the Southern Cross constellation, and how to find true south.  He pointed out a couple other constellations, and then we all got to look in the telescopes at constellations we couldn’t see with the naked eye, like the jewel box.  The jewel box is neat because when you look at it through the telescope; you can see all the different colors of the stars all grouped together that make up the constellation.  The different colors of the stars tell the age of the star.  We also got to see the ring around Saturn and the moon through the telescope.  It was all very educational.  After all of this, we were told to enjoy the rest of our evening, and that we would be meeting up again at 8:00am the next morning for breakfast and our cave hike.  At this point, I went to bed, but many others decided to stay out.  We all soon discovered that in the main lobby, we could watch the Olympics!  I feel completely out of the loop with that!  It was fun to see a little of what is going on, and how the USA is doing in medals. 

2-16-06

Breakfast this morning was once again incredible!  There was huge variety of breakfast classics, and coffee!  This was my first really good cup of coffee on this whole voyage.  We brought our bags with us to breakfast, and checked out of our rooms.  After loading up the vehicles with our bags, we got back on the 4X4’s and went on another game drive.  Our final destination for this morning was the caves of the San people.  Our guide pointed out different cave paintings, and the meaning that he thought they held.  No one really knows the meaning of the paintings, as there are no San people around to ask.

 After the discussion on San People, we walked around the boulders, and looked for more rock paintings.  This is a picture of Natalie and I; if you look closely there is a rock painting in the background between the two of us.

 Teresa and I also went on our own little hike in search of more paintings.  We did find one of a drummer, but more importantly, we discovered how easy it was to get lost out there!  We could always see the group, but we kept going up and over, and we couldn’t find our train to get back down, so that was another adventure, but we made it, and our guide just laughed at us. 

After our boulder hike, we headed back to the lodge one last time for lunch and to pack up.  As we sat around, out of the heat in the comfortable lobby, we watched some more of the Olympics, and had beverages before we took off for our long journey back to the ship.  There were some people who were sick either from the heat and sun, or from drinking too much the night before, so, once again, I took on my nurse duties, and did what I could to make them feel more comfortable. 

We then climbed back on to our converted truck/bus and this time the ride seemed to go by a little quicker, probably because we all talked the whole way home.  I really feel like I made some good friends on this trip and we had a great talk on the way home.  One of the guys reminded me of Jamey (my oldest brother) because when he found out I was a going to be nurse, he begged me to tell him my most discussing story of things that I have seen at the hospital.  This is something Jamey use to do all the time, and then I think he got grossed out, but he still likes the stories.  We all sweated together the whole ride home, only to be greeted wit ha long line before we could get on the ship to a nice cold shower.  Every time you get back on the ship, all of your bags and pockets are searched.  They are looking for open beverage bottles (you can’t bring anything opened back on the ship, even water, it could be contaminated and they don’t take those kinds of risks.)  They are also looking for any sharp objects you may have bought (like spears) or anything else dangerous, like a sling shot or gun.  And of course, they are looking for illegal substances or alcohol.  All of these things are illegal on the trip, and we see people get caught all the time with contraband.  We did have a few students get kicked off of the ship recently due to having illegal substances on the ship, so they really do not tolerate anything. 

We also drove through the winelands on our way home, and they are also very beautiful.  No students were allowed to bring any wine back as gifts, so I know a bunch of people were disappointed about that, but they were beautiful to look at!

That night a group of us girls got together and went to the sports bar for diner.  We were all exhausted since we had gotten back from our different safaris, so we wanted something close.  The sports bar was only a 10 minute walk from the ship, and I was sure I could get a good cheese burger there, and we all could watch the Olympics.  With this sports bar, we hit the jack pot.  Not only did they have the Olympics playing on about 12 different televisions, all with different sports on, so we could all watch what ever we wanted from the same table, but the cheese burgers were nice and juicy too!  This also gave us a chance to catch up on how everyone’s safari went, and the things we saw and did.  Everyone else got to see big game on their safaris, but they only saw animals, they didn’t do anything extra.  I liked that we had night drives, and the astronomer explained the night sky to us, as well as the cave hike.  Over all, everyone had a good time.  We all decided it was in our best interest to get to bed kind of early that night so we would be ready to go the next day.  We had good intentions at least. 

