[Life] 33.9767° S, 18.4244° E: Cape Town, South Africa

With my travel and illness I'm running a bit behind on 10-year anniversary Semester at Sea posts. I'll try and catch up this week!!!

Wednesday, February 19, 2003
"We made it!!! Missed watching the ship pull into Cape Town, South Africa, but did get up to catch the sunrise. The city isn't as built up as Salvador looked - I think I had the size images swapped. The area we docked in (Victoria Waterfront) is clean, modern, and gorgeous with a view of Table Mountain for the backdrop."

"Our first trip was to the District 6 Museum, a shrine to the district that was taken over during apartheid where they knocked down homes and forced people into squatter settlements or illegal townships." (side note - anyone ever see the movie District 9 a few years back? It's an alien version of what they did in District 6 in South Africa. Great movie if you ever get the chance to see it - and I'm not into scifi at all!!)

"We went to a township from there. It was so overwhelming, I'm still processing it all. We saw 'Vicki's B&B' - a shack made into a place for visitor's to stay to see the 'other' part of South Africa. These kids & families live - literally - in a house the size of my bedroom at home. All of the kids loved the digital cameras because they could see themselves in the viewer on the back."

"We went up Table Mountain in the cable car. What an amazing view - and the cable car spun!!!"

"We headed out for dinner and ended up at the Ocean Basket - we ordered the priciest bottle of local wine on the menu - for the equivalent of $7. Our waiter invited us out to Cantina Tequila with he & his friends. We ordered a Gulf of Mexico - a giant drink w 7 straws to share that tasted like liquid candy."

Thursday, February 20, 2003
"After a longish bus ride, we got to the lighthouse at Cape Agulhas. After climbing to the top, we drove a few more minutes to get to the point where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet."

"Afterwards, it was over an hour ride to Hermanus, where we stayed overnight. After dinner, we went out for drinks at a bar called Dro's, and made friends with the bartenders. They took us to a tiny little local techno bar where we had a great night with the locals."

Friday, February 21, 2003
"The morning started with a nature walk. The guide was bad, but the hike itself was gorgeous!"

"Finally got back to the ship and got ready for dinner. Had ostrich and champagne at Aldo's, then headed over to Camp's Bay - Sarah has friends studying abroad there from her college! They are renting out some filmmaker's home and it was gorgeous. We went out from there, enjoying a fun night on the town."

Saturday, February 22
"Got up for the Robben Island tour. It was interesting to see where Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned."

"After dinner at Imelo, we had the amazing opportunity to hear the local PSS Choir sing on the ship before we departed - simply incredible!!"