South Africa!!!

Okay, so I realize I have not blogged in a long time. I am sorry. But here is my South Africa blog. India will be next with a few comments about Mauritius and Singapore (we were only there one day each). So Africa….

 Our first day was, unfortunately spent on the ship sailing in circles because the wind was too strong for us to port. I missed a trip that day and its unfortunate because it would have been a great cultural experience. I was supposed to go on a safari trip early the next day, but when I awoke at 6:30 AM I still felt the ship rocking violently and assumed we had not docked yet. I was right. I got up any way to go the front desk and ask what the situation was. The lady told me to go back to sleep because it would be a while, so I did, and it was a while. I woke up at 9:30 still feeling the ship rocking but not as bad. Soon after the voice (one of our deans who talks over the loud speaker who we refer to as the voice) came on and told us that we were docking soon and our ship would be cleared shortly after. We were so excited. We had been sailing off the coast of South Africa for 24 hours and wanted nothing more than to explore the city. Finally, customs came, each of us were cleared, and the trips that were missed were rescheduled. I learned that my trip would be leaving at two thirty! My bags were already packed so all I had to do was wait. When we finally left I could not wait to get off the ship. We were put on a bus and driven to the airport. Along the way I was able to watch the city speed by. The city was so cool. It is very different than the other ports we have visited. The biggest different is that most of the people are white. I am used to going out in the city and being able to tell who is semester at sea and who is local because, well, let's face it, we are mostly (not all) white and we stick out worse than a hitch hikers thumb on the side of a busy highway. But that is part of the experience. 
We reached the air port and flew from Cape Town to another city. From there we met our guides got in another van and took a three-hour drive to the safari lodge. Dinner was served around midnight and after a beer, my roommate and I went to our room to get go to sleep. We had to wake up at 5 AM the next morning. By the time I called my mom, washed my face, and brushed my teeth it was 1:30 AM. I was going to get 3 1/2 hours of sleep that night. Oh well, I'll sleep when I'm dead....
       

At 5:30 AM we were ready to go to the safari. It was about a thirty minute drive which we passed in silence because we we're so tired. Finally, we got there, were divided into two jeeps, and set off down the road. About 3 minutes later we ran into a dazzle (heard) of zebra and one buffalo. After taking many pictures and learning about the zebras a bit we were off driving again. We spent from 5:30 AM to 4:00 PM driving that day and it was incredible. We saw 3 of the big 5 animals. The big 5 are the 5 most dangerous animals in Africa, lions, leopards, elephant, buffalo, and rhinos. We saw a whole heard of elephants, many, many zebras, several giraffe, lots of buffalo, a wart hog or two, and one rhino. No lions or leopards for us though. But that was okay because we had the most amazing luck with the rest of the animals. We were not supposed to see too many elephants, but we saw a heard of about 50 crossing the water. And at one point, we were driving down the road in our jeep when an elephant was blocking the way. We sat there for about 30 minutes till he decided to leave. One jeep tried to get by but it made the elephant angry and he swung is trunk at them. So we decided to sit tight for a while.  After our game drive we ate dinner at the lodge, which was amazing, had a few drinks, then went to bed. The next morning we got back in the car, headed to the airport, and flew back to Cape Town.

The next day was my roommate birthday. I called to make reservations at a restaurant called African Café. Sarah, Lauren, and I had planned what we wanted to do a couple of days before. But out trips got so messed up from missing the first day of South Africa that Sarah, who was supposed to make the reservations, was not back yet. So I made reservation that morning for about 15 people and sent out an e-mail to those people. Surprisingly, every one showed up, even with such short notice. The night could not have been more perfect. When we arrived to the restaurant the waitresses were so nice. The meals were in a communal style so we all shared food and we had to eat with our hands. We also received traditional African make-up, where they paint white designs on your face. They sang and danced traditional African dances as well. It was so amazing. By the time dinner was over we had been there for four hours. After diner we checked into the hotel we had booked and stayed the night there. The next morning we went on a wine tour. It was amazing. Probably, one of my favorite days in South Africa. We had good company, learned a lot about the manufacture of wine, and had a wonderful tour guide. Our guide even gave us a CD of South African bands that we immediately loved! The wine country was so beautiful. South Africa may have not been as culturally challenging as some of my other trips, but it was still an amazing trip. I hope to one day, go back to South Africa. It had so many more things to offer and we just did not have enough time. My greatest regret so far, is not getting to visit Robin Island. But, all the more reason to go back!