When we got back to the ship, we all sat in my room and talked about our plans, and then about whatever else popped in our heads, and we didn’t get to bed until 2:00 am.  I did have a chance to talk to Chris before I went to bed, and that always helps me sleep better. 

2-17-06

I started the morning off by heading out on a tour of Cape Town entitled “Footsteps to Freedom”.  This tour was supposed to show how Cape Town has changed and become freer and less raciest.  I think someone forgot to give that memo to our guide though.  He just told us where the important buildings in the city were, and we walked through the botanical gardens, and past the green square open air market, but our guide never told us how these places took a part in the history of South Africa. 

It was nice to see where different things were located around Cape Town, but I didn’t feel like that was the point of the tour.  The only thing the guide really explained was the District 6 museum.  The museum was to represent the people that were forced out of their homes, since the government felt that only white people should be allowed to live there since it was a nicer area in town.  So the government made anyone that was of color leave the area.  They then demolished the area and rebuilt it up for the white people.  It is heart breaking to see the way these people were treated.  They are just now allowing the colored people to move back into the area that is rightfully theirs.  It is a sad and complicated history.  We did end our tour at a nice little coffee shop with excellent muffins (have you ever had a spinach and feta cheese muffin?  Very interesting, but not my favorite.)  Here are some pictures of my tour. 

This is a slave trading post.  The slaves would stand here and be auctioned off... it was sad to see even the monument.

This is where we had the excellent muffins and coffee!

            We are such tourists!!

After this tour, I had an appointment for Skydiving.  I knew that this was something that my mom would just worry about if I told her ahead of time, as well as other people, so I didn’t tell anyone that I was going to do it (except my friends on the ship, a bunch of us had planned on going).  I got to the site that the company picks us up at, and takes us to the hanger for skydiving.  When the company arrived, they informed me that it was too windy, and so if I wanted I could go the next day instead.  I agreed to go the next day, and instead, spent my day visiting the local markets and shops.  Later on that afternoon, I met up with Maria and Brandy, and we went out for some food, which ended up being my first real meal of the day.  After lunch we discovered this superb little frozen yogurt shop.  I have never had frozen yogurt that tasted so good!  We decided to stay in the general area and discover the Alfred and Victoria Waterfront.  Maria and Brandy had just spent the last 6 hours walking around the down town on Cape Town and didn’t feel like going back. 

Later that night I got together with the rest of the group that was still in town (some people were on safaris), and we went to a local little Mexican restaurant.  One of the girls in the group was Catherine.  Now, looking at Catherine, you would think she is a sweet little innocent girl, but we all learned a different story that night.  I have never seen any drink so much alcohol before.  Me being the sober one of the group, it became my responsibility to make sure she made it back to her room on the ship safely.  Everyone else in the group could at least walk by themselves.  So, Catherine and I made our way back to the ship slowly, but surely.  Our biggest obstacle was the gangway.  The gangway was on the 5^th deck, which meant we had to go up at least 50 steps (the pictures of Maria and I getting off of the ship in Brazil has the gangway on the 5^th deck as well.)  Once we made it inside the ship, and back to her room, which she forgot where that was, I made sure she drank a lot of water.  Catherine was supposed to go skydiving at 8:00am the next morning.  Marina, Catherine’s roommate, said she would keep an eye on her for the night.  (When I talked to Marina the next day, she told me that Catherine did make it skydiving the next morning.)

2-18-06

This morning, I went to visit the township of Khayelitha.  This is South Africa’s fastest growing township.  The township looks grim at the first impression.  All you see is shacks one after another, with hardly any space in between.  The townships are the government projects.  All of these colored people were forced out of the city so white people could move in, and the government promised them a place to live in the township.  When they arrived, this is the sight that greeted them. 

