South Africa

South Africa!
Cape Town to be exact is a beauty that could only be compared to Mauritius or heaven. If I have not indicated at this point but in every port I am collecting a soccer jersey, Cricket in India’s case. The day didn’t start off as expected, there was no Diplomatic Briefing, and I love meeting the Foreign Service in each country to remind us of our American Values and those of that port. They give us keen insight and a settled glimpse of what it is to be American in that country. No less, as we left the ship, we were on a mission to find my soccer jersey, we found a shop, the Cross Trainer where they screen printed your last name on a jersey for 70 Rand, and I got the one for Ghana and South Africa done. Here my collection was nearing completion and it was out of the way. Amira’s family has a home in Hout Bay, Cape Town so as we at lunch at the Ocean Basket grille at the V&A, the main mall off the pier which stands for Victoria and Alfred, we(Kelly, Amira, Me, Zach and Bruck) looked for her mother. Jennifer Amira was gleaming with excitement. A while later we finally met up with her and then proceeded to show her the MV Explorer, the ship we had been living on for 3 months. After the tour we headed to Robben Island. Robben Island as I hope you know is where many anti apartheid activists were jailed. Most namely was Nelson Mandela who served 27 years for being a freedom fighter. Going into this tour I was really looking forward to getting a more intimate understanding of the struggle of apartheid juxtapose the civil rights struggle. We arrived to Robben Island and immediately boarded a tour bus where we were guided around the far part of the island, which to my surprise was a little town. Robben Island had its own post offices, churches and even general stores. This was very different from what I had always pictured about Robben Island. Our tour guide, James, was informative but hard to understand. During the tour we profiled two prisoners, Nelson Mandela and Robert Sobukwe. On Robben Island we learned his story and his experience within the jails. We even visited his cell. I had always seen people go to Mandela’s cell and shed tears but, my reaction was more reserved. I understood the implications of speaking out in that society and have definitely come to understand unfairness in the judiciary, especially having studied the civil rights struggle in America and having family who were in the movement. Mandela was a freedom fighter with sound morals and patience who proceeded to a prominent position as South Africa’s first Black and Post apartheid president.
Who is not commonly know, I feel was, Robert Sobukwe. Sobukwe was jailed for inciting the defiance movement against South Africa’s “Pass Law” which required blacks to carry papers with them that were both seen as identification and restricted them to black or colored only areas in South Africa. Sobukwe opposed such limitation on peoples who were native to the land and organized a non-violent march to the police station but was arrested and sentenced to 3 years of solitary confinement for violating the “pass law”. He was subject to complete isolation in his own state provided quarters on Robben Island. He had limited communication with the outside world and other people, guards included. Sobukwe suffered some mental illness and vocal restraint because he hadn’t spoken to another human being in 3 years. The island was a fascinating experience.
After we returned we met Amira’s stepdad Stephen, who has a radio show on NPR “Living on Earth”, so he is very well versed in sustainability, as appropriate for the theme of our SAS Voyage. We toured him around the ship as well. Then we were off to Hout Bay. By this time it was night so we did not get a chance to view the splendor of Cape Town until the next morning. We arrived to their house to a great dinner and great conversation with Amira’s parents and hilarious anecdotes from Bruck. The next morning Stephen and I dropped Amira off at the dentist and went to the organic market. I tried a delicious olive sauce which I must remind myself the name for purpose of buying it when I return to the States.
Jennifer took Zach, Kelly and I to District Six Museum and Table Mountain. District Six was an area in South Africa which was very rich in African culture, but the government came in a forced all the blacks there to relocate. The museum showcased the vibrant culture of the neighborhood, all the while not pressing the devastation. After District Six, we were hungry and given the great recommendation by my prophyte Warren, I had to get some Nando. Which I learned is a jewel chicken spot in South Africa. We took our Nandos to Table Mountain and lunched on the side of table mountain because the line was simply too long to wait in for 3 hours in 90+ degree weather. After lunch we pulled off near llandadnao’s where I bought some African Art, a chair and some masks. We returned to the house where the sun and Nando had taken its toll and I took a 2 hour nap. When I awoke Amira was back from the dentist, we left for Stellenbosch to go pet the cheetahs at Spier Unfortunately we were 15 minutes late. But we had been having so much fun it didn’t matter. We walked around and met our reservation at Moyo. I don’t know how to describe such a magnificent place like Moyo. It was a buffet with show and rich African themes. Our faces were painted on the way in and we were seated adjacent to the stage. While we waited for Hailey and Stephen, Jennifer, Amira, Kelly and I had a bottle of Blanc de Blanc and appetizers. Once they arrived we dined on a magnificent buffet of Springbok, Ox tails, venison, squash, mashed potatoes and a myriad of delicious foods. We were given an African dance show of which I was chosen to come participate in. 5 men were chosen to do a traditional Zulu greeting dance and I participated, I will post the video on my face book soon. I started to become sick, it was a mix between my asthma adjusting to the dry African air and dehydration. We returned to Hout Bay where I got better and went to sleep.
The next morning we woke up and had a great organic breakfast then drove up to Chapman’s Peaks, one of South Africa’s most scenic drives and where many car commercials are filmed. After that we ventured to Cape of Good Hope the most southern point in South Africa where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic. Off the beach, one part of the water is really cold (Atlantic) and the other very warm (Indian). It was a hike that Stephen, Kelly and I made and once we arrived at the crest it was a beautiful view of the ocean. Once descending we had lunch and enjoyed the staff singing South African songs to us; my favorite was Shosholoza a song that is a traditional work song and used to inspire pride. It really hit me that I was so blessed to even be in South Africa, because I looked around and saw black people is every facet of society; however, the disparity of wealth was obvious. We saw this while drove from townships to urban areas to beachfront properties.
That night we went back to the ship and it was off to Long Street to party. Ivy League and Zanzibar were big hits. I met a student from Spelman College who was studying abroad in Cape Town. She recognized me and we even emailed after and planned to keep in touch in the fall. We found Luzuko, the inter-port student, on Long Street and had a blast. I met two girls at the Ivy League and we talked about African Politics.
The next morning we were off to Akilah Game Reserve and went on safari. We saw lions, zebras, antelopes, rhinoceros and elephants. We were really close to a water buffalo and it charged toward our jeep. We stopped for a rest and a spotted a giraffe. After the safari we had lunch then went over to the private pins to see cougars and cheetahs. It was a great experience.
That night Genevieve and Bruck celebrated their birthdays. We had dinner and another night on Long Street.
The next morning was Easter Morning and we voted against going to church so we could experience more of Cape Town. We drove around Camps Bay and then went back to Hout Bay. Jennifer organized an Easter egg hunt, my first one; she filled the house with goodies hidden behind doors and on shelves. At first I was a bit reluctant but I was excited to find chocolate Easter bunnies so I cleaned up. Juana, Zach, Sandy, Corey, Bruck, Hailey, Amira and the Zimmerman Family all came together at the end of the day and appreciated sharing Easter together and took a moment to reflect and realize our blessing.
I loved South Africa; I bought a lot of shirts and artwork to remember my experiences outside of this blog. A beautiful wine country with a long history of race problems the fact that blacks are refooting themselves despite unequal distribution of wealth was fascinating. It was astounding to see townships set in mountains around million dollar homes. I look especially forward to returning.