South Africa page 3 of 3
By the time we arrived I was getting really tired of being at sea, so I was absolutely THRILLED to be going to Kagga Kamma, a nature reserve about four hours from the coast and pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The bus ride also provided a great opportunity to see the countryside of S.A. Let me tell you, it looks exactly like California.
We drove through the wine lands and then stopped for a bathroom break in a little town called Prince Alfred Hamlet. When we got back on the bus to leave, though, the bus wouldn�t start. After several tries it became obvious that we weren�t going anywhere for awhile, so we piled back off the bus and went to a hotel bar where we enjoyed lunch, drinks, and the Namibia vs. England game in the International Cricket Tournament. Three hours later our bus was fixed and we finished our drive to Kagga Kamma. The drive involved absolutely breath-taking scenery � breath-taking in the sense that if you looked out the window at the tiny little dirt road we were driving on that was perched on the side of an extremely large mountain and realized that there was no rail to prevent a spectacular plummet to the bottom of the valley, your breath was literally snatched from your chest. (Did you notice how that last sentence takes your breath away if you read it aloud? I did that on purpose to give you the effect.)
That night I had ostrich for dinner and then had an opportunity to do some astronomy. Let me tell you, this was a fantastic experience. A local astronomer came and set up his telescope on the lodge property and we got to look at all the Southern Hemisphere stuff. Mr. Goode, Thomas, and Heather, you should all be extremely jealous of me. None of the other SASers were really all that interested, and they certainly didn�t understand why they should be taking advantage of the opportunity. So I made friends with the astronomer and got him to show me EVERYTHING. I saw the Large and Small Mag. Clouds, the Southern Cross, Alpha Centauri, Beta Centauri, Omega Centauri, the Jewel Box, the Keyhole Nebula, the Tarantula Nebula, etc. It was amazing.... I can�t even describe how beautiful. Then the moon rose and we went on a night game drive.
For my third day in South Africa, I spent the morning visiting the largest township in Cape Town. When we�re on the ship taking classes and preparing for our experiences in port, professors and lecturers try to give us an idea as to the conditions we will witness. While we were told many times about the townships, there was absolutely nothing that anyone could have told me to prepare for that experience. I am sure that I will not be able to fully put into words what I saw, but I will do what I can.
We drove to the township on big tourist buses, complete with padded seats and air conditioning. The enormity of the things was only exaggerated once we pulled off the highway and into the neighborhood � three or four of the makeshift "houses" could have easily fit inside our bus. I use the word "house" only because these are where people live; certainly our American minds would never even consider calling one of these shacks home. The structures were made of leftover aluminum siding and old signs, all found in various dumps in the area. (Since there is such a huge housing shortage in South Africa, building companies "graciously" leave their leftover scraps for people to use to build shacks.) There was virtually no space between homes, so when children are sent outside to play they play barefoot in streets scattered with broken glass, garbage, and used condoms. At least now there are communal outhouses so they don�t have to run around in human waste....
As the bus twisted its way through the streets, all the residents of the area came out of their homes to have a look � at this point I began to wonder if poverty should be a tourist attraction. But if people don�t witness the conditions first hand, then what are the chances that people with the power to change them will?
We were taken to Vicky�s B&B. Vicky is a woman who lives in the townships and decided that all the tourists coming to Cape Town were not getting the real experience, so she opened up her home as a bed and breakfast. People come and stay with her for a night or two, eat in her home, and walk around to get to know the residents of the area. When we got off the bus at Vicky�s, I realized I had forgotten my camera. At first I was upset, but once I started walking around I was thankful that I didn�t have it. This is not because I was afraid of being mugged, but rather because not having it forced me to really interact with the people rather than simply taking pictures of them and showing them what they look like (which is what the kids expect when they find out you have a digital camera). When we stepped off the bus there were about ten children waiting for us. After we saw Vicky�s accommodations we walked down to a school and played with all the children there. We did high fives and they wore my sunglasses, but mainly they just wanted to hold my hands. It was absolutely incredible � imagine ten 7 or 8 year old children all clamoring just to touch you, to have some sort of human contact with you.... That�s all I will say about the township visit here.