We visited a craft market, and I wish that I would have know that we were going there.  I just wanted to buy whatever I could to help them.  You see the way they live, and the way they will do anything for a coin.  They are hungry, and the government seems to have forgotten about them.  These women made beautiful bead jewelry, and all they asked for them was a price that was about equivalent with $4 USD.  It just breaks my heart to see people that have to live this way.  The kids were so happy to see us.  They all ran up and greeted the bus, and it was so hard to leave when it came time, they all just clung to each one of us.  They loved posing for pictures, and with the digital cameras, it was great because then we could show them the picture of themselves.  They were just thrilled to see this!

The kids were thrilled to see us there, but just by looking in the eyes of the older kids, teenagers and adults, you could see the bitterness.  It made me feel bad even being there.  It is like we arrive on this huge air-conditioned bus to look at them and their homes, say that’s too bad, and leave.  It just didn’t feel right being there, like we were intruding, or like they were trapped in this fish bowl, and we just point and stare. 

I can see why the older kids and adults would be bitter.  We have everything we need, and probably want, and they are trying to figure out how to buy groceries to feed their families.  Some of the kids don’t even have shoes, and here we are with our fancy cameras to take pictures of them.  It just doesn’t make since how we can have so much and there are still people out there who have nothing, and yet the kids were so happy.  It was good to see, but I defiantly felt like an intruder.  The other thing that disgusted me was that at the end of our visit, one of the residents who owned a guest house invited us in for cold drinks and snacks.  We needed those snacks least of anyone there.  They should have given all of those kids our cookies.  Why were we the ones being fed?  We were told not give the kids anything.  If the kids come to learn that with a tourist bus comes money and toys, then they will start grabbing purses or whatever they can get their hands on, and it won’t be safe for tourist to come there anymore.  They need the tourist to come there for the money they put into the township by either buying things at the market, or by making donations at the church.  I glad that I was able to contribute what I could, I just wish I would have been better prepared.

How would you like to go to this hair salon? 

We also visited the nutrition center.  This is like a day care.  It allows the mothers to come and learn a new trade, like weaving, so they can sell their weaving and have a little more income for the family, and at the same time they have other volunteers there to watch after the kids, and to feed them.  This is a government program that is under funded, but at least it is available, and it is helping.  The weaving done by these ladies were beautiful!  This is inside the church in the township.  Our guide really wanted us to all see the black crucifix

As soon as the bus got back from the township, I made my way back to the aquarium, where the bus for skydiving would be.  When I got there, the bus was there and ready to go, so I loaded in with six other SAS kids.  We drove for about 45 minutes before we came to the hanger, and geared up.  When we got there, the other students were pretty jittery, but I don’t think it hit me yet what I was about to do.  They asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to go first, so I immediately volunteered.  I didn’t want to take time to think about it, I just wanted to do it.  My guide for the jump was Hugo.  He helped me get suited up, and explained how everything worked. 

This is my friend Paul.  We went up in the air plane together, and we were the first ones to jump out of our group! (that's right, we are the brave souls!)

This is Hugo, my instructor, and I.

We then loaded into this little airplane, where only the pilot had a seat.  We just sat on the floor.  I sat in front of Hugo, and we had another jumper in the plane too.  The plane took off, and we flew up and up and up for about 20 minutes (I think the altitude was 9000 feet when the door opened.  The guide strapped me to the front of him, and I double checked all of the connections.  He told me we would scoot to the door, and I would just hang my feet out the door, and he would take care of the rest.  He handed me a pair of goggles, and I go the instructions of what to do once we were out of the plane. I was to arch my back, and “become a banana” and once we were clear, he would tap me on my shoulder, and then I could “skydive”. 

