Cape Town.

The best spring break I have ever had included our trip to Cape Town. We left bright and early on Tuesday morning and took about 10 hours with some stops in between. We took a break for lunch in Kynsna which was beautiful, but the weather was so nasty and cold we had no choice but to eat inside. Becca and I had a delicious chicken tramezzini and got a gelato for dessert. We arrived just outside of Cape Town in a township where we stayed the night. I was paired with Kelly and we went to our “mama’s” house for dinner. I think I must first explain townships. Townships at home are just housing developments outside of the city, I use to live in one, but it is just like any other housing development. Townships in South Africa are more or less a densely populated area (usually blacks and/or coloureds) of people that have a low income or are unemployed. Some townships are even lined with shacks made of sheet metal and wood. You see kids walk without shoes and dogs are just roaming the streets. We stayed in a safer townships where the houses were actually houses and our mama had a t.v. and running water. All she had was a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom (which lacked a sink- so we spit out our toothpaste into the toilet). We luckily had chicken for dinner which was very very veryyy good! But for dessert, our mama brought out chicken feet. She basically just laughed at us watching the way we tried to eat it. We had to pick out the nails and eat around a ton of tiny bones. I gave up after awhile and just gave it to our mama, and she devoured it in a few minutes. I slept so well that night in such a comfy bed. I was nice and warm with all the blankets even though there was no heat in the house.



The next morning we woke up pretty early and walked to the main mama’s house. I have to admit I was pretty nervous walking through the township especially with my suitcase full of all my stuff. Kelly and I were the only white people on the street so we obviously stood out, but it was nice to know our mama was with us. Everyone we passed by gave us a warm hello or “molo ” We hoped on the pass after saying a quick goodbye and made our way to the base of table mountain. The trail didn’t look that bad from the ground, but it was basically like doing the stairmaster for 2 and a half hours on the highest level. We took breaks, but I think what got me was that I was warm from climbing, but the air was a lot colder towards the top. I could see my breath about 3/4 of the way up the mountain. We passed by a lot of people on the way up and were eventually in the cloud that was covering table mountain. Once we got to the top the cloud was still hanging over the mountain so we couldn’t see very far out, at some points you couldn’t even see anything but cloud. We all huddled in the same place and looked on as Shawn got down on one knee and proposed to Alyssa on top of table mountain. It was amazing to see! And she obviously said yes, we all drank a little champagne and walked around the flat top of the mountain. Once the cloud swept by we were able to take a ton of pictures, which I took advantage of. We had to go down the same way we came up because it had been raining so the other way that we were planning to go was a little too dangerous to tackle. The way down was very hard on my knees, but it was nice to look out onto the city on the way down since I just kept looking up on the way to the top. We were all pretty tired after the hike and we all kept saying that we were going to “go out” that night. I’m sure our guides thought we were alcoholics because we even had them stop at the liquor store on the way home. We all gathered after our showers to go out to eat at a burger and milkshake place on long street. It was amazing, I couldn’t even finish my whole burger and that is usually no problem for me. I was so stuffed and so was everyone else that once we went back to the hotel most of us just got ready for bed and went to bed early. It was a great day, one of the top ones since I’ve been here. Table mountain is such an icon for South Africa, it was nice to actually see it and climb it.






We woke up at a descent time on Thursday. Today was technically our “free” day where we could do anything we wanted. The plan had originally been to either chose between a wine tour or shark cage diving, but the shark cage diving had to be cancelled because the swells were too out of control. I was planning to do the cage diving, but I was happy with the wine tour outcome. It was a perfect day outside. We hoped on the bus to first reach the Green Market Square where the whole lot of us basically drained out bank accounts. I spent a lot of money, but I think everything I got was worth every penny. I got most of my gifts I am taking back to friends and family, but don’t expect too much people because I only have two suitcases!!! Afterwards we got back on the bus and made our way out towards Praal where we had our first wine tasting. I am glad we went here first because they explain all about what and how you are suppose to taste wine. It was a great experience even though I didn’t enjoy any of the wines. The also had a cheese tasting which I liked and it reminded me of the cheese I had in Brazil that was home made. They also made their cheese on the farm from goats milk, mhmm delicious! We made our way further along the wine route and stopped at a winery that is run and the funds are shared between and entire community of blacks. It is such a greta success story. The community owns and runs the farm and all the money they make goes into a trust so that as long as you work at the winery at some point you are able to go to University for free and you also receive free housing, water and even satellite TV. I didn’t like any of the wines here either, but I drank all of them usually in one big gulp if I didn’t like the first sip. We left there and made our way to the next winery which was close to Stellenbosch. We partied and danced on the bus the entire way there. This winery let me down a little bit because the lady that served us gave us no fun facts or anything about the wine, it was like she didn’t care at all. At this winery though they only made white wines and the farm across the way made only red, so they would trade with each other so that both would have each type of wine. Our last stop was actually in Stellenbosch, which is where I had originally planned to study abroad at. This is the place where I actually enjoyed one of the wines. It was white and really sweet with a low alcohol content. I bought this one and another one to share with my room mates! I learned a lot about wine during out tour of the winelands. I learned how you should look at the wine first, then swirl the wine and watch as it slides down the side of the glass. Then you take a whiff of the aroma that they swirling leaves and take a nice little sip. All in all it was a great day! Dinner was on our own this night so a few of us just went and picked up some pizza. We then got ready to go out and party on the famous long street. It is a smaller version of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. I spent most of my time on a balcony overlooking the street that night and also dancing across the street. I had a great time and would have loved to call Cape Town my home for a semester, but I am in fact in love with Port Elizabeth and am glad that I chose this city.






