A Little R&R on V&A

September 29, 2005
Table Mountain

Excerpt from Megan’s Journal:

The giants on Table Mountain skipped breakfast today apparently as not one cloud, not one at all, covered the plateau of the mount, the proverbial tablecloth nowhere in sight. As a matter of fact, the sky was utterly empty stretching blue for miles and miles. Bob and Betty decided to join our group for such a wonderful morning as the two of us and Mary and Willie, the other two adult passengers, departed the MV Explorer for the cableway. Another adult passenger, Martin, opted to join us as well making the grand total seven. We found a taxi to accommodate all of us and soon were whisked through the beautiful streets and colorful homes to the entrance to the cable cars. Paying the student discount of eighty rands, not just Heather and I, but everyone else as well, we were led through the enormous line due to Willie and his cane. He says we all owe him a lot, which I guess we do, as we would have waited forever in the monstrosity of a procession. And yes, the other five in our group are senior passengers, but they all take classes on board, or at least audit them, so we laughed at the fact we all paid student prices.

The view was incredible, all the places I have visited, Hout Bay, Kirstenbosch, Groot Constantia, the open sea, all visible. Bob saw some dassies but we did not. We remained on the top for about an hour and a half before joining up again with everyone as we all tended to wander off on small paths and lookout points.

On our way down in the cable car we told Betty about the safari that we had booked. Janet Eastman had briefly mentioned the trip to them, but as she was leaving for a tour could not say much. Betty inquired if Bob would want to do a safari and we soon found ourselves dropped off from the taxi at the clock tower shopping mall and tourism center. We accompanied Betty and Bob, the other three leaving us on their own pursuits in the waterfront, to the same desk we booked our safari. They will join us for a day of adventure bright and early Sunday. I am thrilled to have them along and cannot wait to share this experience.

Excerpt from Heather’s Journal:

We started out the day by enjoying breakfast with Willie, Mary Louise, and Martin, before heading to the top of Table Mountain. We were blessed with the bluest of skies since our arrival and not a cloud in the sky making it by far the best day to take the cable car to the top. It has been getting progressively warmer over the last couple of days, which makes it extremely difficult to figure out what to wear since we do not get any weather on the ship. Before disembarking, what was originally four, became a group of seven with the addition of Bob, Betty, and Martin. We got a van to the aerial car and it must have been so strange to the people at the ticket booth to have five senior citizens claiming to be students with the Explorer ID cards. In the end we all passed as students, paying a discounted price, and hopped into the cable car to the top of the mount. It held sixty-five people, not like the small ones in Caracas at Mt. Avila, and the floor rotated for a three hundred sixty degree view of the ascent.

I have never seen the sky so blue, and we had the best view imaginable of Hout Bay, Cape Point and the Waterfront. In fact, as we made our way around the mountain we saw the city on all sides and a very impressive vista of the sea and the MV Explorer far below looking like a toy boat.

We made some purchases at the Shop on the Top, mostly for dad, and spent an hour looking for the cute little dassies – though no luck there. After making our way down by way of the aerial car we found another van to take us back to the waterfront and more specifically the clock tower precinct. The group split up at this point with the exception of our adopted family members, Betty and Bob. We told them about the safari we booked for Sunday and they were so excited that we showed them the Cape Tourism Center and they decided to join us for a day full of giraffes, lions, giraffes, zebras, giraffes, antelopes, and giraffes. And as Bob put it when he read the pamphlet, “and cocktails at lookout points, oh my,” with a smile.

Excerpt from Megan’s Journal:

We were all hungry after our expedition on the mountain and went to Rootis for lunch on the waterfront. I had a sandwich and diet coke, or as the can says in South Africa, Coca Cola light. I thought about Nana, sitting there with my adopted family. She would have loved this. A group performed on the cobbled space alongside the red clock tower and we enjoyed their chanting and dancing. The music was incredible and I would love to find some equivalent on compact disc. After an enjoyable lunch Betty and Bob went into the clock tower mall to do some shopping and we made our way to the blue shed craft market. On a side note, a man playing an Afri-can, an electric guitar, was outside and his jazzy light music drifted through the little streets adding such amazing charm to the colorful architecture.