Everything happened so fast, I don’t think I ever had time to be scared.  I put my feet outside the door, and before I even knew anything was happening, we were gone!  I arched myself as best I could, and Hugo tapped me on the shoulder, so I spread my arms and I was skydiving.  It was one of the greatest feelings ever!  As I was falling at 120 feet per second, I realized that there was no depth perception, it really did not look like the ground was rushing forward, and it just felt like I was floating.  Since I was in my banana shape, the air just cradled my body and we floated for a while.  The free fall did not last nearly long enough.  We sky dived for about 30 seconds before he pulled the parachute open.  The parachute brings you to a halt, and then the ride down lasted another 4 minutes until we were on the ground again.  Hugo showed me how to steer the parachute, and he let me do everything but the landing.  We did spirals, and turns, and he pointed out the landmarks from the sky.  He asked me how I liked the view from his office, and I have to agree with him, his office does have a great view.  The landing also happened very smoothly; he brought us to a halt like inches from the ground and was like ok, put your feet down, and we were on the ground again.  The whole experience was great.  I didn’t get a huge adrenaline rush afterwards like some of the other people in my group did, but I also think that I wasn’t as nervous as they were.  I just really enjoyed myself, and would defiantly do it again. 

This is me, back on the ground, after the sky dive.  I loved it!

When I returned from sky diving, I was so tired (I am sure it was from coming off of the adrenaline rush that I did have.)  So, I took a nap until dinner later that night.  For dinner, we all got dressed up and went to a restaurant called Mama Africa.  On the way to the restaurant, I called my mom and told her that I went skydiving, and that I was back on the ground again.  I also called Chris and let him know that I went, and that it was great.  I really didn’t want either of them to worry about me. 

At the restaurant they had live music (a lot of drums and singing), so we all sat and listened to the music until our table was ready.  One of the girls in our group bought the CD, so we are all going to pass it around.  For dinner that night, I got lamb chops, which were once again, oh so good!  Everyone is great about getting different meals and passing them around so we can try a little of everything.  Some of the other dishes that were ordered were ostrich, springbuck, crocodile, chicken, fish, and calamari.  We got home late that night, but when we got back, we decided that we really wanted to hike Table Mountain, and that the only day that would work, would be Sunday. After much deliberation, we decided that we should leave for the mountain at 5:30 am, so we could beat the heat and still have time to do something else in the afternoon, like the flee market.

This is Sam, Gina and I at Mama Africa's, an absolutly delicious resturant!

2-19-06

Meghan, Maria and I all were ready to go at 5:30 am the next morning for our hiking endeavor.  I had arranged for a taxi to be at the ship at 5:30 am to take us to the mountain.  I am sure he was laughing at us the whole time, as we really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.  As we loaded into our taxi, it was still dark out, and the driver was laughing because we had not brought any flashlights.  We really had nothing to worry about.  By the time we got to the mountain and found the trail leading up, the sun was rising, and we had plenty of light.

            The first stretch took us about 30 minutes of doing nothing but hiking straight up on rocks that had been strategically placed to form steps.  The steps were crude, and some times you had to reach with your hands to pull yourself up on the next step.  We finally made it to the top of this first segment, and had to decide which trial to go on next.  We had two options.  We could either take the short trail that read “Danger!  Experienced Rock climbers only!  Additional equipment necessary!” or we could take the path that was flat and a nice windy trail that looked like it actually went down hill instead of up hill.  Well, we knew that we were not experienced hikers in any sense, but it also looked like the rocks/steps that he had just climbed up, and we handled that ok.  Also, the other trail really looked like it was leading us back to the bottom, rather than up, up , up and away!  So, first we started out on the “Danger!” trail.  This lasted a whole two minutes, and then we decided that maybe we should take the other trail and see if it eventually goes up.  We turned around, and headed back towards the easy trail.  We took the easy trail for about five good minutes and all decided that it really was just going down hill, and looking at the trail as it snaked around the mountain, it never really looked like it was ever going to go up, so we turned back around and decided to go slow and do the “Danger!” trail.  As we came back to the same starting point that we had already visited twice now, we saw another group of five other SAS kids.   We talked our options over with them, and after some deliberation, decided that the flat trail has to go up eventually, and we really are not experienced hikers.  There has to be a way up for those of us without freelancing rock climbing abilities.  Once again, we headed back on our flat, downward slopping trail.  We let the other SAS students decide for themselves what they wanted to do. 