Friday was a day filled with touristy things like Robben Island and Cape of Good Hope (CGH). We started with Robben Island and made our way across the rough water on a ferry for our tour. The ride was a bit wavy and there was a lot of clouds so Cape Town wasn’t very visible. Once we got to the island after about a 30 minute boat ride, we hoped on some bus’s and toured the island first. Our tour guide was great and very knowledgeable. My favorite place we stopped to view was the quarry that took so many years to dig, especially because the prisoners only were given shovels and picks. The site to see that really made my heart dropped was a pile of limestones about 3 feet tall right in front of the quarry. The stones were placed there by all the former political prisoners when they revisited the island; Nelson Mandela included. Once the island tour was over we headed inside to the actual jail and we were given a tour by a former political prisoner. It must be tough for him to relive the experience everyday when he gives the tours, but they talked about Robben Island as something to learn by and that they shouldn’t fear it. We saw Nelson Mandela’s prison cell which was about the size of a normal bathroom.




Our guide told us some facts about the prison life like doors were locked at 330pm and they weren’t reopened until 7am the next morning, which meant that if you had to use the bathroom you had to go in your bucket and it had to sit with you all night. The bucket then had to be cleaned in the morning so that it wouldn’t stink up your room. He also talked about how the prisoners correspondent with relatives by post. All their letters were censored meaning that if they included something that the guards didn’t agree with they could easily just cut it out, and many times the prisoners wouldn’t have anything left but the heading and sincerely. I really enjoyed the island and I feel like I learned a lot in such a short amount of time. After the island we ate lunch on the road and stopped for ice cream on the way to a very scenic drive along the coast, which is ranked one of the top drives in the world. We stopped at the top to take some pictures and it was honestly breathtaking. The pictures don’t do it justice at all.



Afterwards, we made our way to the CGH which took quite a while. Along the way we pasted by a section of beach that was very exclusive and only contained 500 housing plots. They are extremely expensive and top celebrities like Tom Cruise and many others have houses there. Once we got to CGH we saw a baboon straight away. We see monkeys all the time here, but this was the first time I have seen a baboon and it was a lot bigger.



We made the trek up the stairs to the lighthouse and looked out into the ocean. This is the place were people consider it that the two oceans (Indian and Atlantic) meet. Looking out you couldn’t see anything but water and it was pretty cool to get almost of 360 degree view from the lighthouse vantage point. We took a bunch of pictures and were rushed to leave or we wouldn’t make it to the penguin beach.






Once we got there, we took a scenic walk along a boardwalk and were able to see a ton of penguins along the way until we reached the beach and could take a bunch of picture up close of the penguins. They are now known as the African Penguin, but they use to have the common name of the Jackass Penguin because they sound like a jackass when they make noise or are calling. It is very loud and I couldn’t believe how similar the two sounded. The sun was setting on the way home and we called it a day with a bunch of adventures under our belt. Some people went out tonight, but I had a serious headache so I went straight to bed.




It was already Saturday before I knew it and we were already leaving Cape Town. I felt like we did a lot and saw many of the highlights of the town, but there was still more to do and see. As we made our way to Oudtshoorn, I tried to snap a few more pictures of table mountain from a distance. Oudtshoorn is a city that is along the scenic Route 62 and further inland. The terrain was very mountainous and rocky with many shrubs with an occasional “African Tree” (which is what you would picture from the Lion King). The main focus of Oudtshoorn is its ostrich farms and Cango Caves. We first went to a tiny place to eat and I tried Eland which is Africa’s largest antelope. It was delicious and I wish I could bring some home for my parents to try, Dad you would love it! Next, we ended up at the Cango Caves, just before the last tour left. We went on the adventure tour which takes you deep into the cave and requires you to shimmy and squeeze through some tight spots. The formations inside were amazing, Dr. Johnson you would have loved it! Some of the formations were around a million years old (estimated) I wasn’t scared at first of the thought of being so deep into a cave and not being able to get out, but then when we went through the “tunnel of love” which is named that because it squeezes you from every direction. This was a very tight squeeze, but what made me more nervous was the fact that it was such a long tunnel and I went into it when people were still in front of me which meant that I couldn’t go anywhere when we stopped. It got hot really quick in the tunnel and some people started to freak out which in turn made me nervous. I had no desire to go on after that, but I ended up doing it because I calmed down once we were into a more open area. We then climbed up the skinny Devil’s Chimney and slid through the post box which was pretty cool. I was proud of myself because I didn’t want to keep going at all after my minor freak out, but I ended up going the whole way and it was awesome sliding down the post box.



