South Africa Day 5: Farewell, Cape Town- 2/22/09

I woke up very early, and realized it was my last day in South Africa. It was disheartening, not going to lie. We still had to go to the top of Table Mountain, one of the highlights of South Africa. I had breakfast with a bunch of people and then we got together a group for Table Mountain. We decided to go to Kirstenbosch first, which is the local botanical garden. I had heard amazing things about it, so we decided to stop there for 2 hours or so, and then go to Table Mountain before returning to the Waterfront area.

Our group consisted of: me, Rory, Ruth, Achal, and Z. We walked outside to find a taxi and we ran into Ivan again. We were very excited and we all got into his cab. It was a pretty tight squeeze. I sat in the front since I was the tallest, and there were 4 people in the back. Ruth had to lay across Achal, Rory, and Z just to fit.

The taxi ride took about 30 minutes and it was lots of fun. Ivan told us all about the gardens and asked us where Michelle was (he called her “pop-up” girl but that’s an inside joke I can explain to you personally later ;)). We all talked with him about South Africa and how amazing it was. We also talked about the upcoming elections because there were signs EVERYWHERE advertising people who were running for office.

We finally got to Kirstenbosch, and told Ivan to meet us in 1.5 hours at the entrance. We went to the kiosk to pay the entrance fee and realized we could use our SAS ID’s and pay student price, which was a lot cheaper. Being college students, this of course made us very happy. We entered the garden, and it was gorgeous! As we entered, we were treated to a view of the entire garden with the mountains as the backdrop. Amazing place, this garden. We split up into 2 groups: the expensive cameras and the not-so-expensive cameras…hehehe. Ruth, Rory, and I went off to take lots of pictures, while Achal and Z went off another direction. Rory had recently purchased his camera, so I was teaching him about the features. He was messing around with the settings and experimenting, and I am proud to say, he was slowly becoming a photographer ;) Taking shots on ur knees, or lying on ur back, or walking a few steps off the trail….yep, he was on his way.

We walked around a majority of the garden, and of course took TONS of pictures of the flowers, some of which were very interesting indeed. We came upon a trail after about 30 minutes and decided to take it for a little while. It crossed a river, went through some thick brush, and then we came up to a split. One part of the trail went straight uphill, and I think it went to Table Mountain, which was several miles away! We decided to take the not-15-hour-trail…hehe. The trail went downhill and eventually we came across a small clearing. And there were some really cool birds (they looked like quails), so we let them cross the path, and then proceeded (Make Way for Ducklings, anyone?). We arrived near the entrance and saw Achal and Z chilling on a bench. We joined them, and sat and talked on the bench for a while. There was a really cool view of Cape Town from there, so we took a group picture with Cape Town in the background. It was, however, really hazy, so the city looked like it was covered in smog. After the picture, we headed down to the entrance to check out the greenhouse. Unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly as cool as the rest of the garden. They basically had a few rooms organized by type (orchids, desert plants, etc…) with a small exhibit of each. We walked through rather quickly and headed to the gift shop. I picked up some South African Rooibos Tea, and a magnet and keychain of South Africa.

We headed to the parking area and waited for Ivan. He showed up at the exact time we had specified, and we packed in the taxi, and drove to Table Mountain. We were all very hungry, but apparently there was food available at the top of Table Mountain, so we decided to wait. After all, what’s better than eating a meal with a view for miles around of Cape Town, Cape Point, and the ocean? The drive took about 30 minutes again, and we got to the base of the mountain. Let me tell you a little more about the mountain. It is fairly tall (1500m, I think), and is on the Eastern part of Cape Town. There are 2 ways to get to the top. If you want, you can hike all the way up along a very challenging series of trails (which takes about 1.5-2 hours). OR, you can take the 4 minute cable car ride up to the top. We chose the latter, because we were tired and were short on time, not because we were feeling lazy…of course not ;)

