Okay your probably wondering what is with this title? Well it has a meaning. I think it was either my brother Matt’s freshman or sophomore year that he was in a music group called the Pitt Pendulums. He sang the song “Africa” by Toto- and I wanted to let him know that I thinking and missing him always!
I also wanted to let you all know that I did write another blog post about Cape Town before this one and unfortunately it was deleted... ?
Cape Town was extraordinary!!!! Out of the three places that I have been to so far, Cape Town is one that I would go back to in a heartbeat. It reminded me of a New England type of place with beautiful sparkly water, magnificent mall with over 500 shops, and delicious restaurants. The pier and waterfront where the boat docked could not have been in a more perfect place.
We arrived on Friday the 26th of September where we made our traditional ATM stop. Everyone got out money and we were ready to explore Cape Town. I was traveling with about 10 people around the city, which was a little big so we decided to split up and travel in smaller groups. A few of us went to a fantastic lunch place in the mall called “Victoria’s Wharf.” The weather in Cape Town was sunny but cool. Probably upper 60’s to low 70’s. The day before we arrived in Cape Town we were told to go to a fabulous aquarium called “Two oceans Aquarium.” My friends and I had a blast as we watched the feeding of sharks, stingrays, and penguins.
The night life in Cape Town is definitely one that you want to experience. Most of the people go to a place called “Long street” where there are a number of dance clubs and bars. I had such a blast there because we were in a huge group dancing the night away!
Another great tourist place to go is somewhere called Robben Island. This is the place where Nelson Mandela was held for twenty-seven years. You would grab a forty-five minute ferry from Cape Town to Robben Island where you then were given a bus tour of the island for about an hour and a half. I learned a lot about the history of the island as well as the history of the prison. This was a great tour because in school I was never taught about South African struggles and experiences. I knew nothing about their political structure, which is extremely interesting now that I am a political science major!! (Check out the news of the South African President) I love learning about different countries political history and systems; it is remarkable.
Sunday was the day of all days! Seven of us (Katie, Eleanor, Tien, Steven, Ginny, and Amanda) took a taxi to Stellenbosch. This is where we spent the night as well as a wine tour of four different vineyards! The view of the green mountains and beautiful fields were stunning. We were given a wine tour as well as the process that it takes to make wine such as what they do to white wine versus red wine. I wanted to buy a few bottles of wine to bring home for presents, but unfortunately we are not allowed to bring it on the ship. The wine was delicious, especially the red wines. Nevertheless I have a list of all of the ones that I tasted, and yes drank.
The next day the seven of us took an hour train ride from Stellenbosch back to Cape Town. My friend Eleanor who lives across the hall from me, lost one of her cameras somewhere so we told her we would go buy another with her. I felt really bad, but luckily another camera was not too much money. The exchange rate is the best $1.00 USA is equal to about 8 Rand. Sunday was not the prettiest of days where it was chilly and overcast. It did rain on us for about five minutes! Hehe.
Lets see, I think we just went out to dinner that night and came back early as I had to wake for a departure to the airport for my SAFARI!
The flight to Kruger was two and a half hours with an hour van drive from the Airport to our remarkable resort. Our hotel had five pools, golf course, tennis, and much more. The temperature rose to 90 degrees in a matter of a plane ride. We arrived to the resort at 2:00 PM and had our first game drive at 3:00.
The safari trucks were absolutely hysterical the first time that I saw them- you will laugh too with the pictures I have. The drive took twenty-minutes to get to Kruger Park and then we were out on the safari for three hours. Our tour guides were all great as they knew everything about the park and could answer any obscure questions anyone had. I went on a total of three game drives.
The first drive was the day we arrived; the second was from 5:00 AM until 3:00PM, and then the last one was the second night. I was able to see a range of animals from impala, (looked like a deer) zebras, giraffes, rhino, hippo, strange looking lizards, warthogs, elephants, etc. My favorite though was seeing fifteen lions. We were actually within ten feet of a few lions, oh my gosh was this was a thrill!
The night drive was spectacular because we were able to see a different view of animals at night. There were a few lions on the side of the road at night that were not phased by anything we were doing such as taking pictures and making lots of noise. I don’t think that anything could have made the safari any better. It was everything I anticipated and more. If anyone gets the chance to go on a safari in the future, definitely do it because it is truly a treat.
We did unfortunately run into a few problems with getting back to Cape Town. My flight from Kruger to Cape Town was supposed to leave at 12:45 PM and we did not get up in the air until 3:30. The flight before us came from Cape Town and apparently they didn’t know if they were going to have enough fuel to make it back to Cape Town. Not sure how they screwed this up but they did. They were not too good at informing us what was going on; therefore we were confused for a few hours. Before we took off the captain told us that we were going to have to take a pit stop in Johannesburg to get fuel. In spite of this, half way into our flight he told us we “might have” enough fuel to get to Cape Town. Five minutes later he confirmed we would. I kept saying, “are you kidding you think we might have enough fuel- what the heck?” It is funny now, but at the time not too funny.
We were extremely late for “on ship time” which is 6:00 P.M. for every port. If you are not on the boat at 6:00 with your passports handed in you will get dock time. This means every fifteen minutes you are late you are deducted an hour from getting off in the next port. Then again I was on a Semester At Sea sponsored trip so I didn’t get any dock time! Yeah! We arrived at the boat at 7:20 and the boat is on schedule to depart at 8:00 PM. Miraculously we some how made the departure time of 8:00. Quite an eventful day I would have to say.
Now I am on my way to India! If you look on a map you will see that I will not be in India anytime soon. It will take us twelve days to get there. When we get closer to India we will be having MIDTERMS AHH! I am not looking forward to this, but know that I have to buckle down and get through this so that I can see my parents! Less then a month I will be seeing them in Vietnam!! Everyone keeps asking if I am excited and I only have a few words for them: You have no idea!!!
I also just wanted to say a few words about how wonderful it is to hear from everyone that has e-mailed me! I read these e-mails and am grateful to have family and friends that are excited for me. It is cool to hear about what is going on in all of your lives as well! Pa and Maureen sent me a lovely e-mail about their China travels and I am glad that they are back in the states safely. A few friends keep sending me messages on facebook but I want them to know that I can’t go on facebook because it wastes my Internet! Send me an e-mail at: kcmendick@semesteratsea.net. Honestly it will get there faster then facebook I promise!
Alright well I guess the time for reading has come! Thank you again for the support and encouragement you have given me! Miss you =)
With Lots of Love,
Kristen
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