            We were on this trail for a whole ten minutes this time until our next dilemma.  The trail disappeared.  It was gone!  There seemed to be a trail that went straight up, but it looked even more dangerous than the other trail we had decided not to take.  We decided that it has to be the trail, and we might as well follow it.  We followed this trail for about 20 minutes, climbing on our hands and knees, straight up. Fighting loose gravel and charred trees, we kept going up.  Suddenly, we came to a rock face.  We were all thinking this can’t be right.  How can this possibly be the trail?  We climbed over the first rock face, hoping to see the trail again, but instead we were greeted with an even bigger rock face.  I think at this point we all came to the conclusion that this just wasn’t right, and that there was no way this was the trail.  Meghan climbed up this next rock face that was about 10 feet tall, to look and see if she could see the trail anywhere at all.  I was really hoping hat I would not have to climb that rock face, because I am not sure that I could do it.  Maria and I stayed where we were and waited for Meghan to tell us what she thought. 

            The other group of five SAS kids had decided to join us by that point, so we were all trying to figure out how we lost the trail.  Meghan did not see a trail from where she stood, and it was starting to rain a little.  This made me very nervous.  The point that we were at was not easy getting up, and coming down was sure to be a challenge all in its own, but add rain to the equation!  The rocks would only get slippery and muddy.  Maria and I quickly decided that it was time to get down now and back on the original trail to try and figure out what went wrong.  We helped Meghan down and let the other group know that we were heading back down to try and find the trail.  They decided to keep on going up the rock face their own way, and so with that, we parted ways. 

As soon as we were about ten feet away from the original flat trail, we saw how we missed the actual trail.  There was this big boulder in the way, and all we needed to do was go around this boulder, and we would have been on the right trail.  We tried to yell to the other group, but they never responded, so we headed on our way.  We were once again on the flat trail that laced around the mountain.  There were points on this trail that we were on the edge of a cliff, and we all told ourselves, just don’t look down.  This trail carried on for about another 25 minutes.  Suddenly, we saw a trail that was defiantly meant to take us straight up to the top of Table Mountain.  It was already 8:00 am, and we had been hiking around for 2 hours already, and just now we were reaching the actual trail that takes us up.  It is a good thing that we had an early start!  We wanted to start early so we would beat the heat of the day, and also so we could still go to the flee market after hiking. 

Starting our climb up, we soon realized it would not be an easy hike.  We were headed up the gorge, which was a long trail of steps after steps leading all the way to the top.  These are not traditional steps, but rather, more of the rocks placed to make a stairway.  They were all different heights and widths, and all very steep.  The three of us stuck together for the first hour of stairs.  We all were exhausted, and wishing for a fresh set of lungs.  As the air got thinner, and the hike more strenuous, the trail just seemed to stretch along ahead of us.  After a while Maria decided to go on ahead of us with this guy that we met on the trail.  Meghan and I stuck together and tried to encourage each other that all this really would be worth it once we got to the top.  The trail seemed to never end, but finally after three hours of when we found the trail that went up, we had finally reached the top.  Maria was up there waiting for us.  We each had brought one Nalgine of water (1 Liter) to drink on the way up.  Before we were even half way up we all realized this just wasn’t enough water.  So, by the time we reached the top, we were all out of water, panting and exhausted.  We had planed on resting for a little while, maybe having breakfast at the café and then taking the cable car back down to the bottom, and then heading back to the ship.

