South Africa

Capetown felt so far away at the beginning of the voyage and all of a sudden its over and we’re on the way to Ghana. In comparison to Vietnam, Myanmar and India- Capetown was a very different type of port experience. Our port and terminal was right next to the V and A Waterfront, an outdoor mall area. We got off the ship the first day, walked there and then ubered to meet our friends studying abroad in Capetown for brunch. Before we actually met them, I made Rachel, Caster and Zoe just stand in Woolworths (think Whole Foods) just for a few minutes to appreciate the beauty of a market. 

Two disclaimers before I get further into this. We ubered literally everywhere and there were multiple meals where I ordered two or more dishes. 

We met Emily (shoutout Olin for being the best Capetown tour guide) and a few other girls studying at UCT for brunch. We had the best pancakes and were so happy to see avocado. After we ate, we brought them back to the ship. Emily was so impressed with the “details” of the ship and how there are random German painting on every wall. She’s my only friend not on SAS that will ever see the ship so thats a pretty cool accomplishment. After the tour and introducing them to all of our favorite crew members, we walked down Long Street, had afternoon drinks and went back to the ship to change for the night. We met a big group of people at Cafe Caprice, a restaurant/ turns club on the water where we had dinner before being bombarded by 400 SAS kids. 

We somehow made it back to the ship and were ready at 4am for Shark Cage diving pick up. For funny stories on this topic feel free to contact me directly. After a 2 hour drive, we got to Gansbai and got onto a small boat that took us out to the middle of the ocean. After living on a ship for 2 and a half months already, this was the most sea sick/naseous I’ve been (maybe for a few different reasons). The men on the boat started throwing fish guts and dangling fish heads over the side of the boat to attract sharks. We were the first group to get in the cage and even though the water visibility was pretty low, we saw 3 huge great whites swim by. It was actually just as cool to watch the sharks from the top of the boat because you could see their heads come out of the water as they tried to bite the dangling fish head. 

After getting back to the ship, showering, and finding the best smoothie place called Kauai, we packed up and checked into our Air BNB, a perfect little house looking over the water. I could have stayed there for years. That night we went to dinner with Emily, had amazing ice cream and saw more of University of Cape Town. 

We found a restaurant called Kleinskys, and had bagels, lox, & cream cheese !!!!!! Then we drove to Lion’s Head, went on a great hike/rock climbing expedition to get to the top and see full 360 degree views of Capetown. For the rest of the afternoon we walked in the city center, shopped, went to Kauai again, found an amazing shoe store, and went to two more markets to load up on snacks and chocolate covered matzah. That night we had reservations at a restaurant called Bungalow, which my phone told me was only 0.5 miles away from our Air BNB so I decided we could walk there. One of the very few times we didn’t call an uber and actually needed one, so we were 25 minutes late to the reservation but we made it and that’s all that matters. 

The next day, we ventured a little bit out of Capetown and made three big stops. First we went to Kirstenbosch Botanical gardens, which had a beautiful tree canopy walk and grassy areas where we just sat for a while. Then we had an hour drive to Boulder Beach, where all the little cutie penguins just lay and waddle around the beach. We climbed over the boulders (omg it makes sense why it’s called Boulder beach) and sat in the water watching the penguins. I could have stared at them for hours but we continued on to lunch then Muizenberg Beach. Muizenberg is another beach town, with colorful little houses along the beach. It was super windy so we watched the kite surfers, got ice cream and headed back to CT. 

The next day we packed up early and went back to the ship to meet Caster’s cousin Bev. Caster had only briefly met her on the first day, but Bev was so excited to meet us and bring us to her house. We went to brunch with Bev and her sister Michele came. They were actually so funny together and it was a nice chance to relax and learn a little more about South Africa and get to know them. That afternoon we went on a wine tour in Stellenbosch, a beautiful winery about 45 minutes away from CT. We had a guide who drove us and explained everything. The first winery we had wine and chocolate and the second one was food and wine. It was actually the most fun afternoon-shoutout Zoe for finding the tour. 

We got back to Bev’s around 5 just in time for her kids and grandkids to come over for dinner. Picture this- 4 American girls who just got back from a wine tour, Bev’s whole Jewish South African family, home cooked food, minus Julianne’s stolen debit card- we were smiling and laughing the entire time. 

We had plans to go out that night and Bev forced us saying we’re only young once and pouring Zoe more beer, so we rallied, met everyone at UCT, and went to Boogies (equivalent to Skeeps but WAYY better music). It was so fun to be with Emily, meet her friends, and get to explore Capetown with their help. 

On the last morning, I went on a beach walk with Bev and her dog with Juj, Caster and Zoe jumped out of a plane. They came back alive, thankfully, we all had lunch together and Bev brought us back to the ship. We promised we’d come back to Cape Town for her and we were all so sad to say goodbye. 

We made it back before on ship time and now we’re on the way to Ghana !!!!!! xx