Day Five in Cape Town

Day Five in Cape Town was just one of those days where nothing went as planned.

We were going to hike Table Mountain that morning, but it was rainy and gray, and the trails were closed to the public due to the dangerous conditions—so that plan was nixed.

And we went to plan B, which was a tour of Robben Island (the place where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years). Except that the ferry was closed due to wind and rough seas, and consequently all tours were cancelled.

By that time, it’s raining and we’re freezing—so we taxied to the District Six Museum, which Christina hadn’t seen yet and was really hoping to. I was fine with it, as there is always more to learn about apartheid. Afterwards, we walked to the Castle of Good Hope (built in the 1600s and remains a military base), and watched the changing of the guard. At this point, the sun was starting to peak through the clouds, so we strolled through City Square and returned to the waterfront to go grocery shopping for snacks (I made my own trail mix) that Allie and I store underneath our beds in case of emergencies.

We had an AMAZING South African dinner that night at a restaurant right on the water. We all ordered different things and sampled off each other’s plates. I ordered a “breadie”, which I’m only now realizing is an extremely hard dish to describe…it’s chunks of meat (mine was lamb) cooked with almost artichoke-like flowers, covered in a sauce full of spices, and served over rice. Others in our group ordered various types of game—so I also got to sample wart hog (sorry, Pumba) and springbok (which is like South African deer), and both were quite lovely.

I’m off to a Global Studies study session for now (our midterm is quickly approaching, as is the miniscule little island called Mauritius that is our next port of call), but tomorrow is another reading day—hooray for no classes and a guilt-free nap!

Love. Anna