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Tara W [item 32]
South Africa
By far, South Africa was my most favorite country, as of now. To sum my 4 days up in one word, indescribable, which of course is bad since I want you to understand what I experience. I will try my best to explain everything, but unfortunately, because of the crime in South Africa, I could not carry around both of my cameras most of the time, so I only have one picture. Listening to a few other people speak at the ;open mike; night, I;ve realized I want to write the emails I send in more a story fashion rather than ;we did this and then this; So, here I go with my first attempt;
2/19/03
The day started off kinda weird, feeling like I was in San Diego or San Francisco on the water front, the building being brand new looking like tourist areas you can find on the west coast. Walking around, we saw beautiful homes on the side of the hills overlooking the water and the huge mall right as we stepped off the ship from 9 days at sea. This was nice because it felt like home, but rather disturbing to be in South Africa and see such a modern area right away when you;re expecting Africa!
After getting oriented with the waterfront we ate at a wonderful fish, chips and calamari place called Fisherman;s (kinda like on the pier in San Clemente, but the fries and ketchup tasted pretty different.) I noticed fish and chips as being one of the most popular meals in Cape Town. Rather than wonder around some more, we found an internet caf� and caught up on things we have been missing and sent out emails to everyone-Its always nice to get reacquainted with life in the states after being at sea so long. Oh yah, I also made a few calls and was so happy to hear my mom's voice.
Okay, after the real touristy stuff was out of the way in the morning, we headed off the Kyhalitsha (it sounds like kyalisha, or in Spanish, callalish), the farthest and largest black township from Cape Town. I didn't really know what to expect even though what I saw was expecting. I will talk about this experience in the way I first encountered it, not as I felt after the rest of the days. I felt extremely uncomfortable in a titanic of a tour bus compared to the homes of the people we saw on each side of us. It felt as if we were at the zoo, sticking our heads out the windows to take pictures and just in awe of everything around us. The people would look up, the kids stare for a while and wave, the adults go back to their work as soon as they noticed the bus contained all white people. This is understandable; I will explain the apartheid a little since before this trip I knew nothing of it (maybe because I did not search for it).
The apartheid in South Africa basically separated the blacks, coloureds, and whites from each other...of course, all for the benefit of the white. First of all, the terms I used previously are politically correct in South Africa meaning exactly what it sounds like (the coloureds being of Indian or mixed ethnicity).The white minority forcibly removed blacks and coloureds from their homes and moving out to their homelands as they called it, which with the majority of the families never seeing this place before. The most famous area is called District Six where people were forced out in the 1960's, their former homes bulldozed and that land is still sitting bare. We stopped at the District Six museum before we got to Kyhalitsha, so we learned a little more about it that way. The generation gap of those who lived under the apartheid, ending in 1994, and those who are too young to remember.
Pulling up in front of a Bed and Breakfast called Vicky's was very unexpected considering the conditions of all the houses. Many of the people in townships make a living from private owned stuff like this B&B and some other small fruit stands. Getting out of the bus we were bombarded by kids like they knew we were coming. An 11 year old girl named Asanda Tena asked for my name, age and where I was from (the first time I've been asked when visiting kids) rather than asking for money like the others. I like this. But, as usual when I started to leave, she asked for money; we are not supposed to give anything to the kids. I still don't understand my place in these interactions because I really want to give them something but me giving a dollar here and there isn't going to help South Africa in the long run, you have to work for a foundation to make an impact.
Feeling as though we had been set up to see a tourist area instead of a true township experience, I walked down the street with one of the post-grad passengers. Seeing women prepare the delicacy in the township, goat brains (sorry to those of you with a sensitive stomach), made me feel a little more adventurous than passing out lollipops to the kids that were begging. With goats roaming the townships freely, it is easy to get needed nutrition from them. After about 20min, the professor we were with decided it was time to go (way to short of a time) so she started yelling at us. This is the same professor I have a problem with-me not being the only one-making us feel pretty stupid when we don't know something, but that's another subject. I think she kinda ruined the experience for a lot of us because she had already been there a bunch of times, so there was no need for us to be there any is longer.