Yes, I have now fulfilled every wish, every sight I would have seen in Kenya. Perhaps not, but as I am going on a safari I feel wonderful. Additionally, a man dressed like a Maasai was leaving the market as we were entering. Heather and I could not help but stare slightly, unsure whether he was an artisan or just a person dressed in costume for the waterfront entertainment.

Excerpt from Heather’s Journal:

We ate lunch together at Rooti’s, a restaurant specializing in Cape Malay Cuisine, though I have no idea what that means. I had a chicken and mayo as the Africans put it, which translates to chicken salad, but by far the best chicken salad I have ever had. It was sweet and the French fries were more like oversized wedges. Bob had an African dessert that is similar to a wheat donut with glaze and coconut. We had a toast to the safari and were entertained by African singers who danced around the small square by the restaurant.

After lunch Megan and I did some more shopping, making purchases at the craft market, and an art store, where Megan finally convinced me to purchase something for myself, and I am so happy with my choice. Mom, the only hint I can give is that you should read through my chapbook and perhaps there is a story in there that may give you an idea what I bought in Africa. Let me know if you figure it out. Megan of course made sure that I bought the most authentic souveniour we could find owing to the fact that she studies African art. Then we made one more purchase in the clock tower for mom before heading back to the Victoria Mall to make the most important decision of the trip thus far. Should we purchase the Chi-wara mask? Yes. Well we did and then found ourselves eating dinner at St. Elmo’s feeling very rotten, I guess buyer’s remorse, but we are definitely feeling better now. We went back to the store after eating and they had wrapped it up beautifully, first in bubble wrap, then with cardboard reinforcements and then a general brown paper wrapping with handles. It is now tucked away beneath the bed after a short trip back to the ship, and an even longer one at the security checkpoint to scan the package. We had thought about sending it home, but after hearing that it would cost an exorbitant amount plus insurance, not to mention the risk, we decided it was best to keep it within our sight. So, we surely cannot wait for dad to greet us at the dock so that he can carry it for us. Consider it a necessary task to get all your wonderful souvenirs.

Excerpt from Megan’s Journal:

(Paragraph censored for shopping purchases)

Then Heather took me back to the store with the Chi-wara mask and many others for me to make up my mind. I know that no matter what I could never settle for another mask. I would regret it for the rest of my life. I also realize how expensive the mask is and that it is quite large. The woman spoke to us about the piece and said it would be really expensive to ship and insure. Instead, we bought the mask and had them wrap it while we went to eat at St. Elmo’s Wood Fired Pizzeria. Well, its here! Under the bed in my cabin is a Chi-wara mask wrapped in bubble, cardboard and brown paper so perfectly I am amazed. There is no way such a piece could break. Its shape looks like a guitar, or so I have been told all wrapped up. I am a little nervous about getting it home, but I was told if students carry their six-foot giraffes off the ship and have them put in the closet on the airplane, than so can my mask. I feel guilty about spending the money, although I have not spent very much at any of the other ports and most likely will not in the next several countries.

Heather really wanted me to get the mask, and I did too of course, but I feel guilt-ridden about my purchase. I keep playing through my mind the image of the headdress and each time can’t help feeling doubtful. Should I have settled for something less, something smaller, something more generic? I don’t know. Masks are plentiful here and so many look alike. It is akin to all the six-foot giraffes that have apparently made their way onboard, but I feel like I have a true understanding of the piece and am, at the very least, original in my purchase.


Excerpt from Heather’s Journal:

We have two days of nothing planned before our safari and the only thing we really want to do is go to the grocery store and out to dinner. I thought a lot about Nana today, especially as we were looking out over Cape Town at Table Mountain, though I have certainly thought about her a lot since we started our voyage. I find myself looking at all of the beautiful things to buy and saying if she were here that I would get her this cute shirt with gold embroidered elephants, or these placemats with elephants, or this elephant figure, and the list goes on. Actually, I am almost finding it easier to find things for her than anyone else, try to figure that one out. I guess it is just the amount of items here with elephants that happen to remind me of her. Unfortunately that is the one animal we will not see on our safari here in South Africa. Happy Birthday Nana! We miss you.