It was just our luck, but the power was out for the day, so the cable car was not running.  This meant that not only did we have to drag our exhausted bodies back down the mountain if 10.000 steps ( I really think there are more than 10,000 of those steps), but we also had no restaurant to eat breakfast in, or no bathrooms open, since none of the workers could get to the top of the mountain.  We were in luck though because we found a drinking fountain at least.  The water tasted horrible and it was warm, but at that point, we really didn’t care, we just needed water.  We rested for about 30 minutes, stretching the whole time, and then we decided it was time to start our way down. 

Usually, you would think that coming down would be a breeze after hiking up.  This was not what we experienced though.  First of all, while we were at the top, the entire top of Table Mountain was engulfed in a cloud, so there really was no view, and, on top of that, now everything was wet from the precipitation of the cloud.  So, coming down, not only were we battling the uneven steps, some high enough that I had to sit down so my feet would reach the one below me, but now everything was slippery too.  We went slow, because one wrong slip and you could go a long way down the mountain before you ever came to a halt, it was really steep.  Coming down took us another hour and a half.  I’m sure we looked dead with exhaustion when we finally made it off the mountain and back to the road.  We had been on the mountain for a total of seven hours, and now we were really debating if going to the flee market that afternoon really sounded like fun. 

As we were walking on the road back to the lower cable station, where our taxi dropped us off, a search and rescue vehicle pulled up beside us, and asked if we wanted a ride.  We gladly accepted, considering we weren’t sure how we would convince our legs that it was really necessary to walk up this hill to find a taxi home.  We thought he would just drop us off at the lower cable station so we could catch a taxi there, but then he asked where we were headed, and he happened to be heading in the same direction!  He gave us a ride all the way back to the ship!  Gregory was our angel in disguise!   

When we arrived back at the ship, we were ten minutes late for lunch.  The only thing I had eaten all day was a power bar, but strangely enough, I really wasn’t hungry, just thirsty.  Maria and Meghan went to the dinning hall, and begged the bus boys to bring us some food, anything.  They ended up with boxes of cereal, which they were happy with.  After returning to my room and freshening up, Maria and I decided to still head to the Flee Market, even though we were dead tired. 

The flee market was great!  I got my giraffe that I had been looking for, as well as a great souvenir for Chris!  Maria and I talked in Spanish the whole time, then we could discuss what we thought was a good price, and how much we actually wanted the product.  It was nice because no one else could understand us, so we could say whatever we wanted.  We did get some really great deals.  It was good that we went because I really did not have a chance all week to go to the markets.  When we got back from the flee market, we met up with everyone for a light dinner (my first meal of the day), and made plans to go out later that night for a real dinner.  Maria and I went back to our room to take a short nap, and then we were going to head out to the town for a little while.  The only problem is that once we laid down, we were out!  Poor Jen!  She was waiting on us to wake up so we could all go out to dinner!  Maria and I went to bed at 6:00 pm, and didn’t get up until the next morning.  The hike really did us in!

2-20-06

Breede River Rafting

I got up at 6:00 am for my early departure of 6:45am.  I really wasn’t sure what to really pack for this adventure.  I didn’t know if I should be packing some lunch (not like I really have anything to pack a lunch) or if I should bring a towel, or extra dry clothes.  I really had no idea how to prepare for this trip.  We would not be returning until 7:00pm that night. 

By the time I made it to the cafeteria for breakfast, the tour was just about to leave.  The bus took us to the wild adventure camp which was 2 hours away.  At the camp, they fed us breakfast, and gave us an opportunity to get into our bathing suits.  This was the site that we would end up at after our rafting for the day.  We signed the general release form and hopped back on the bus to head for our raft putting in site.  Before we could leave though, we noticed our bus was having a hard time getting out of the parking lot.  We were stuck!  At first, all of the guys tried pushing this full size bus out of the mud, but the bus barely moved.  Next, one of the staff members got smart and got the tractor and then with the help of our faithful pushers, they were able to get the bus out.  The spot where we put our rafts into the water was about a 25 minute drive away from the camp. 