Leaving this black township and wondering into the colored township less than a mile away was like entering a middle-class neighborhood in the States. Since the colored (Indian and mixed) were closer to white, they received better accommodations after being removed from their homes. This township was called Mandalay. At this point, we were to buy things from the women who made little clay figures and rugs another tourist set up. The last place we visited was a lookout point, which was actually neat because we could see all of the townships with table mountain in the background. To sum up the experience, it wasn't a true experience of the townships, which is what most of us wanted. I was very glad that I did get to see what I did, but I wanted more, which I got on the second day.
Returning from the poverty stricken areas of Cape Town, we came to our ship where the mall surrounded us. It was about time for the sunset so we rushed up to table mountain. Unfortunately, we got there too late to hike it, but going up the Gondola was still beautiful. The wind and VERY cold (numbing) air was not unbearable with the hopes of seeing a magnificent sunset. To pass the time before the sunset we walked around, took some pictures and soaked up the sights finishing just in time for the sunset. It was breathtaking. It reminded me of home. With the sun gone, it was literally freezing so we went back down to Cape Town.
2/20/03
The morning brought new ideas of what I was going to experience today, and it was life-changing. The Amy Beihl Foundation was set up in order to build a bridge between people in the community of townships. Amy was a Fulbright Scholar from California studying in South Africa in 1993, before apartheid ended.
1993 was a dangerous time in South Africa with many uprisings against apartheid, which lead to her death in August of 1993. Meeting her mother at the offices in the city was a surprise along with finding out who are tour guide was. Linda Bail introduced him as one of the men who killed her daughter. Thus, started the entire surreal day for me. In 1997, the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) began their journey of trying to have South Africans reconcile with one another for political acts of crime during the apartheid, to start their process of healing. Amy;s parents came to the country and forgave (or granted their approval of amnesty) Amnesty was applied for by all people who felt they did something out of political ideology, and would not be punished for coming forwarded if they were granted this.
Her family not only forgave her killers but also became good friends with them and ultimately employed them and put them in their will. Amy;s father just died, Ntobeko (our guide) was then given money to buy his first land for his own house. Sorry so much background, but its pretty complicated.
Our tour did start off meeting Linda, but then went right into the reality of the situation; we went to the place Amy was killed. That was so weird. Never meeting a murderer before in addition to having them explain face to face what actually happened was so surreal (as I said before). Amy was giving a ride home to one of her friends who lived in the township Guguletu (where Ntobeko still lives) and was attacked by about 100 student activists throwing rocks at her car. She tried to get out with her car but couldn't, so she got out and ran; with four men running after her ultimately stabbing her to death in front of a gas station. This was a terrible mistake because she was fighting for an equal South Africa against the apartheid, helping set up the first democratic elections. This was so difficult for us to take in, seeing everything- life-changing. He also showed us where the Guguletu 7 were murdered by a set-up ambush by white police on the same street as Amy Beihl. We ended up parking in front of Ntobekos house, getting out and walking through Guguletu. This was an amazing experience, we walked around for 2 hours meeting the people and seeing how they really live.
Washing clothes in a community water area, making beer in large barrels, kids running around with no pants or shoes on, and men playing cards. When I just looked at these houses was a totally different experience than when I put myself in them as I would think about coming home to a place like the ones I saw here. By this time, I felt sad but happy because the people we saw were happy. Living in those conditions would be very difficult, but they were a community and seemed so close. Our last stop was a school, kids everywhere. They put on a wonderful performance for us of a traditional African dance for women. The girls who did it were so cute and very good. I attempted to take pictures with my Izone because the kids love pictures of themselves, but the film was old in there so it didn't work. We were only there for about 15min so it was hard to leave them, but we had to go with the schedule. Overall, my experience at the Amy Beihl trip was incredible.