September 30, 2005
V&A Waterfront

Excerpt from Heather’s Journal:

It is an even warmer day with the promise of even hotter temperatures in Mauritius. It has been a very lazy day around the ship uploading thousands of pictures from our stay thus far and organizing, arranging, editing, and captioning, thus an extremely long and time consuming process. We spent most of the morning taking care of the photos and hand washing some clothes. Last night we went through all of our accounting, tickets and souvenirs for the scrapbooks, leftover money, and labeling of purchases before wrapping them up to put in the suitcase. We are still under our budget for each port by a long shot, which feels very good considering that I have bought everything that I wanted for myself and the other items that I just had to get for mom and dad.

We went to the grocery store to buy African chocolate and some tea bags to use on the ship. Megan and I ate lunch onboard and I have a feeling that we will get dressed up for dinner tonight somewhere at the Albert Mall overlooking the harbor.

I cannot wait to have laundry day again, but until then I am forced to hand wash anything that requires laundering, though it takes time to dry and is limiting in terms of space. We will write postcards to everyone today so that they can be mailed tomorrow.

Excerpt from Megan’s Journal:

I slept in today, if you consider seven o’clock sleeping in, and spent the morning organizing and labeling photos on the computer. It is a task that has to be done unfortunately and the massive amount has taken me all morning and mostly likely the remainder of the afternoon.

After lunch I went out to Victoria Wharf and went to the supermarket. Chocolate, something everyone seems to want right now is in high demand. We purchased some milk and dark so that we can stow it away in our closet drawer and have a piece occasionally. We also purchased some tea so that we do not have to pay for Lipton tea bags every time we would like some. We are almost out of cracker packs, something we were not even sure we would eat all of throughout the voyage.

Excerpt from Heather’s Journal:

Every single time we look out the window we see a seal swimming around and B has gotten quite use to the playmate. It seems as if all we have to do is go to the window and it pops it’s head above the surface and shakes it’s fins as if waving. I don’t know if it can actually see us or not but it certainly seems like it as it swims over to our window and hangs around waving it’s fin. We have decided to call him “Sony” since we have taken so many pictures of him with our cameras, though “Seal” would have worked fine too.

We checked our university web page to see if the course listings for the spring semester were posted and were shocked to find it available. We have decided to take Greek Art, Asian Art, Latin American Art before 1500, Art of the Pacific Islands, and Biological Anthropology. It seems like a great schedule, with no classes on Friday, which means a three-day weekend every weekend at home. How does that sound?

We went out to dinner tonight at the Green Dolphin and had a fabulous dinner. Megan really really wanted to go somewhere fancy and so I went along with her request that we get dressed up, even though it meant that I had to wear the heals. I had a chicken dish with peanut sauce, vegetables, and something that I have no idea what it was, but it tasted good. Megan had lamb and we both had Stellenbosch wine from Africa, Megan a dry red and I a dry white. It was fantastic and I am definitely ready for bed. At dinner Sony the seal showed up and the sunset was so beautiful over the mountain. As soon as we got back to the ship Marshall and Rich who were departing asked us if we wanted to go to a comedy club because they had booked four tickets and the two other people did not show up. We had to tell them that we were not interested, my feet really hurt, and the wine had other plans, namely a good night sleep. I think they were definitely disappointed, but I know they asked us because we looked so cute. I am glad that we went out to dinner.

I noticed while we were eating that many of the white Afrikaans looked strangely at us. Do we eat so differently? I think that the pace is definitely slower here, but I always forget that we are twins and that is mainly the reason why people are always staring at us. My stay here has made me think a lot about the apartheid movement and I wonder what the whites here think about the blacks and if there is any resentment. I most certainly feel as if there is an air of righteousness amongst the Afrikaans and it makes me feel very sympathetic to those of the underprivileged class and the blacks.

I know that I will sleep well tonight. Tomorrow we plan to do a little studying, buy dad his final gift from South Africa, finish organizing the photos, and plan for our great adventure on Sunday. I cannot believe that we are not leaving for Kenya tonight and I am reminded of this by the presence of our Kenyan interport lecturer.

