Arrival in South Africa

March 31, 2010
Day 1 South Africa:

After days of seeing the African shoreline off in the distance we finally began to pull into Cape Town, South Africa!  At 6am the sky was a vibrant red with orange cascading over Table Mountain and Lions Head.  The new soccer stadium for the World Cup was glowing in the middle of the city.  The scene was absolutely spectacular.  Chris and I went on a Semester at Sea day trip to an HIV/AIDS hospital where we learned about the extent of the virus in South Africa.  Did you know 1 in 8 people have HIV in this country?  It was fascinating learning about the problem and the manifestation of the virus, but unfortunately we couldn’t visit with any of the patients like we had expected because there was a Measles outbreak and the wards were all closed to visitors. A few hours later Chris and I returned to the ship and went in search of a restaurant with a great view and good drinks for a leisurely lunch.  The waitress at Primi Wharf convinced us both to get ‘Jam Jars’ which were enormous sugary drinks. Tammy, Margaret, and Mychaela joined us towards the end of our 3 hour meal and we all went in search of good souvenirs afterward. Unfortunately it was already 5pm and we didn’t have much time before the street vendors started packing up, so our cab driver took us over to Camps Bay for a quick bargain with the vendors still there. I got a cool woven basket and an elephant statue (of course overpriced, but we were in a hurry).  That night we met up with everyone else from Semester at Sea on Long Street where all the fun bars are.  Like always, it was a late night and lots of fun!