It was time for independent travel after being with SAS so long, so two friends (Erin and Rachael) and I went to Stellenbosch Wine lands, an hour from Cape Town. We didn't really know what to expect when we got there but we knew it was supposed to be beautiful. The hostel we stayed in was called Backpackers Inn, a very nice hostel; from what I was expecting. We set our stuff down and went out to dinner, just to relax. We heard pretty loud music coming from across the street during dinner so we ventured over there afterwards. It ended up being a club or something like that where all the local ;wine; students go. There happened to be a Rugby team there too. The wine students have a tradition of wearing their boots (kinda like rain boots) and a tie with jeans and a t-shirt. It was pretty confusing at first, but we asked and figured it out.
2/21/03
As the garbage men sang in the early morning, we woke up wondering where we were. The hostel receptionist advised us to go to a little French cafe for breakfast, saying it was the best around. Even though we thought it was a little weird to eat French food in South Africa, it was really good. Roobois tea is something that is unique to this country so I ordered that and ham and cheese croissant. OK, so I just lost everything I wrote for the rest of the email (all the way to the end)....so I will try to write it again-if I can remember.
I really wanted to go horseback riding through the wine lands, but since every other student wanted to do the same thing, it was booked the entire day. So, I settled for the bus tour that took us to 4 different wineries and included lunch. Wine tasting wasn't the best thing I did in South Africa, but the scenery was beautiful! We met a couple from Germany who had been traveling around the country for 6 weeks. They study landscape architecture in Germany and had many views on the position the US is in. We tasted a few wines at each winery and at one we were able to taste different types of cheese too. Unfortunately, it was about a hundred dollars to send a case of wine back to the US (but you couldn't even ship to California), so I was not able to bring any back because we cant bring alcohol on the ship either. Seeing the countryside of South Africa was a completely different experience than I had in the townships and the waterfront. The part of this trip to the wine lands I will remember are the people I met and went with.
On the way back from our tour, we got lost trying to find the train station so we asked a girl walking on the street. She pointed us in the right direction and happened to be going to Cape Town also...from the University of Stellenbosch (the Yale of South Africa). We talked with her the entire trip (about an hour on the train), and found out she traveled every day getting up at 4am and taking the 6:30pm train home at night in order to study ecology. The most amazing part-- she is from a township and only speaks English and Xhosa even though her classes are all taught in Africanz. I was so inspired by her, knowing where she came from and how motivated she was to change her life around. I feel so fortunate. We told her to apply to Semester at Sea as an Interport Lecturer-they come on the boat in the country before theirs and speak to us about their life and what we should expect in their country. We gave her our address' on a postcard from San Clemente and she gave us hers.
Arriving back in Cape Town, we really had nothing planned, so we headed out to eat with our backpacks on and dirty from the day. We were stopped on the street by the manager of a small restaurant called FSH and were invited in to eat. Soon we realized our shorts, dirty shirts and backpacks weren't suitable for the restaurant once we saw people in ties. But, it seemed like they really wanted us there, so we stayed. We were given a complimentary glass of wine and a story from the manager about his travels around South Africa and the states. Erin and I tried ostrich which is very good, looks and tastes like steak (except its less chewy). Since this was our last night, we went out to explore the waterfront and met some more nice people. The first question, before "what is your name", I was asked was "do you think Bush is babysitting the world?" This was unexpected in the environment we were in, but I guess its on everyone's mind what us American students think about our country, especially in South Africa. Exhausted after the day, we retired pretty early.
2/22/03
Today was our last day to fit everything we wanted to do in...impossible. Wanting to go skydiving was probably the one thing I really wanted to do, but didn't have time. Also, since I wasn't feeling so well, it probably wasn't the best idea. If any of you want to go with me when I get home, I AM going and I would love to have company:) So, instead of something real dangerous, Robben Island was on my list to see.
