South Africa Update

Adventures are plentiful here in South Africa, here's a brief recap of the last few days:

June 19 (Friday)

An early rise and quick breakfast to sustain us on our trek from our hostel to downtown and the docks to catch a ferry to Robben Island. There was a bus tour around the island full of fascinating information about what the island has been used for since the 1500's, which was usually a place to sent the misfits. One of the main functions was to house those suffering from leprosy, then on and off as a small prison, at one point it's where the insane were shipped off to and then became the headquarters for prisoners - mostly those sentenced for 'political crimes' such as Nelson Mandela. We saw the limestone quarry where the prisoners were forced to work, we saw the large cannons built for defense in WWII but were ironically finished in 1947, they've never been fired.

The bus tour finished as the prison where we met our tour guide - a previous inmate of the prison who arrived in 1986. The cells were so small and cramped and we were able to see where Nelson Mandela lived for so long. Even within the prison there was different rationing for white and black prisoners.

June 20 (Saturday)

We took an all day excursion out to Cape Point about 2 hours away. It was breathtaking to see the massive mountains and the rolling oceans. It is almost the most southern tip of Africa. The mountains towered above, the quaint towns were buzzing with the early morning commuters. Giant cliff-side mansions overlooked the ocean - it reminded me of Malibu, but then across the street would be a shantytown. Make-shift tin homes smashed together like a compacted trash can - smoke bubbled up from the rubble as tiny cook fires of hope and life shown among the shacks. I've never seen anything like it, and can't imagine living in those shacks when across the streets the glinting sun blinds them from the shiny glass windows of mansions.

Cape Point was beautiful, we lucked out on weather as it was just perfect and clear. The sky was a deep blue and the ocean rippled in the blending of the Atlantic and Indian. I hiked out to the far lighthouse and lookout and peered over the cliffs and back at the stunning landscape of the African terrain. We then hiked down to the beach (which "hike" doesn't even begin to describe the descent. It was steep and included many stairs and winding paths. The sand there is also different - it's not small granuals like the beaches I know, but teeny pieces of seashells all smashed and worn. Picking it up you could examine a handful of colorful and sparkly grains. The long trek back up the cliff wore me out as we drove on to Boulders Park where we got to see the penguins!! Such an oxymoron in Africa, but there they were! Cute as could be waddling on the beach and diving into the waves. We ended our day tour with a stop at one of Will's favorite bakeries for some treats.

June 21 (Sunday)

Today we took an excursion up to Table Mountain. Half of the group chose to hike up the 1,067 meters with our leaders. The other half, myself included, chose to spend our time in the leisurely sky tram that takes you up in a matter of minutes!! We started in the mist and thick fog until about half way up when there were random breaks and the cliffs would emerge on either side. The top was windy and below was thick with fog. I'm sure the view without the clouds would be amazing as you could see all of Cape Town, but I suppose the post card renditions will have to do because the fog continued to roll in until you could barely see the gift shop on top of the mountain! We studied and chatted in the cafe sipping out lattes and cups of tea waiting for the second half of the group to emerge from the mist. They made it in about two hours - I was impressed!

The fog continued to roll in and we were all freezing so it was time to come down. The rest of the day will be devoted to uploading pictures, working on homework and a church service this evening!

Oh, and I learned my first Afrikaans word: akidis (no idea if I'm spelling that right, pronounced ach-ih-dees and it means lizard! We saw plenty at Cape Point).