Day 31 (02-18-09)

A month. I’ve been gone for a month. It really doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. I’d love nothing more than to press pause and soak it all in at a leisurely pace. But I’m pretty sure I can just deal with what I’m given. Take for instance…South Africa. We’re now in South Africa.

We got here a little bit late this morning. Dense fog made our arrival into port a slow process. Instead of leaving the ship at 9am, we couldn’t get off until after 11. But no worries. On the agenda for today: summit Table Mountain. We got some information from the Executive Dean and some of our inter-port guests (a couple who have climbed Kilimanjaro) and we left for our climb up a gorge to the top of Table Mountain. I apologize in advance because I might get a bit detailed and self-indulgent here, but it just feels necessary. Simply put, this thing was rough. I didn’t know how out of shape I am until today, and it didn’t take very long for me to realize it. The trail was supposed to take about 2 hours at a leisurely pace, and we finished in slightly less time than that, mostly because we stopped for a lot of pictures along the way. But we were still getting passed a lot. There was a really steep staircase of boulders about halfway through the climb and I had the bright idea of running them as fast as I possibly could. It was fun. But it didn’t make the rest of the climb any easier. I love the whole mountain climbing experience though. I feel like I don’t take advantage of anything that’s right at my doorstep in Boulder. Who knows. Maybe I’ll climb Pike’s Peak sometime. It’ll get me ready for Kilimanjaro. Consider a Kili climb added to my life’s to-do list. Not Everest though. That’s a bit ambitious. Plus it costs at least 50,000 dollars and there aren’t even good odds for making it to the top. But Kili would be great.

Afterwards, we relaxed at the top for awhile, but the clouds came in right as we got there. The hike was clear, but the top of the mountain was in the clouds and we couldn’t see the city from our vantage point. So we just ate some lunch at the top (beef burger covered in some kind of delicious barbeque concoction) and reveled in our accomplishment. We took the Cable Car down (I was singing the Fray all day), and headed back to the ship.

We walked around town for a bit, then headed out to dinner at a Belgian place called Den Anker. Great food. Red meat covered in gravy with a glass of some nice South African white wine. We rushed out of the restaurant just in time to make it to a theatre for a 3-man production called Freak Country. The concept of the show was interesting, but the execution was a bit off. You can ask if you’d like a synopsis. I found dessert to be necessary, and we all went back to the same place that we had dinner and grabbed something. A short walk up the waterfront later, I found myself at a little jazz club called the Green Dolphin. I took in some live music and got some drinks there until it closed and we went back to our floating abode. Great first day. Cape Town, I could get used to you.

Day 32 (02-19-09)

Early morning today. Why? Because I’m building a house in a South African Township, that’s why. I did Habitat for Humanity all day, and it was great. We got into the Township and split into groups, with 10 people going to each of the two project houses. Roofing, mortaring, cinder blocking, cementing, and painting ensued. The future homeowner came and made us snacks and we talked with her for a little bit. Kids from the surrounding area came out and played with us and took pictures. It was a long day, but certainly fulfilling.

After making myself feel human again, I found a friend of mine on the ship and she said, “Hey, come with me.”I asked her where she was going. She replied, “I have no idea.”So I went. We ended up 20 kilometers away in a beach town just on the other side of Table Mountain. It’s a place called Camp’s Bay and was absolutely beautiful. It felt like a less obnoxiously crowded version of Southern California with a mountainous backdrop. We met up with friends at a place called the Bungalow and spent 2 or 3 hours just eating and relaxing with each other. The restaurant was completely open to the outside, and we were sitting on a giant white couch at our table, with white sheets on the walls that flapped lightly in the breeze. As we were at a table by the entrance, we had an unimpeded view of the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean, which is a treat. From the coast, I’ve only ever watched the sunrise over the Atlantic, never the sunset. Venus was the brightest I’ve ever seen in the sky, and the blue sky gave way to orange over top of the palm trees and breaking waves while we had our meal. And the meal is worth description. I had some drink that was essentially a smoothie made with peach schnapps. Tasty. The appetizers for the table were all amazing, especially our palette cleansers. They were called Nitro Dragons. The waitress brought out this steaming metal pot filled with liquid nitrogen. It had flash-frozen pieces of lemony goodness inside. She grabs one of these lemon things out of the liquid nitrogen with some tongs and she tells me to “open your mouth, bite down, and breathe out through your nose.”Umm…okay? So I do as she says and it’s cold and delicious and the steamy stuff from the nitrogen comes out my nose and I look like a dragon. It was beautiful. Dinner was the pasta of the day, spaghetti with some kind of cilantro infused tomato and vegetable sauce. And then someone ordered the Jellyfish. Not an actual jellyfish, but a drink called the jellyfish. It’s a party drink for the whole table to share, and it was interesting not because of its taste, but because of its presentation. It came in a giant fishbowl with about 20 straws sticking out of the top. We all took the obligatory picture with the fishbowl, making it appear as though we were consuming it individually. Good times. Went to the Green Dolphin again for some more live music before finally heading to bed. Rewarding day, fantastic night, can’t wait for another.