Basically, its Alcatraz--30min from the mainland and used to be a prison, but now is a tourist attraction. The shocking thing about it was it only closed down as a prison about a decade ago...with psychological torture taking place up until the gates were closed. Nelson Mandela, South Africa;s first democracy elected president, was at Robben Island for 14 years. Our guide was a former inmate charged with treason, sabotage and weapon smuggling. Part of his therapy is talking about what happened while he was in there, so far he says it has helped greatly. Again, we were asked by him to raise our hands if we voted for Bush--he was interested. He was very honest with us about his experience in the prison and his life now, just like Ntobeko was.
Before getting on the ship for another 7 days, Erin and I took care of little things we needed to do, like internet and grocery shopping. The grocery store was so cheap--I was able to buy a bunch of snacks for about 10 dollars or 93 rand. We also headed to the market to bargain for some souvenirs and gifts. The "green square market" is an area where private vendors can sell their products...so, if you only have 50rand in your pocket and the item is 80rand, they'll give it to you for 50 :) Its kinda like a swap meet. So, our time was over in this country, but I am going to come back. It would be interesting to come work here for a few years in one of the big social service foundations, but we'll see about that (just an idea mom).
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Meghan [item 33]
We arrived in Cape Town, South Africa last Wednesday around 5:30 in the morning and the ship was cleared by The port area is beautiful, a little touristy on the wharf, but the view of Table Mountain is amazing!! I walked around and explored the wharf and market area and that afternoon went on a township visit.
Our first stop was at the District 6 Museum established in 1994 after the end of Apartheid. District 6 was declared an all-white district (like so many others) in the 1960�s; 60,000 people during that time were forced out! It�s hard to imagine that Apartheid ended just 10 years ago�everyone I was in contact with had lived through that change. It must have felt as it did in the U.S. when segregation finally ended. It�s amazing that we (kids my age) look at that time as �history� and almost with a sort of embarrassment, yet the citizens of Cape Town are still fully submerged in racism and segregation. The white kids my age are still very racist towards black people; they don�t understand how we can be so open towards something that to them is such a huge thing. The 20 year olds are going to (hopefully) be part of the last generation in South Africa to be, as a whole, openly racist.
Ok! So from the District 6 Museum we went to a township called Khayelitsha just outside of the city of Cape Town. It is hard to explain what the township was like. Khayelitsha has a population of 1.5 million people, and it is just rows and rows of tiny little shacks and people and kids everywhere. The kids were great, but obviously used to tourists coming because they were waiting for our bus to get there.
Once off the bus I was able to walk around, and try and get away from the huge group! I talked with some women about their daily chores; they were roasting what looked like goat heads over an open fire. One of the women showed me her home and I talked with her mother and grandmother for a little while. Lisa and I also met two girls who were 18 and 19, Noloyiso and Siphokazi. They introduced us to a lot of the people in that area and we talked about common interests, music and dancing, and we compared our cultures. They really enjoyed looking at my pictures and the postcards from Madison. I also played ball with some little boys and we attempted to speak some Xhosa (pronounced �co-sa�). This language involves this clicking with the tongue, there are so many different clicks that they can distinguish between! Anyways, so the visit to Khayelitsha was great, I am very glad that I went on my first day to Cape Town because I remembered that for the rest of my visit in the especially touristy areas, there are still people in the townships working hard. That night after the township I went out to dinner with a few friends and then we headed down to Long Street which is where all of the bars and clubs are.
We were told by white South Africans to not go to the �black� bars, for reasons having absolutely nothing to do with crime! There were a lot of tourists around Cape Town during our stay because it was World Cup Cricket! We obviously did not know we were supposed to be that excited for it, but everyone from the United Kingdom let us know what a big deal it is! We met some boys from Switzerland and Germany who are working in Cape Town, and later met some other boys who were from Durban (in South Africa, north of Cape Town). These boys (even more so than the European boys) really wanted to discuss the United States government and the impending war. Everyone, the whole weekend, made a point to tell us what an idiot they think Bush is and how much they hate our government; I suppose it is only going to get worse from here. Just before we arrived in Cape Town there had been anti-American rallies and protests, so we knew that this was going to be a big topic of discussion. Already I have gotten pretty good at avoiding this type of discussion; no matter what, it is apparent that I am wrong and just a stupid American. Thankfully though most of the people I have thus far encountered have let the topic go and we ended up having a really fun night learning about South Africa from the people we met.
