I would just like to open this post up by saying that today may or may not have been the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Now that I have gotten that out of the way, even though I’m sure it will be repeated numerous times, I can begin. So the past week we have been going through orientation with my Interstudy program, but today our orientation with the actual University of Cape Town started. And what better for a kickoff of orientation than a free bus tour around the entire peninsula of the Cape? Nothing. We began the day at the University by mounting buses and being served free breakfast. Then we started off through the city of Cape Town, getting a chance to see City Hall and the buildings of Parliament. We also drove through and learned about a section of the city called District 6. This is the place that I believe the movie, District Nine, we based off of but I am not positive. Anyway, there is nothing beautiful about this historical section of town. In fact, much of the area is just plain glass and abandoned land because it was once the place where blacks were forced to move out of their homes in order to put whites into the space. Now I am not going to bore you to death with a history lesson and all that I have learned, but if you’re interested it is really a fascinating story that I suggest you look into. Moving on.
Our next destination was Boulder Beach, home of the South African penguin colony. Along the way to Boulder Beach, we drove along a windy, hillside road that lined a number of breathtaking beaches. It was simply amazing to look out one window of the bus and see an array of white sands and then turn and look the other way, only to see an endless display of mountains all down the peninsula. I cannot even begin to argue which side of the bus I would have preferred to be seated on because both views had so much to offer. The road that we traveled on reminded me of those movies that you see a ridiculous convertible cruising along the beach and down the coastline. This road, we learned, was actually the site of two huge car commercials that ended up in a large lawsuit between BMW and Mercedes Benz. Yup, cool fun fact. Once we arrived at Boulder Beach, we dismounted the bus and made our way down a path to an opening where we found hundreds of penguins. These small birds are unique to South Africa and one of the only other places, aside from Antarctica, where penguins could be found. We stood watching the little guys do all sorts of things from diving into the water, wobbling around, and even kissing, or at least I think that’s what it looked like. Although I’m not quite sure because these penguins are supposed to be monogamous and I’m almost certain that I saw one in particular that went from friend to friend locking lips…who knows. You know men. I was pretty excited about the penguin outing and did not think that the day could get much better, but you will soon see that I could not be more wrong.
For lunch we stopped at an interesting little arts center in a nearby township. Here we were provided with food, as well as live entertainment by the local arts program. Let me start with the food. Now for some of you that know me pretty well, you might know that I do not eat red meat. Sad to say it’s nothing about the animals. No moral reasons. To be honest, I just get schkeeved out (pardon my spelling). Though since I have arrived in Africa, I have tried to nix that mentality and try a few things a little bit out of my comfort zone. But this meal, I would have to say, took things to a whole new level. The chicken was good. The pasta was fine. But after I indulged myself with the different components of my plate, I found leftover a neon pink sausage. Now I don’t know much about sausage because like I said, I don’t eat much meat. But I know that any sausage I have ever seen has not been the same color as the flip-flops I wear to the beach. Not only was the color a complete turn off, but when prompted by a friend to give it a touch I found that the slimy, slippery consistency just reaffirmed my initial decision to stay away, far away. Enough on the topic of food as I the feelings of nausea are beginning to return.
While the food left much to be desired, the entertainment was a completely different story. The show consisted of a variety of acts from a dance resembling a Britney Spears’ music videos by little girls, a standup comedy act, a young boy doing just about the best dance moves that I have ever seen to an awesome mash-up mix, and even a transvestite lip-syncing to “Let’s Dance.” Needless to say it was not the most conventional show that I have ever attended, but it did not lack flare. It was great to see such talented performers coming from a small, underprivileged area being able to show off their abilities to a large crowd. The excitement on the children’s faces after they had performed was enough to make me forget about that traumatizing sausage and enjoy the rest of my stay at the center.
Now to the good stuff. I am going to skip all of the details about the ride because I know this is getting lengthy and also because I just cannot wait to talk about the rest of the day. Our next stop was Cape Point, the most southwesterly tip of Africa. Here we took the most breathtaking hike up to a lighthouse on the tip of Africa. Now I know I keep using the word breathtaking, but here it is completely necessary not only because of the amount of beauty at Cape Point, but also because I have not worked out in a while and honestly, I did lose my breath quite a few times. Along the way to the top we stopped several times to take pictures. One time was followed this sneaky little path labeled “cliff drop” which brought us above the most gorgeous cliff going straight down into the water. Yes, I feared for my life because I happen to have inherited my father’s intensely pathetic fear of heights. But yes, it was worth it. Once we got to the very top there was the lighthouse and of course the omnipresent pole with all of the arrows pointing towards famous cities and showing their distances. I have already found this pole at two spots in Cape Town, but the picture pointing to the arrow for New York or Boston never seems to get old.
After viewing our surroundings from the top of Cape Point, we decided to take the hike down to the Cape of Good Hope. Another little tidbit is that this is the place where the currents of both the Atlantic and Indian oceans clash. Once we got down there, I made sure to stick my hand in the water, providing evidence that I had touched water that belonged to each of the opposing currents at once. The hike down to the Cape of Good Hope was impossibly more impressive than that of Cape Point. The entire time we looked over cliffs down into the ocean and at the secluded beach that falls between the two capes. As corny as it sounds, I really don’t even have words to describe the feeling or the sights that I experienced. Not only was I amazed by everything that I found around me, but when I actually got to take a chance to think about where I was, I was astounded. At the tip of Africa. Wow. I have never been a lover of sightseeing and going to museums. Although I can appreciate the effort, time, and talent that goes into building historical structures, I have always been more amazed by natural beauties. I am always taken back by the mountains, the oceans, and the wildlife that has been in existence forever, on its own. This trip today was the epitome of what I have been talking about. We were surrounded by the mountains and the beaches and the wildlife all at once. I don’t know how it could get any better than that.
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