Day 33 (02-20-09)

Can I move here? Or just get a vacation house or something? I could spend months in Cape Town without getting bored. And it’s dirt cheap. The exchange rate is 10 South African Rand to 1 US Dollar. So that gourmet meal last night for all 7 of us cost about $200 American, including drinks and tip and everything. Less than $30/person? Are you kidding me? Plus, Cape Town just has so much going on. There are great beaches, a few mountains to climb, plenty of wildlife, vineyards, extreme sports (bungee, skydiving, shark diving, cliff diving, motorsports, etc), sailing, cycling, everything. But, alas, my time here is short, and it’s impossible to do it all in 5 days’time. So for now, I’ll just do as much as I can.

Today was another fun-filled day. A few of us hopped on a minibus tour of the area south of Cape Town. We went through the resort beach area, a couple vineyards, and the most southwesterly point of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope. We were fortunate enough to see some of the local wildlife up close, including baboons and Jackass Penguins. They’re called Jackass Penguins because their mating calls sound similar to the braying of a donkey. True story. After some more scenic driving and lots of pictures, we wound up back at the waterfront for lunch. The group of people I was with hadn’t yet been to Table Mountain, and it was a perfectly clear day, so I went with them to the top (via cable car…there isn’t a chance in Hell I’d want to climb that thing twice in 3 days) and we got some great photos of the city and surrounding areas. We could even see all the way out to Cape Agulhas, the very southern tip of Africa where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. Spectacular.

Oh and it’s time for our tangent of the day. You’re excited, I can tell. On our minibus tour in the morning, there was a man named David, probably in his early 30s, originally from New Zealand, but now living in London. He works for a broadcasting company in England that supports networks all over the world, and this company is most notably responsible for many of the televised soccer matches in Europe. While on holiday from his job, he decided to come down to Africa for some time to take in the sights. He was in Zambia and Zimbabwe a few days ago for Victoria Falls, Johannesburg yesterday on safari, and now he’s in Cape Town for a wedding. So we talk to this guy for awhile about traveling and sports and it was a lot of fun, but then the tour ended and we go our separate ways. Well 2 hours later in line for the tickets for the Table Mountain cable car, guess who’s standing right in front of us? (That’s another thing I hate…when people ask a question that’s so incredibly obvious that it fails in its purpose as a question. Questions are meant to elicit thought and provoke conversation and ideas. I’ve only been talking about one guy in this entire paragraph. You know exactly who we saw in line.) Imagine that, it was David. So we rode the cable car up and walked around the top of the mountain with him, got some food, etc. He took all of our cameras and got group shots of all of us SAS kids together on the mountain. Just a genuinely nice guy. We rode in a taxi with him back to the waterfront and told him about a great steak restaurant nearby where he could get the t-bone he was craving (the best in South Africa, supposedly). Before we left though, he stopped and thanked us for traveling around with him all day; he was touring Africa alone and it was nice for him to have some companions for the day. And then he gave me his e-mail address and said “If you’re ever in London between August and May, drop me an e-mail a few days in advance and I’ll get you up into the broadcast booth for a Champions League match. Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, whatever. Just give me some notice and it’ll be no problem.”Even the TOURISTS are friendly in Cape Town. It’s ridiculous. But hey, now I have a contact in London. Just in case.

Afterwards, the rest of my group ended up going to a local rugby match in which I wasn’t much interested, so I met up with someone else and we went to dinner at a place that came highly recommended to me, Mama Africa’s. They open at 7pm, we arrived at 7:15pm, and there were no tables available. They’re booked solid from 7-midnight everyday. Fortunately, there were 2 seats open at the bar, and they serve the full menu there as well, so we were able to sit down right when we got there. I got the local game variety plate, with one serving each of sausage, kudu, springbok, ostrich, and crocodile. Tasty. Plus, there was live music: Some African drums with a guitarist and a vocalist that actually sang Josh Groban at one point. Not what I was expecting from an African-themed restaurant in Cape Town. When we finished, we walked along Long Street, the nightlife capital of the city. We were offered cocaine on two separate occasions in a 10-minute span. I don’t even have the long hippie hair anymore. Bizarre.

But of course, we ended the evening at the Green Dolphin for some drinks and music. Tomorrow is my free day in Cape Town to wander at my leisure, so I fully intend to sleep in a little bit. Woo hoo!

Day 34 (02-21-09)

Okay, so remember that time I was going to sleep in a little bit? I slept in a lotta bit. Noon. Whoops. I wasted half of a day in this incredible place. But I’m over it. Nothing I can do about it now. Today was my day of R&R. I stayed near the waterfront all day, went into the local mall, got a phone card and talked to some people back home.

