Ladies and Gentlemen, Cape Town, South Africa!

Cape Town, South Africa is one of the most interesting and amazing countries I have visited and I know that it is one of the most unique in the world. South Africa is a country that is more like 2 countries. Have and have nots, the rich and the poor. The inequality in this country is incomparable with anything I have ever seen. That said it is also one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. Google Table Mountain and you will see just how picturesque the city of Cape Town really is.

My first day I went shark cage diving in Gansbaai, which is about a 2 hour drive from Cape Town. Fresh off the boat we met the shuttle and began the drive. The drive turned out to be an awesome journey through rolling hills and plains. Baboons were on the side of the road as we passed what looked to me like pine trees and more wine vineyards than I could count. Shark cage diving was awesome; if you have ever seen Shark Week on the Discovery channel you know what I am talking about. The water only had about 4 feet of visibility so every time we saw a great white they were literally right in our face. All in all it was a great first day, the only thing was that cage diving took all day so I was back to the ship at 6 and immediately got ready to go out and get dinner. We went to Long Street, the place in Cape Town with all the restaurants and bars. There we ate at a Mexican restaurant and it was glorious, the nachos, tacos and margaritas really hit the spot after eating ship food for over a week.

The next day I left for my safari bright and early. We flew out of Cape Town to Johannesburg and then took a small flight to Hoedspruit, which is basically a small airport right next to the game reserve. We hopped off the plane and right into Toyota Land Cruisers with open tops. On our way into Kapama Game Reserve, we saw a Giraffe, Kudu's, Impala and Warthogs and this wasn't even a game drive!

The place we stayed at was called Buffalo Camp and had 7 different "bungalows" that were situated in a ravine about 20 feet off the ground. They were kind of like tents though not really at all just the walls were made of canvas. Our shower had a huge glass wall so you could see outside and there was a bathtub in the middle of the room. Needless to say it was one of the coolest places I've ever stayed at.

After we checked in we went on our first game drive. We came out of the fenced in complex took 2 turns before we ran into 5 Rhino's just hanging out in the middle of the road. They were within 10 feet of us, it was amazing. They didn't pay any attention to us at all, the animals are used to seeing game cars and since we are silent and don't move much they don't really bother humans. Now if you hopped out of the car and attempted to walk around that would be a different story. After the Rhinos we drove around for 5 minutes and ran into 2 lionesses with 3 cubs right off the road. That was so cool and if you have ever seen the Lion King you know what I mean. We spent about 45 minutes watching the cubs play with each other and I got some really adorable videos.

Next we saw some Hippos in the water as well as a herd of Impala. Then we pulled over to have drinks and snacks while a Giraffe came out on the road and kept walking toward us interested in what we were doing. He got probably within 25 feet and just walked around us so it was a great photo opportunity. After that it was dark so we headed back to the hotel to eat dinner and relax before going to bed early since morning game drives leave at 5am. The next morning on our game drive it took a bit to find some animals but eventually we ran into herds or Zebras, Impala and Kudu hanging out in a field. Then we spotted 2 cheetahs watching them from afar and drove over closer to them. The walked right in front of our car and perched up on a rock watching the Impala, Zebra and Kudu's. Unfortunately we didn't get to see a kill but on the way back to the hotel we spotted a herd of Giraffes walking down the road.

Since it's so hot during the day the animals aren't really out and we got the rest of the morning and afternoon to hangout and relax. After an awesome nap a friend and I took a ride to the main hotel complex to check out the gym and the pools they had there. The main lodge was so cool and the gym and spa area was like a giant Zen garden with an infinity pool in the middle. After we got back to our camp we headed out on the night game drive. We saw Water Buffalo hanging out by a pond and then a herd of 13 Elephants nearby. That was really awesome to see them, there were probably 3 babies and some that were huge they walked right past our car snapping branches off the trees and eating them. It was getting dark when we ran into a male lion, 2 lionesses and 3 cubs walking down the road. It was great to see the cubs again but we were all so happy to see the male. Animals in the wild like that are just truly amazing.

On our last morning we did an Elephant back safari where instead of doing a game drive, we rode Elephants. They are huge, really smart and it was a great experience. From what I was able to observe, they treated the Elephants really good and they said that if they wander off they usually come back the next day or so.

After that it was time to leave Kapama Game Reserve and head back to Cape Town. It took most of the day to travel back so once we got back to the ship, it was time to shower, change into some clean clothes and head to the waterfront for dinner. We ate at this place called Mitchell's a Scottish pub with great food and even better tasting beer that they brew themselves.

The next day, I had a trip all day for one of my classes called Operation Hunger. It is a non-profit NGO that works in the townships to feed kids after school as well as promote sustainable farming. Driving into the township we visited was literally like traveling from Downtown Denver to my home stay in Ghana. The townships are a 3^rd world country. It is such a huge contrast it's unbelievable. Our group was big so we split up and I ended going to help them in the "garden". Their "garden" was more like a sand pit filled with trash. After about 2 hours of weeding and cleaning up as much trash as we could we planted cabbage, carrots and onions. After lunch, we learned more about the organization as we waited for the children to come from school. The kids came and they were so excited to see us, we weighed them and measured their arm circumference as a way to keep track of their nutritional growth. After that it was time to go and we headed back to the ship and got ready to go out for dinner.

