Capturing Cape Town

Our pre-port lecturer from Cape Town mentioned that this is one of the top ten cities in the world, and as soon as I got off the ship I could understand why. The waterfront is an area of upscale shops, hotels, and restaurants, with yachts and sailboats in the harbor, and the imposing Table Mountain in the background. South Africa has 11 official languages, but everyone speaks English, so I almost felt like I was in San Francisco.

I spent the first couple of days on trips to an ostrich farm (hey, they needed a leader!) and several wineries in the Stellenbosch winelands region (including one that we biked to), as well as shopping and eating at the waterfront. But on day three I visited the Khayelitsha township, where blacks settled after being pushed out of the city during the apartheid regime. Even though apartheid ended, the shacks made of tin, wood, and cardboard and about 1.5 million people remain. The government is slowly building concrete housing for them, but the townships feel that by letting tourists know about their conditions, it may attract funding for better housing, education and health care. Despite the poverty and high incidence of HIV, there is a surprising feeling of hopefulness and community there.

I also attempted to go to Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned for more than 20 years, but rough waters cancelled the ferry rides the majority of the time we were there. I spent my last day at the Kirshenbosh botanical gardens, regretting that I had left this for the last day and only had a few hours. The highlight of Cape Town, though, was a last minute visit on the ship by Desmond Tutu. He only talked for an hour, but spoke humorously and eloquently about politics and issues in the United States and South Africa, as well as Iraq and the world.

We are now on our way to India, sailing for 12 days across the Indian Ocean. We have a day of Sea Olympics half-way through, where the faculty and staff and all the student "seas" compete in a variety of sports such as synchronized swimming, relays, paper boat floating contests and volleyball. I'm participating and judging, which tells you how low the bar is. Students are also in the midst of midterms, so there's lots of activity in the library. So it's back to work until Chennai.

Pictures: Cape Town waterfront (where our ship is docked), me on an ostrich (!), children from the township, flowers in the botanical garden, Desmond Tutu on the ship.

Namibia Notes

This was Semester at Sea's first trip to Namibia, and no one on the ship had ever been here before, so none of us knew what to expect. But apparently we all had similarly favorable reactions, because none of us wanted to leave. We docked in Walfish Bay, where there's not much more than a handful of grocery stores and restaurants, but I think the fact there wasn't a lot going on was part of its charm. Ten years from now, all of this will be built up and catering to tourists, so I was happy to see it in its desolate state.

The nearest town is a place called Swakopmund (aka Swakop), a seaside town about 20 miles away, that was once a German colony, so most of the residents and shopowners are German. The taxi ride there is breathtaking, with the ocean on one side, and desert and sand dunes on the other. It was also a somewhat breath gasping experience to travel back and forth in the local taxis, because it's a straight shot, and you're crammed in a little car that sounds like it'll break down before you get there. And you're going at least 100 mph, instead of the speed limit of 80. So you pay your 2 bucks and close your eyes. I had one of the best cups of coffee in my life at a cafe there (you can't beat a good German bakery), walked on the nearby beach, bartered with the local craftspeople, and shopped in the boutiques. It was so pleasant, I went back another day.

I also went on two trips with fellow shipmates---one was a 4x4 geological wonders exploration of the desert and dunes, where our guide told us we were standing in the oldest desert in the world---250 million years old. There, we also saw a welwitchia plant, which lives to be 2,000 or more years old and is only found in Angloa and Namibia. The leaves grow outward and the plant's age is determined by the length of the leaf (starting at several feet). At the dunes, we only had time to ooh and ahh, but several people had spent a day sandboarding or just purchased a piece of plastic at a gas station and gone down headfirst, like on a sled. The second trip I took was a kayaking trip in the ocean, where we kayaked among hundreds of seals and dolphins. From the kayak I could see the sand dunes against the skyline and it hit me then that I was in Namibia. It was the last day, and a perfect ending to a pretty perfect place.

We've now shifted gears and are back into the routine on the ship for just two days. We'll be in Cape Town in the morning........I'll be sitting on an ostrich this time tomorrow.

Pictures: oldest desert in the world, Cathy in Swakopmund, Dune #7, seals awaiting the kayakers, Portuguese curried seafood at a restaurant on the lagoon.

Heading to Namibia

As I imagined, getting off the ship (after 12 days) in Salvador was just what I needed. As much as I love the challenge of running on a treadmill while bouncing along the ocean, I forgot how good it felt to run outside, as a group of us did at 6 each morning. I was also able to buy the items I needed to make my own coffee on the ship, and as trivial as that sounds, it was essential. But more importantly, our first port made me realize what everyone who has sailed before was raving about. Almost no one spoke English in Salvador, but we communicated with gestures and smiles, and the people in the Pelourinho and outdoor markets seemed happy to barter with the "Americanos" on the ship, and frequently yelled out "Obama."

While many people flew to Rio or went to the Amazon during our 5 days, I stayed in Salvador and did a 15 km bikeride in Pituacu park (ecological reserve) with a group, and a ferry boat trip to Itaparica island in the rain. A bunch of us also took cabs one afternoon to the local Barra beach, where it was even more obvious that we were Americans. I also went to a condomble, a Brazilian religious ceremony, where everyone wears white. So a group of us put together outfits that more or less conformed (like an inside out SAS white t-shirt) to the dress code. Pictures weren't allowed, but it was an amazing visual experience.

The food in Salvador has an African influence....lots of meats (lamb, oxtail, beef, tongue, etc.) shellfish, coconut, rice and spices. A local cooking school offered a buffet lunch and dinner, and a number of us went there to get a sampling of the cuisine. I have a number of color and texture issues with food but was proud of the fact I tried some things that resembled baby poo and survived.

We're all back to the routine of classes for the 7 days we sail until Namibia. We're also losing an hour a night, for 5 nights. And I believe I've finally found my "sea legs"---that, or I just got tired of complaining about not feeling quite right each day. So between that and good coffee, all is well.

Pictures: Cathy at a Brazilian grocery buying chocolate and coffee, some SAS friends on the beach, another view of the beach, the MV Explorer ship at night, a shot from the ferry on the way to Itaparica island.

First Port - Brazil

Well, technically our first port was a little over a week ago when we picked up 700 students in The Bahamas, after departing from Norfolk, VA on Aug. 26. I was in the Bahamas long enough to get a really good cup of coffee from a Starbucks that I could see from my window, and to stick my toes in the water. We took a different route leaving the Bahamas, to avoid hurricanes and storms in the area, and had to refuel in Puerto Rico for 8 hours, in order to make it to Brazil. So for the faculty and staff, who have been aboard almost two weeks, and the students who've been in classes for one, we're all a bit anxious to get to our first port and touch ground. People on the ship who've sailed before say it's a bumpier ride than usual. I haven't felt 100% since we left Norfolk, but I'm trying to avoid the drugs and patches, so I've resorted to "exercises" such as shaking my head while staring at my finger. We'll see.

We crossed the equator two nights ago (Sept. 4), and celebrated Neptune Day on the ship yesterday (no classes!). There are some strange traditions affilitated with this rite of passage, including kissing a dead fish and getting your head shaved by the captain....about 80 faculty, staff and students in all. Back to normal with classes today (we have class every day while sailing) but the buzz is all about Brazil.

Pictures: Molly Sorice (the other ship librarian) at the counter, Cathy unpacking books, Molly, Julia and Joe (faculty from UVA) in the Bahamas, Cathy at a lifeboat drill, Cathy's room.