South Africa Day 4: What an adventure!- 2/21/09

I was up early, for the millionth time. I feel like I have gotten up early every single day of this voyage so far. The latest I have ever slept in is 10 AM, once. Other than that, it has been 6:30, 6:45, 7, 7:15, etc… Anyways, we got together with Tanmoy, and Michelle joined us too (she had told us earlier she wanted to travel with Achal and me cuz we seemed to have a great time everywhere we went). We walked outside and found a taxi. One of the drivers approached us and was asking for 1500 Rand…we brought him down to 1000 for the whole day ($25/person for the whole day). We got into the taxi and left for Cape Point. Our driver’s name was Ivan, and he was a great guy. We talked the whole way to Cape Point, and we found out a LOT about Cape Town. He was a wealth of information and what amazed us was that he was not required to tell us anything. We had paid him to take us around for the day, but he was going above and beyond, and I learned SO much inside information about South Africa.

We got to Cape Point about an hour later. It was an absolutely beautiful drive, and most of it was uphill. There was a point where we could see the entire city of Cape Town. Right outside the park entrance, we stopped at an ostrich farm. There were TONS of ostriches just roaming around inside their pens. We took lots of pictures with the huge non-flying birds. I had seen ostriches before so it wasn’t anything amazing…but we were in South Africa. We left and entered the park, paid the entrance fee, and drove to the first point. The first thing we noticed about Cape Point was how beautiful it was…just huge, green hills everywhere with rocky beaches below. From our first stop, we saw the Cape of Good Hope (different than Cape Point) from a distance, and then we drove to the Cape of Good Hope. Upon arriving, the first thing I saw was the sign…welcome to the Cape of Good Hope, the Southwestern point of the African continent!! We were at the point of Africa!!!! Of course we took lots of pictures with the sign and then proceeded to the beach. There were huge rocks everywhere, so we climbed around and took several group pictures everywhere. Ivan had told us there was a trail that went up to Cape Point, and that it would take a LONG time to do. We saw the trail, and after several group photos with the beautiful, rocky beach in the background, we headed up the trail. The trail climbed fairly steeply, and it took about 15 mins to climb to the top. What…a…view! We could see miles in all directions. We saw the Cape park to our right, and Cape Point to the left (east), the point where the oceans merged (they don’t merge at the Cape of Good Hope as some people think). It was an awe-inspiring scene, and we relaxed on the top for a while, taking in the scenery. Tanmoy and Achal were being stupid and climbed to the edge of the rocks to get cool pictures. I took the pictures, but Michelle and I were constantly yelling at them to come back on safe ground.

We climbed back down to the parking area, but Ivan was gone. We looked around but his taxi was nowhere to be found. We were very confused, but then I remembered what he had said. He had told us the trail went to CAPE POINT, and it would take A WHILE. We had gone up and down in less than 45 mins, and there WAS a trail that went all the way to Cape Point (looked like a very long trail from the top of the Cape of Good Hope). And then we realized that Ivan probably drove to Cape Point to meet us there! We didn’t know what to do. We could hike it, which would take over an hour, or we could try to hitch a ride there. We looked around and saw a German tourist bus parked nearby. So, Achal walked over and talked to the tour guide and narrated our story. He laughed a lot but agreed to let us ride with them to Cape Point, which was coincidentally their next stop. Relieved, we climbed on the bus and sat in the back. The German tourists on the bus looked SO confused, and we talked to a few of them and tried to explain the situation. They knew very little English, so it was VERY difficult, but I managed to tell them I was from Los Angeles. On our short ride there, the tour guide would give information in German, and then in English for all of us in the back. It was very nice. We got to Cape Point, thanked everyone, and went to find Ivan. We found the taxi, and decided to leave him a note. Then, we found him anyways and narrated the whole story to him. He laughed hysterically for a few minutes. I gotta admit, it was really funny.

There was a tram that went up to the top of Cape Point, but we decided to take the free hike route instead (tram wasn’t cheap and c’mon, we are broke college students). It was a fun hike, and as we got higher, the view got better and better. Halfway up, I set up my tripod and we took some funny group photos of us jumping (ok, yea it was a little lame). Michelle’s camera had a self-timer where it took 10 photos at a time, so we did 10 different poses for the camera. Everyone was staring at us because we looked ridiculous changing our pose every second ten times. Whatever. We kept climbing and climbing, and we were finally at the top. We had thought the view from the other cape was beautiful, but this one was SO much better. We could see the Atlantic and Indian oceans mixing, and we are at the point so that if we looked back towards land, we could see the Atlantic coast going to the West, and the Indian coast going to the East. It was gorgeous. My camera was constantly taking pictures, and we took some great group photos. Also, there was a VERY cool landmark at the top. They had a sign post that had signs pointing to all the famous cities of the world and their distance from where we were (e.g. Delhi, Jerusalem, New York, etc…) After taking LOTS of pictures and soaking in the scenery, we decided to head back down. On our descent, we ran into John, the trip photographer. We talked for a while, and then saw another trail that went to another point, so we took it. This trail was along the Indian Ocean side of Cape Point. And…this was very interesting, you could feel the difference! Since the Atlantic part is cold because of the Benguela current, that side was cooler and windier. But, the Indian Ocean is warmer since it is fueled by a warm current. So, this hike felt hotter and more humid. I am not kidding; you could feel the heat rising from the water…it was insane. We got to the end of the trail, took a million more photos, and headed back to the taxi. I can go on describing all these scenes, but one picture will depict all of it. I will upload all my pictures and post the link here in India, when I have normal internet again.