It was already Saturday before I knew it and we were already leaving Cape Town. I felt like we did a lot and saw many of the highlights of the town, but there was still more to do and see. As we made our way to Oudtshoorn, I tried to snap a few more pictures of table mountain from a distance. Oudtshoorn is a city that is along the scenic Route 62 and further inland. The terrain was very mountainous and rocky with many shrubs with an occasional “African Tree” (which is what you would picture from the Lion King). The main focus of Oudtshoorn is its ostrich farms and Cango Caves. We first went to a tiny place to eat and I tried Eland which is Africa’s largest antelope. It was delicious and I wish I could bring some home for my parents to try, Dad you would love it! Next, we ended up at the Cango Caves, just before the last tour left. We went on the adventure tour which takes you deep into the cave and requires you to shimmy and squeeze through some tight spots. The formations inside were amazing, Dr. Johnson you would have loved it! Some of the formations were around a million years old (estimated) I wasn’t scared at first of the thought of being so deep into a cave and not being able to get out, but then when we went through the “tunnel of love” which is named that because it squeezes you from every direction. This was a very tight squeeze, but what made me more nervous was the fact that it was such a long tunnel and I went into it when people were still in front of me which meant that I couldn’t go anywhere when we stopped. It got hot really quick in the tunnel and some people started to freak out which in turn made me nervous. I had no desire to go on after that, but I ended up doing it because I calmed down once we were into a more open area. We then climbed up the skinny Devil’s Chimney and slid through the post box which was pretty cool. I was proud of myself because I didn’t want to keep going at all after my minor freak out, but I ended up going the whole way and it was awesome sliding down the post box.


Once we were out of the cave entirely it was already getting dark and everything was closed. We traveled back to the backpackers for some dinner which was cooked by the chef of the hostel. We partied at the hostel that night, which is always fun because you don’t have to worry about calling cabs or driving anywhere and plus you get to meet some of the most interesting people. The next morning we packed everything up and had some breakfast and made our way to the ostrich farm, which was our last excursion of the trip. We were able to pet the birds, hug the birds, and the guys even got a kiss from Betsy, one of the lady ostrich’s on the farm. I never realized how strange these birds are and they will honestly eat anything you give them, including rocks. It was interesting to find out that since they don’t have teeth to crush their food, they have a small collection of rocks in their stomach that work to crush their food as they eat it so that it can be digested. Another fascinating fact was that the bending part of the birds leg that is very obviously and visible is the ostrich’s ankle and their knee is located all the way at the top near the wings. We got a chance to sit on the ostrich and even ride it. It was super fast, but a very smooth ride which I was surprised by. Then the jockeys that were helping us demonstrated the real way to ride an ostrich which they were obviously really talented at. He jumped on and in order to steer the ostrich, you have to push its neck in the direction you want it to go! It was so awkward to watch! We then got a chance to check out some ostrich eggs, which are a huge item that they sell in the markets here.








A little side trip to a waterfall just outside of town was our very last stop along Route 62. It was the clearest water I have ever seen, but also very cold. Some people were brave enough to cliff jump in, but the cold water wasn’t for me. I just took some pictures and admired the high rocky cliffs around me with a cool mountain breeze. The ride back was long, but we stopped in Kynsna again for lunch. The pit stop was way more nice this time because it was actually warm and sunny. On the way back Chelsea called me to her seat and she told me that she had gotten a call a few days earlier from Robbie, who is my neighbor at Annie’s telling her that him and Kyle heard water running in my house so they told our “landlord” and apparently they shut the water off for the entire complex without notifying anyone. So since the water was off my room mate turned the shower on and noticed no water was coming out so she left for the day without switching the handle back to off. Meaning that our entire house flooded. So Robbie and Kyle told our “landlord” about the water and he simply went into my room, turned the water off and went back to bed... He didn’t care that there was about 2 inches of water on my floor and to make matters worse I hid my computer under my nightstand while I was away. Chelsea remembered me telling her and everyone else this so she told Robbie that he had to go in and get my computer. So Kyle and Robbie got a car jack and jacked up the bars on my bathroom window and broke one off. Kyle squeezed in and saved my computer. I really owe them two so much they don’t even know. Thank god for them. So I get back after the entire trip to my room smelling like moldy wet carpet and my “landlord” wouldn’t even do anything about it. He told me that I shouldn’t come to him and attack him; I’m sorry, but I basically had no where to sleep and all my laundry was drenched. I think I had the right to be a tad bit mad seeing as I didn’t nothing wrong and my computer and my laundry were all messed up.





All in all it was a great and by far the best spring break I have ever had. I got to see and do so much in such a short amount of time. I really loved Cape Town and I definitely want to come back at some point in my life. Cheers! Miss all of you at home!