Excerpt from Megan’s Journal:

We are going to get dressed up for dinner out at either the Little Mermaid or the Blue Dolphin tonight. We want to feel, a word I seem to be using a lot, like we have done something special and enjoyed the atmosphere in the beautiful sunset on the waterfront. Afterwards we will come back to the ship and work on writing some postcards so we can mail them while we are in port. On a side note, has anyone received postcards yet from any other port?

Not sure if we will make it to Boulders Beach to see the penguins or not. It would have been fun but we have already experience so much.

Also, we sent some emails about two weeks ago, two to mom and dad, and two to Ashley. Has anyone received them? Someone we were talking to said that one person they had been emailing a lot wrote to them on their blog and asked why they had not been emailing, which of course she was. Anyway, email does not seem it is entirely reliable and the letters we sent were not something we saved at the time. I have also lost about two hours of Internet time and have to wait until we are back at sea to talk to the person who will take care of “investigating” the problem as I was told at the desk. I am extremely frustrated as I now have about an hour and a half of time left rather than almost four hours. I will get my time back though, you can be sure of that. They had done some work on the system the second day in port and that evening is when I noticed the discrepancy. Hopefully it will all work out or I will have to either purchase more minutes or discontinue my blog, which would be a terrible option.

We went to the Green Dolphin, I know I said Blue earlier, my mistake. The food was delicious and we each had a glass of wine, Heather had a white while I drank a red. We both enjoyed them and around seven thirty in the growing dusk walked back to the ship. It is quite cool in the evenings and in our pinstripe pants, heels, dressy top, and a special item we purchased in port, we were glad to have brought our shrugs along. While we are not allowed to bring empty bottles from alcoholic beverages onboard we did take a photo of the bottles so we can try to find these local Stellenbosch wines at home.

The street group I have fallen in love with was still out on our walk back and they sell their own CDs. I cannot describe the harmony and chanting but I absolutely love it and tomorrow on some small outing would love to be able to purchase their music. Once aboard two guys asked us if we wanted to go to a comedy as the girls they were supposed to go with ditched them. One of the guys lives a couple doors down and seems incredibly nice, the other actually went out with us in Brazil to the market. If we had talked more about the trip and Heather and I had not come from dinner we might have enjoyed such an outing. We decided to stay on the ship and being polite excused ourselves from the adventure. I don’t think either of us would have minded the trip, but again, dinner and wine consumed, we are still smart enough to handle ourselves well. The wine is a good precursor to a good night sleep and we cannot wait for one more relaxing day in Cape Town followed by a safari.

Excerpt from Heather’s Journal:

Mom and Dad: I feel as if I have finally come to a place in our voyage that I am really missing home and especially mom and dad. It is sinking in that I still have two and a half months left of this grand adventure and I still cannot believe that it is here and I am living it. How do I explain to myself that I am in AFRICA? Am I really on a completely different continent on the other side of the world? My eyes tear up when I think of home and I want to see everyone I love and hug them. I know that you would love it here and I missed by two favorite people in the entire world tonight at dinner. I am so happy and sad at the same time. My eyelids are getting heavy and so goodnight. I love everyone and miss them so much. I will eat a piece of chocolate for you both and send a big kiss and hug to you tonight.

Excerpt from Megan’s Journal:

Heather and I talked at dinner about having been away from home for a month. We have thought about everyone, especially mom and dad a lot, but it has truly been more difficult here. Perhaps because I feel so happy here, so at home in a way, in this beautiful setting I want you here to experience this adventure with me. I have missed you in the last two ports but this one is honestly the most difficult. I prefer the company of adult passengers at times because it is with them that I connect, I talk and have conversations I could not possibly have with the majority of the students. I only hope I will return to Cape Town, go to eat at the Green Dolphin, shop at Out of Africa and Out of This World and all the other fabulous places, eat biltong which dad would love (dried meat like beef jerky only ten times better), have ostrich for dinner (I know dad would try this) go to the vineyards and wine lands and take a sunset catamaran that left while we were eating dinner. It felt truly awkward to be able to order a glass of wine at twenty without being carded or anything else. I love everything here and will be sad to leave. Even now thinking about all I have done, I can feel tears swell in my eyes as I contemplate moving on to the next port.