We got back to the taxi, I went and bought some water, and we decided to go to the Penguin Point next (yes, penguins). It was a short drive, and we got there quickly. I saw a really funny sign at the entrance that told us to be careful cuz the penguins bite. We got out of the taxi, and sure enough, there was a small colony of penguins on the rocks! We stared at them in disbelief for a while (we were in South Africa), took lots of pictures, and decided to grab some lunch at the restaurant nearby. I looked at the menu, and it did not look vegetarian-friendly. Plus, the food was expensive anyways, so all of us decided to just eat in Cape Town. We got back in the taxi, and drove back to the city.

We went to a restaurant Tanmoy suggested called Cubana. It was Cuban food, and it was supposed to be delicious and cheap. Tanmoy wasn’t lying. At first, we all got some drinks (the drink menu was 5 pages long, and I ordered a non-alcoholic mojito), and mine was SO good. Mint and lime taste so good together. I looked at the menu and decided to order nachos. The portion sizes were grandmother (small) and grandfather (large), which cracked everyone up. We told Ivan to come eat lunch with us too. The food took a while to come, but it was worth the wait! It was DELICIOUS. The nachos were covered in a lot of sauces, and they came with a spicy chutney and salsa, and guacamole. SOOO GOOOD! I could NOT finish the grandfather portion, but I tried to eat as much as I could. VERY satisfied with our meal, we thanked the waitress and thanked Tanmoy for recommending the place, and headed out.

On our drive back to the port, we drove right by the cricket stadium. We asked Ivan if we could stop and look for tix. So, he pulled over and Tanmoy, Achal, and I got out and walked to the box office. We found out all the tickets were sold out, and we were kinda bummed, but we didn’t lose hope. We were standing near the members-only box office, and after a few minutes, an elderly man (late 60s/early 70s) walked up behind us. He asked if we were in line, and we explained our situation to him (we were US students who were visiting and we were obsessed with cricket but they were sold out). To our astonishment, he said I will see what I can do, and went to talk to the attendant. A minute later, he picked up his tix, turned around and told us it was our lucky day. Then he said something I won’t forget. He said, “I wanted to do a good deed for the day, and this is it. Enjoy!” In disbelief at what just happened (A VIP member just hooked us up with tickets that were his guest passes), I walked up to the window. The attendant told us she had 3 tix, but they didn’t have the best view in the world. We did not care, and asked for the price. They were 60 Rand EACH!!!! ($6) FOR A DOMESTIC CRICKET CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH! Amazing! They did not jack up prices here as they do in the US. With the tickets in hand, I was giddy with excitement. WE WERE GOING TO A HUGE CRICKET MATCH IN FRICKIN SOUTH AFRICA! YES!

We got back in the taxi, very excited, and told Ivan and Michelle how events had transpired. They were very happy for us, and we drove back to the port. Once we were there, we told Ivan we would change and come right back. We still hadn’t paid him, and he let us go get ready! We could have just ditched him, but he trusted us, which was very nice. I ran to my room, dropped off my DSLR (no way I was going to risk anything happening to my baby), put on a jacket, and ran back to the taxi. We got in, and drove back to the stadium. We were just a little late, and as we got out of the taxi, we paid Ivan and thanked him for everything as we heard the players being introduced. We heard a HUGE roar erupt from the stadium, and my adrenaline started rushing. I was actually here, doing this. We hurriedly got in, and found our seats. The game had just began, and Cape Town was batting first. It was a T20 match, which meant each side got 20 overs, or 120 balls bowled to them (Wikipidea for the rules if you are interested) as opposed to a traditional 50 over match (300 balls bowled to each side). These matches were known for explosive hitting since the game was so short. We sat down and the atmosphere was amazing. I looked at the scoreboard, and saw that Graeme Smith was batting! He is the captain of the South Africa national team, and I was very excited. But, 2 balls later, we heard a roar from the other side as he got out. Next, out walked Herschelle Gibbs, another SA national player. And the game went on…

The guys next to us were awesome, and we started talking to all of them. They asked where we were from, and we explained SAS to them and the program. They all told us what we were doing was great, and told us to live life to the fullest. I have pics and videos I will upload that will do a lot more justice than anything I write, and I will post the link here. Anyways, the game was great, and Cape Town scored a lot of runs. Gibbs batted till the end, and the stadium was chanting…6!6!6!6!6! On the last ball of their innings (when you hit it out of the park, you get 6 runs). And damnit…HE HIT A 6! And the stadium went nuts! After a short innings break, the other team batted, and they weren’t too hot. They started dropping like flies, and every wicket that got out resulted in a HUGE cheer. They couldn’t match the Cape Town total, and on the last ball of the innings, everyone counted down, and as soon as the match ended, everyone went insane!!! It was SOO awesome. We ran down to the field and the players did a victory lap. As they ran by us, I saw all the faces of players I had been watching on TV my whole life. I was very excited. We all cheered and yelled, and then we left before the crowd got crazy. We said goodbye to our friends, and they told us to enjoy life and come back to South Africa. Also, since the FIFA world cup is in South Africa next year, they told us to come back and find them again, and that we could stay with them. They told us not to worry about it, and they said fate would bring us together again one day. It was very, very cool, and we left smiling. The crowd was CRAZY outside, and it was very hard finding a taxi, but we finally found one. We got back to the waterfront, and headed to the food court to get some food. After eating another falafel and getting some AWESOME gelato, we headed back to the ship. I was dead tired, and decided not to head out that night. I fell asleep very quickly after an insane day. What a day!