And now I’m going to blow your mind. Surprise surprise, food is involved. There’s a little chain of coffee shops here called Melissa’s. It looks like a typical upscale coffee shop. They have their own types of coffee and tea and some dried fruits for sale. They have fresh baked goods sitting on the counter for your enjoyment. I had the baked cheesecake and it was lovely. But it was here, folks, at Melissa’s, that I consumed the best mug of hot chocolate I have ever had. Now, let me say that with a disclaimer, because the Chocolate con Churros in Spain had the best actual drinking chocolate that I’ve had, but it was meant to have fried goods dipped inside it. Melissa’s hot chocolate was the best overall cup of hot chocolate though, because of its preparation. It’s something so basic that it shouldn’t even be exciting. But I never would have thought to do it, so cheers to Melissa. Okay, so you have your hot chocolate, right? Before you pour it in the mug this is what you do: line the insides of the mug with a layer of Nutella. Consider your mind blown. Rich and decadent hot chocolate in a cup lined with chocolatey hazelnut goodness. It was almost too good to be true. But it was true. So not quite too good. Whatever. Try it out, see if it works.

Today really was all about food, actually. After my stop at Melissa’s I went to dinner about an hour later at a waterfront restaurant called Quay Four. Tagliatelle with chicken and cream sauce. Our group of 10 was there at the restaurant for 3 hours before moving on to the…Green Dolphin. Where we spent another 3 hours having drinks, taking in some jazz, and talking to the locals. We talked to a couple of guys from Johannesburg for little bit that were in Cape Town for a weekend off. A common thread for most of the people we’ve met this week, tourist or local, is the sense of joy they all have about the city. Foreigners come to Cape Town once and then return several times. Locals move out of the city or the country, but always go well out of their way to make it back as often as possible. Two of the musicians that we listened to at the Green Dolphin every night were Australian citizens that were born and raised in Cape Town, and they come back for a week every year because they love it so much. I was lucky enough to sit down and have a drink with the saxophone player in between sets and he talked about how much he loves the area and how he always enjoys coming home to play. I have yet to see the downside to this city, at least from a tourist’s perspective.

Late night tonight, early morning tomorrow. Eat, sleep, breathe, repeat.

Day 35 (02-22-09)

This morning, I hate everything and everyone. It’s 4:40am. I’ve gotten 2 hours of sleep. Anything that doesn’t involve walking immediately back to my room for more sleep is a terrible idea. And what terrible idea is on the agenda for today? Great white shark cage diving. It’s 2 hours away and we have to do the dives in the morning, so an early pick-up is necessary. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. We set out for Gansbaai, the great white capitol of the world, at about 5:15am and we made it to the boat by 8:30. Fun fact: rough waters + small boat = sea sickness for Christopher. Oh man. There were about 20 of us onboard this boat and I’d say that half of us were getting sick all morning. It was pretty rough. But also worth it. Because we saw 4 great white sharks. The groups that went out yesterday saw zero. Zero. We had different sharks, and they all kept coming around for more opportunities to bite at our bait. One of them was a baby, only about 6 feet long. Two of them were juvenile females, about 9 feet long. And we got a special treat in that we were fortunate enough to see and adult male, approximately 12-13 feet long. Typically on these dives, juvenile females are the most common sharks seen, adults are rare, and adult males are especially rare, as they tend to be more cautious about approaching ships. Plus, February is the South African summer. The water is colder. The shark population in the area diminishes significantly here, and the ones that are around are more skittish than in the wintertime. So the combination of everything just made the whole experience more memorable. Even if I was vomiting over the side of the boat half of the time, I still came within 2 inches of a 12-foot-long shark. What did you do today?

We came back to the waterfront at about 3:30pm and I just stayed on the ship. It’s our last day here and we have to be on the ship by 6, so I didn’t have any desire to press my luck by going anywhere. I applied for a VAT tax refund on the ship, mailed some postcards, got some food back into my system. It was nice. And now tonight, we’re supposed to pull away from the dock at 8pm, but the winds are strong and the opening to this port is considerably narrower than any other we’ve traversed thus far, so we don’t know when we’ll be able to leave. They told us it could be “as late as 11pm.”Guess what. It’s 12:30am and we still haven’t moved. Who knows how this will affect our Mauritius trip. The Executive Dean said we should be fine, but you never know. Whatever, I’m on a cruise with great people and I’m having the time of my life and I could just keep on going. Do I have any control over what’s going to happen? Nope. Will it really make that much of a difference? I don’t think so. I’m happy to just go wherever the wind takes us, no pun intended. Do I have to come home? Let’s not think about that yet, I’m only a third of the way through the voyage. From Cape Town for the last time (for now), Goodnight.