The last day in Cape Town, I had another trip with a teacher. We went to The Triangle Project, a non-profit NGO. The Triangle Project is basically an LGBT center with an AIDS clinic. We talked with their program director for a while about what they do and how they benefit people in the city and the townships. It was for my gender and society class and was definitely an interesting trip, plus it was out by lunch so I had the rest of the day to walk around the city. I went to the mall and the market getting a few souvenirs specific to Cape Town. The food in Cape Town is very inexpensive but everything else like clothing and electronics is a bit more expensive than in the US.

Overall Cape Town and South Africa was a place I will never forget. Cape Town is such a beautiful city but it has a very dark side. You could spend 10 days in Cape Town and not see the townships but you would miss the most important part of the city. Although Apartheid is over, its remnants linger and it is fairly obvious to see that the white people are rich while the black people are poor. If you do visit and want to see the townships I would recommend contacting an NGO instead of doing a tour through one. With an NGO, you can help them by volunteering while doing a tour they just take you through and don't do much to give back to the community. 

Unfortunately, there was not enough time for me to climb Table Mountain, visit a vineyard, go to Cape Point, and visit Robben Island. But Cape Town is a place I know I will return to and if you have never been, it is truly a must see destination and one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen.

Check back soon for pictures!

You Ghana be kidding me

Hey everyone sorry this is so late I'm been really busy with everything and there is always something better to do on the ship then type up blog posts but I promise I'll be better about it.

Ghana was a very interesting country and one that I wouldn't mind revisiting. We ported in Tema, which is about an hour drive to the capital of Accra. Its only about 3 miles away but the traffic is so bad that it takes a while. I did a home stay in Senasi village, which is about a 2-hour drive north from Kumasi. Kumasi is just about in the middle of the country so we were pretty far north.

We visited a slave castle the first day in Cape Coast and that was interesting but pretty depressing. President Obama and the first lady visited a few years ago so everyone in Ghana absolutely loves Obama. Whenever we would tell people we were from America they would yell Obama and say how much they love the U.S.

After staying the night in Cape Coast, we traveled through Kumasi, and experienced something that could only happen in a place like Ghana. Since in the cities traffic is so bad people will sell just about anything to you in your car. Bags of water, awesome ice cream, chocolate bars, onions, loves of bread for about a dollar, small flags, banana chips you name the food and you can probably buy it from your car in Ghana.

We arrived at Senasi village after dark and had a great dinner of something really good. It was pitch black with few lights so we went to bed early. The next day we played with tons of kids before visiting schools, playing with more kids and then visiting high school aged kids all before lunch. The sad thing is that the younger kids and older kids learn in the same buildings. They are basically open structures with roofs, few walls, no windows and doors. The only thing on the walls is a blackboard and posters about HIV/AIDS.

Meeting all the kids was really great and fun but it was also incredibly depressing. It really changes your perspective on a lot of things when you witness their reality. I can't imagine staying for a week or a month because 2 nights and 2 days was enough to really get me. Later in the day we had some down time to play soccer with some kids and then we learned a dance that we would perform the next day in front of a school.

After dinner a few of us stargazed for a while in an unfinished church with no roof. The power in the town had gone out around 8pm so it was pitch black everywhere making it perfect for stargazing. The next day we had a great breakfast of who knows what and left the town to go to the school and perform our dance. It was a ton of fun and the kids really loved it. Then we were back on the bus for the long drive back to the ship. It was a really great experience, so far the most eye opening one I have had on this journey and it is one that will certainly have an effect on me once I get home.

For the last day in Ghana, I headed into the capital city Accra to do some shopping and to check out the city. Thankfully it only took about an hour to get into the city and that was with light traffic. We went to Global Mamas first which is a nonprofit organization that operates a fair trade store so all the profits go directly to the people that created them. They have a website so if your interested they have some cool t-shirts and accessories check them out!

Next we headed to the cultural center where I got my first lesson in bargaining. This was the place to buy arts and crafts and they had some really awesome stuff. Huge masks that you can hang on the wall, wooden sculptures and carved out bowls with great detail were in most stores. It was like a tent city, some places sold t-shirts others jewelry and many that had paintings and great pieces of art. When you bargain in a foreign country you have to be smart otherwise they will take advantage of you. I bought a mancala board and a wooden beaded mask for way too much but I learned my lesson. A good rule of thumb that I know is to take 30 to 40 percent of what they tell you. They will seem angry or insulted but it's the name of the game and you will enviably settle on a reasonable amount. It can be fun but frustrating and if you just walk away, they usually yell for you and will take your bid. After walking throughout the shops for a while and buying the necessary souvenirs, we headed to Makola Market to do some grocery shopping before heading back to the ship. Some things were reasonably priced like the ice cream and some candy but things like a can of peanuts would have cost about $15 USD. It was interesting to see just as it was in Nassau, Roseau and Manaus what food prices were like. For the most part Ghana was more than reasonable but things we take for granted like nuts or granola bars are considered luxury items in other countries.

We got back to the shuttle, which was leaving at 4 and made it back to the ship by 5:30, on our way due to bad traffic and cattle crossings it took longer than expected. But just as in other countries looking out the window is so entertaining. In a place like Ghana if you wave to people, they will smile and wave back.

If I've learned something in Ghana it is that a smile is universal and though a village may not have running water or even power, people do all the same things. They take bucket showers, they eat breakfast and they find ways to economically sustain themselves.

My Cape Town post should be up soon and possibly pictures so check back!