Next morning Lisa and I headed over to the train station for the hour ride to Stellenbosch in the winelands. The train had open windows, the view of the mountains and the estates was amazing, people were talking Xhosa all around us, and we saw zebra!! Stellenbosh is a touristy little town, the center of the estates. We did not have as much time as we realized we needed, but we made the most out of the time we had. (Which is why I absolutely have to come back to Cape Town, Mom!) We had lunch at this little caf� called the Blue Orange and then went to Die Bergkelder, to taste wine. Wine tasting cost each of us 12 rand (about $1.50)! OH and it was �pour your own�. Honestly I don�t know enough about wine to know if South African wine is as great as I heard it was, but I did learn a little more about wine and I know a little more about what I actually like in a wine. (so it was an educational experience!) Lisa had to get back to the port area for a trip she had signed up for, so we left Stellenbosch and got back around 5. (also we were told that the trains were safe, but shouldn�t be used at night, so we didn�t have too much of a choice
I walked around the wharf area that night with my friend, Will and we watched the sunset over the harbor. It�s funny how all of us appreciate the beautiful sunsets so much! I went out for lobster that night and ended up at another restaurant after that, talking with some of the waiters who were just finishing up with their shift.
The next morning some of my friends were on SAS sponsored trips or had spent the night in the winelands (it is SO hard to keep track of people in port!) so I headed over to catch a ride up to Signal Hill (right next to Table Mountain) to go paragliding. I met Leah from the ship while signing up, so we stuck together for this. We caught a rikki up to the meeting point (it�s like this little 8 person wagon) and met Juls, who was taking us up. I went first, and I was very nervous! Juls told me that I had only 3 rules: �run, run, run�. So of course I thought that this was going to be scary and I would stop running off the cliff and put us on our butts. But I didn�t!! It was so easy and not scary at all! The view was amazing!! And I guess that the wind was amazing also, but of course I don�t know anything about that. It was only supposed to be about 20 minutes, but I was told that I was getting more than just the �touristy stuff� because we were doing fun turns and stayed up for about 45 minutes! It was so cool to see the city from up in the air, just floating around!
After we landed Leah went up and I was able to talk with some of the other people hanging around, there were some girls from Finland and a guy from Sao Paulo. Then the wind conditions changed and I guess that means that the guys have to land at the football stadium, this was a fun trip getting down there to pick them up! One of the first things that Juls had asked us was if either of us knew how to drive a car. Of course we both said yes, thinking afterwards, first off there is no way that I can drive on the left side of the road (in the right side of the vehicle) and besides that I can�t drive a shift! (and how was I supposed to find this stadium?) So this guy from Sao Paulo had his girlfriend down there (with Ian) and I had Leah down there with Juls. Thankfully there was a girl from London, Kate, who had been hanging out with Juls and Ian for the last few days and got us down there! Ian gave Leah and me a ride back to the ship after that, my (quoted) hour paragliding excursion ended up being about 5 hours! So I didn�t do as much as I had planned on doing that day, but the paragliding and the people that I met definitely made it worth it!
That night we headed out to �Marcos� (after the cab driver drove us all over the city, stopping about 4 times to ask directions; we really don�t know, this was a well known restaurant! The other two cabs had no problem getting there!) This was a traditional African restaurant with traditional food and live music, so much fun!! I had a platter with springbok, kudu and ostrich and one of my friends had crocodile, warthog and chicken, so we shared and tried everything! The kudu was so good, like a good steak. I wasn�t too impressed with ostrich and the crocodile was like nothing I have ever had before (but very good). We also had �pap� with dinner which looks like mashed potatoes but doesn�t really taste like anything. The food and the music was amazing and we were so beat afterwards!! We got back to the ship and immediately went to sleep!
