Cape Town is beautiful! We did arrive three days ago, and it has been a very busy time. I have had some internet challenges, so was unable to update yesterday, but hope to fill you in tonight while I have connectivity.
We arrived as planned on Wednesday, sailing into the harbor and were greeted by US Consulate personnel. There was so much presented on safety and security that several of us were wondering if we should even get off the ship! John and I had a city orientation tour scheduled for the afternoon and did get to the bus along with several others. In spite of the fact that it was a cloudy, chilly, sometimes rainy day (could not see Table Mountain as we arrived as it was completely covered in cloud -- the tablecloth as the locals say), it was easy to see how beautiful the city is. We left around 1pm on a bus and went through city streets to the Castle of Good Hope, the oldest building in South Africa. The castle was built in the 1600's in the shape of a pentagon with a moat and bastions at each corner. We strolled around the grounds for about 45 minutes, then went to Adderly Street, a principal thoroughfare of Cape Town. We took a walk in the Company Gardens. This is the oldest garden in South Africa originally established by Jan van Riebeeck in 1652 to provide vegetables to Dutch sailors on passing ships. There are no vegetables there now, but it is a tranquil place where people can sit and enjoy the plants and trees, and there is an open cafe to get light refreshments. I recommend the scones with jam and cream! We ended the city tour with a visit to the South African Museum, a natural history museum with an extensive collection, and currently displaying some exceptional photography exhibits.
John has not been feeling well and has symptoms of the cold and sore throat I had a couple of weeks ago. This is not surprising or unusual -- many people on the ship have it, and the virus exchange is something we were warned about early in the trip. In spite of frequent handwashing, hand sanitizing solution in many locations around the ship, and almost compulsive cleanliness on the part of the wonderful ship's crew, the bugs make the rounds. So when we got up on day 2 in Cape Town and John said he did not think he could manage our planned daytrip that day, I was not surprised. He was supposed to be the trip leader so we scrambled to notify appropriate people and find someone to take his place, then I went on the trip without him, knowing he would probably want to sleep most of the day. The trip on this day was to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and Cape Point.
Twenty-four of us left the ship around 8:00am and went by bus down the Atlantic coast scenic route. There was lots to see, but I will limit my commentary of the bus ride except to say that I found it interesting that there are actually 18 peaks of the Twelve Apostles. Curious. One other highlight was seeing a troop of baboons on the road. We hadn't expected that even though we saw signs about them -- I had just assumed it would be like seeing bears in the rockies. It just doesn't happen very often. But the bus driver did stop so we could take some photos.
We arrived at Cape Point (Latitude 34 degrees, 21'24"S; Longitude 18 degrees, 29'51"E) where several students and I decided to walk to the point rather than take the funicular railway. It did not take long, perhaps 40 minutes, and we were rewarded with the most breathtaking view of the ocean and cliffs. Although the day had started cloudy, skies were clear and blue and the sun was shining by the time we reached the point. On the west side of the point, the ocean waters are cold. On the east side they are warm. Although it is all Atlantic Ocean, many people say that this is the point where two oceans meet. Actually the geographic meeting of the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean is at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa several kilometers away. At Cape Point is the "new" lighthouse, built after the Lusitania, a Portuguese liner (not to be confused with the RMS Lusitania, the German U-boat sunk in WWI), hit Bellows rock and sank off the coast of Cape Point in 1911. Both Bellows Rock and the tip of the Lusitania are visible from the point.
When we left Cape Point, we headed to Boulders in False Bay, where we saw South African Penguins. These used to be known as Jackass Penguins because of the braying sound they made, until people realized that almost all penguins make this braying sound. The South African Penguins are quite small, and there are about 2500 of them in this location.
We had another great day today, but I think I will leave it until tomorrow, given that it is nearly 10:30 now and my laptop battery is nearly gone.
We arrived as planned on Wednesday, sailing into the harbor and were greeted by US Consulate personnel. There was so much presented on safety and security that several of us were wondering if we should even get off the ship! John and I had a city orientation tour scheduled for the afternoon and did get to the bus along with several others. In spite of the fact that it was a cloudy, chilly, sometimes rainy day (could not see Table Mountain as we arrived as it was completely covered in cloud -- the tablecloth as the locals say), it was easy to see how beautiful the city is. We left around 1pm on a bus and went through city streets to the Castle of Good Hope, the oldest building in South Africa. The castle was built in the 1600's in the shape of a pentagon with a moat and bastions at each corner. We strolled around the grounds for about 45 minutes, then went to Adderly Street, a principal thoroughfare of Cape Town. We took a walk in the Company Gardens. This is the oldest garden in South Africa originally established by Jan van Riebeeck in 1652 to provide vegetables to Dutch sailors on passing ships. There are no vegetables there now, but it is a tranquil place where people can sit and enjoy the plants and trees, and there is an open cafe to get light refreshments. I recommend the scones with jam and cream! We ended the city tour with a visit to the South African Museum, a natural history museum with an extensive collection, and currently displaying some exceptional photography exhibits.
John has not been feeling well and has symptoms of the cold and sore throat I had a couple of weeks ago. This is not surprising or unusual -- many people on the ship have it, and the virus exchange is something we were warned about early in the trip. In spite of frequent handwashing, hand sanitizing solution in many locations around the ship, and almost compulsive cleanliness on the part of the wonderful ship's crew, the bugs make the rounds. So when we got up on day 2 in Cape Town and John said he did not think he could manage our planned daytrip that day, I was not surprised. He was supposed to be the trip leader so we scrambled to notify appropriate people and find someone to take his place, then I went on the trip without him, knowing he would probably want to sleep most of the day. The trip on this day was to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and Cape Point.
Twenty-four of us left the ship around 8:00am and went by bus down the Atlantic coast scenic route. There was lots to see, but I will limit my commentary of the bus ride except to say that I found it interesting that there are actually 18 peaks of the Twelve Apostles. Curious. One other highlight was seeing a troop of baboons on the road. We hadn't expected that even though we saw signs about them -- I had just assumed it would be like seeing bears in the rockies. It just doesn't happen very often. But the bus driver did stop so we could take some photos.
We arrived at Cape Point (Latitude 34 degrees, 21'24"S; Longitude 18 degrees, 29'51"E) where several students and I decided to walk to the point rather than take the funicular railway. It did not take long, perhaps 40 minutes, and we were rewarded with the most breathtaking view of the ocean and cliffs. Although the day had started cloudy, skies were clear and blue and the sun was shining by the time we reached the point. On the west side of the point, the ocean waters are cold. On the east side they are warm. Although it is all Atlantic Ocean, many people say that this is the point where two oceans meet. Actually the geographic meeting of the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean is at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa several kilometers away. At Cape Point is the "new" lighthouse, built after the Lusitania, a Portuguese liner (not to be confused with the RMS Lusitania, the German U-boat sunk in WWI), hit Bellows rock and sank off the coast of Cape Point in 1911. Both Bellows Rock and the tip of the Lusitania are visible from the point.
When we left Cape Point, we headed to Boulders in False Bay, where we saw South African Penguins. These used to be known as Jackass Penguins because of the braying sound they made, until people realized that almost all penguins make this braying sound. The South African Penguins are quite small, and there are about 2500 of them in this location.
We had another great day today, but I think I will leave it until tomorrow, given that it is nearly 10:30 now and my laptop battery is nearly gone.