Before we put the rafts in the water, we learned how to paddle and the safety signals of the river, as well as to pair up with our paddling partners.  My partner was Emily.  Since I had more experience with paddling, I was in the back of the raft, and Emily on the front.  We had a time trying to get in sync with our paddling so our raft would go in a straight line, but once we got that part down we were cruising!  We actually did really well when ever we had to go through tight narrow turns, but every once in a while, I would get pushed into the bank.  At one point, we were going fast around a corner down some rapids and I got swung into the bank.  There was a big tree branch hanging down and let’s just say that the branch didn’t move, but my head sure did.  I got a nice cut on my forehead from that one.  We all actually made it down the river in record time.  When we were at our half way point, the guides provided us with snacks and we had time to go swimming if we wanted.  We hopped back in our rafts, went through a couple more rapids and then we were in the final stretch of the river.  The river was relatively calm where we had to paddle to move our selves along, but there were a few rapids for us to ride down.    This is my paddling partner, Emily.

This is Jess, Me, Teresa, and Emily after our rafting adventure.  When we arrived back to the camp, we had lunch, and relaxed a while before heading back to the ship.  They said they had never had a group finish the trip so quickly.  We had finished the river 2 hours ahead of schedule.  This was actually very beneficial because it all gave us time to do whatever last minute things we wanted to do in Cape Town before boarding back on the ship. 

Jess, Teresa and I headed to the craft market at the water front in search for a wooden bead.  Jessica’s boyfriend at home told her the only thing he wanted from the whole voyage was a wooden bead from Africa.  We searched all over, and finally she found some beads that she thought he would like.  I wanted to use up the rest of my Rands, so I bought one more souvenir Giraffe (Giraffes are my favorite animal), and another pair of earrings.  We also decided to get some frozen yogurt from the mall.  The frozen yogurt here was incredible!  I have never had ice cream that even tasted this good.  It was creamy and the flavors were all bold, so good!  We also made a quick trip to the grocery store to stock up on fruits, bottled water, and snack crackers for the next leg of the trip.  The water from Mauritius to Hong Kong is supposedly going to get really bad, even on the ship.  They filter and chlorinate the water, but supposedly it will still be brown as we approach India all the way until Hong Kong.  They advised that we don’t even brush our teeth with it (I wonder how showers are going to work out…) so, needless to say, we are stocking up on bottled water now.  As I was heading back to the ship, I ran into some other friends who were going out to celebrate Marina’s 21^st birthday.  They told me which restaurant they would be at, and I agreed to meet them there.  I ran back to the ship to make sure I had used up all of my Rands, and to put my purchases away, and then I joined up with the girls.  They went to a nicer restaurant as their last meal before ship food for another 6 days, as well as to celebrate Marina’s birthday. 

We all ordered different meals and passed them around for everyone to try.  I of course ordered the lamb chops, which were once again amazing.  Marina ordered a lobster, Gina got shrimp, Abbey ordered chicken, Lee the calamari and Catherine got the game kabobs (it had springbuck, ostrich, and beef on it mixed with peppers.)  They also ordered a bottle of champagne with dessert (rich chocolate brownie) for Marina.  It was a great meal to end South Africa on. 

We made it back on the ship with plenty of time to spare.  No dock time for me this time!  (yes, I did get Dock time for Brazil, but I have to serve it the last two hours in Mauritius.  According to the Handbook, which I did read, I should have had it is South Africa, but I don’t want to “rock the boat”, so I just agreed to whatever they said. 

2-22-06

We have been back on the ship for 2 days now since South Africa.  I have been feeling pretty sick, some sort of stomach bug, so I am fighting that.  South Africa was such a fun port!  I can’t believe 1/3 of my voyage is already over!  I just love the people that I have met on this ship!  I was really blessed to get such a good roommate too!  I love hearing from you guys, so keep writing in the guest book or under my blog (or email always works too!)  I am glad to hear that so many people are reading and enjoying my website!  I’m going to get some sleep now, but hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get all of this posted on line!

Love, Laura