Sunday was the last day in port, and we got up early to eat pancakes at this famous pancake restaurant, and then headed over to the green market in town. After the morning of shopping we went back to the port area and took the ferry over to Robben Island. This island had been used as a prison for many years, and was where Nelson Mandela was for so long. Former prisoners are the guides, and it is very difficult for them to describe what this prison was like for them. The black prisoners had fewer clothes, were rationed less food, and lived in harsher conditions. All prisoners were forced to speak Afrikaans and were beaten if they did not know it. The prison complex is not as big as I was expecting it, I thought the entire island would be the prison, but there are houses on the island! I would love to go into more detail about Robben Island; but it is especially hard to explain the significance and what I learned now that I am so tired!!
That last night in Cape Town I went up to the top of Table Mountain, where the view was even more spectacular than when paragliding! We had fish-n-chips by the water and ran back for on ship time. It is so funny how in every port everyone (including deans, teachers, adult passengers) are actually running back at the last hour.
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Tara C [item 34]
I recieved a postcard yesterday from Tara, sent from South Africa. She said that she was having a wonderful time and loved her trip to the Kagga Kamma. She stayed in a Cave for the night and called it the honnymoon suite. Climbing the table was the best, for her. I am amazed how I have recieved mail from all three ports but our mail services to the kids is a hit or miss. I know that Tara has recieved some of my letters and cards but not everything is getting to her or the other kids.
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Whitney [item 35]
We docked in Cape Town early in the morning on Feb. 19th. It did not take us long to clear customs at all. The first part of the day was spent shopping, stocking up on some American supplies, especially food. By noon we had everything we wanted and Jenny and I hired a cab driver for the day to show us around.
First we went to Boulders Beach, which is enrooted to Cape of Good Hope. The beach was beautiful, but the beach it self was very narrow, with lots of giant boulders. The interesting thing is- penguins live on the beach, hundreds of them. They are very used to people, so we could get really close. Jenny and I took off our shoes to wade around the boulders and go see more penguins. The water was freezing! We both tried to pet one of the penguins, but it started grunting at us and clipped its beak, so we left it alone. They also are a little bit stinky. The beach itself does not smell at all, but sometimes when you get close to one of the penguins, you get a whiff of something that is not very pleasant.
After the beach, we went onto the Cape. It is inside a National Park. We drove up into the main part of the point and got out of the car. Jenny had a diet coke in her hand and all of the sudden; two baboons ran out of the bush and started chasing us. Keep in mind that these baboons came up to my waist and were a good 3 or 4 feet tall. They also had bog teeth and blue and red butts, with a long tail. One of the local guides saw us running away and told Jenny to put down her coke. She threw it on the ground. The baboon ran up and grabbed the coke, climbed on top of a car and finished off the rest of the drink. The baboons have wised up to people being nearby and have started �mugging� tourists for their food and drinks. They will grab a lunch sack out of you hands and sit there and eat it in front of you. We saw one giant baboon run up to a small child and rip the ice cream cone out of his hand. It was actually kind of funny.
We decided to hike up to the top of the Cape instead of taking the railcar. It was a bit of a hike, but definitely worth the effort. We got to the top and looked around. It was An amazing site to see. The water was a deep blue, but got very light as the waves crashed. There was a little guardrail around the edge of the top, so you would not fall off. Jenny and I decided to climb over the rail to get some better pics out on a little part of the rock that stuck out. Looking back it was probably a really dumb thing to do, but oh well. We got a lot of great pictures.
The cape is the meeting of two oceans- the Indian Ocean and Atlantic. It was weird to look south, straight towards Antarctica. We hiked back down, which is much easier. There is a small gift shop on the way down so we stopped and got some souvenirs. As we walked back to the car through the parking lot, there were more baboons than ever! It was weird to see them all sitting around- lots on top of cars and just hopping around. One of the girls told us a story about how a baboon got locked inside a friend�s car. It had figured out how to get in a car, but could not figure how to get back out. She said the baboon went crazy, tearing up the seats and ripped the steering wheel out. She said the baboon eventually broke the windshield and climb out. I am telling you, those things are scary.
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