Anyways, the cable car starts about a third of the way up on the mountain, and Ivan drove us to the starting point. We bought our tickets (yay for SAS ID cards and student prices!), and packed into the cable car. The car itself was very cool. It rotated, so you got a 360 degree view on the way up. As we rose higher and higher, the view got better and better. By the time we got to the top, it was spectacular. We climbed out of the car and walked outside. There were warning signs everywhere regarding high winds. Basically, if the winds get too strong, they blow a siren, and everyone has to get to the cable car center ASAP and get off the mountain. Since it is a tall mountain, this happens fairly frequently. We walked outside, and it was already pretty windy. I walked to one of the sides and looked at the view…and…I could not believe what I WAS SEEING! One of the most spectacular views I had ever seen. I was looking south, and I could see Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, and part of Cape Town below me. I could also see the Atlantic and Indian oceans! It was very, very beautiful. Excited, we all walked to the restaurant to get a quick bite to eat cuz we were starving. We realized the food court was not as amazing as others said. The food was limited and fairly expensive. I ordered a small pizza, and it cost $6! It was VERY small. I ravenously devoured it, and after we all finished eating, we went to check out more of the view. It just got better and better. From the West end, we had a full view of the entire city! We just sat and stared for a long time, it really was that spectacular. I took sooo many pictures. After a while, the wind started to pick up more, and there were some VERY strong gusts. We, of course, walked farther from the center to see more of the view. We heard an announcement that the horn would be sounded soon if the winds got stronger. Meh…we kept enjoying the view. After about 10 more minutes, the wind really picked up, and we heard the sirens go off. An announcement was made…everyone was to report to the cable car center immediately as the mountain was being shut down due to high winds. So, we headed back, along with EVERYONE who was on the mountain. It was chaotic. There was a HUGE queue to get down. After about 30 minutes of waiting, it was our turn and we got on the cable car to go down.

At the bottom, where it wasn’t windy at all, we checked out a few shops. I bought some souvenirs and had a brief conversation with one of the shop-owners. I told him I loved Cape Town, especially the people. They were so hospitable and friendly and relaxed. He asked me if I was from the US. I said yes, and he told me that everyone in the US isn’t like that. I definitely agreed with that, and told him people in the US were so different, and not always so welcoming and friendly, unfortunately. We don’t treat tourists the same way as we were being treated in Cape Town. He then told me something amazing…he told me that all you had to do was be that nice, friendly kind of person. He said you were like a burning lamp then, and as long as you stayed lit, there was still hope. He told me to carry the friendly spirit back with me and “keep it burning.” Others would then catch on, and join in. I thought that was very well put, and I thanked him and left. Ivan was back, and it was time to head back to the ship.

We got back to the waterfront, and we still had 2 hours. A bunch of us wanted to go on the internet for a little while, so we got our laptops from the ship, and headed to the hotel that was right by the ship. We sat down in the coffee shop inside, and got on the wifi. We had to order something, cuz it would look bad if we didn’t, so we looked through the snack menu. THEY HAD MOROCCAN MINT TEA! Rory, Achal, and I were ecstatic and ordered some mint tea. Meanwhile, I got on the internet, and uploaded more photos. It was pretty slow, and Skype wasn’t working, so it was disappointing. The tea was good, though, and after we finished, we decided to go make phone calls, since it was cheap. We only had 30 minutes to get back on the ship, so we had to make it quick. I called home, and talked for about 10 minutes. I ended the call and realized I had to goooo! I ran back to the ship, concerned I was going to be late, only to find NO LINE! I was very bummed out, because I could have continued to talk for 15-20 more minutes. Usually there is a line to get back on the ship, but there was NO LINE this time. I could have stayed out for 30 more minutes, talked more, and gotten some lunch. But it was too late now, and I reluctantly got back on the ship. I looked back and waved goodbye to South Africa. Thanks for the memories, South Africa. I had a truly amazing experience and I will come back one day for a second visit!

Later that night, we had a post-port reflection, which is an informal gathering where students share their experiences. I got up and talked about Namibia and South Africa, shared our funny pick-up truck story, and talked about how much hospitality I had been shown in these 2 countries. I told everyone to think about bringing that full-of-life spirit back to the US, and I asked everyone… “If a South African came to the US, would he/she be treated the same way we were treated by South Africans?”