Well it has finally happened, I have gotten so behind on my blogging that I cannot remember what happened on the four days between S.A. and Mauritius. But dana has reminded me of the big event: the global studies exam. What a fiasco this was. We had one day after S.A. before the exam, and that one global studies class was supposed to be a review. Well it turns out their idea of a review was to inform us each of the teachers would be set up in a different classroom for the hour and a half of class and send us off to ask them our own questions. This meant that 732 students were released to go find one of the dozens of guest teachers from the past 15 classes about random topics and figure out what to study from each of them for the exam. The exam was 100 questions, 3-6 from each teacher that spoke in global studies. These topics ranged from wind patterns to each countries history to the evolution of species. It was chaos. Everyone threw a huge fit and complained to the directors, who informed us that they hadn’t met until 45 minutes before class that morning to decide how to do a review. So pretty much everyone had one afternoon to cram all the information- some people were freaking out a bit but try as I might I could not manage to stress myself out over it. It’s just really hard to get into the study/school mode here. Needless to say the average on the exam was pretty low, thank goodness for the huge curve or else most people would not have passed.
Mauritius was an enjoyable short stop; there isn’t a lot to report since it was just a day. Dana and I signed up for an SAS trip called blue safari which was a 45 minute tour in a little submersible- so a tour of the reefs and a shipwreck about 30m down. There were two submarines, one seated like 15 and one seated 5, we snagged the 5 seater which was a good choice because the walls were just huge glass windows giving us a panoramic view whereas the bigger one only had portholes. Also a cool little factoid, everything that was red on the surface turned pretty much black underwater- my swimsuit, nailpolish, even our blood changed to a creepy greenish hue. It was crazy. We were hoping to spend the rest of the afternoon at the beach, we have yet to swim in the ocean, and the water there was gorgeous crystal clear turquoise and completely calm, but alas no such luck on the beach. The guide for our little blue safari decided to drive us to the market to drop us off there and that ended up taking an hour and a half entirely the opposite direction of the beach so we really didn’t have enough time. Instead we just sat down for a nice long lunch and took a water taxi back to the boat later that afternoon.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Finishing South africa finally
Our safari was in Pilansberg at the Ivory Tree Lodge, a two hour flight to Johannesburg then another 3 hours on a bus to the lodge. Surprisingly traveling in a group was not too bad, the worst part was that about 5 minutes before we had to leave they informed us liquids were not allowed so we all dumped our shampoos and sunblocks and all that good stuff only to realize after we got to the airport we could bring liquids. But other than that it went smoothly. I suppose I slept most of the bus ride but as we were getting closer our guide told us to keep an eye out because sometimes you can see the animals from the road and almost immediately we saw an elephant so that was an exciting start. We arrived at the lodge around 3 or so, and it was absolutely gorgeous. It was set in the mountains secluded by lots of trees and everything was open and airy and sort of earthy, too bad I don’t know more home décor terms- hopefully Ill just be able to get pics up soon. We were greeted with some delicious fruity juice drink and got our room assignments. We stayed in two person little bungalows which were even cuter with outdoor patios for each and wonderful bathrooms with outdoor showers and big bathtubs which I am now regretting never taking the opportunity to enjoy. We set out on a game drive right away, there were 10 people in each car and each drive was around 3 hours. We saw elephants and rhinos and zebra and lots of game and giraffes and finally after nightfall we came across some lions for the first time. We had to stay on the designated paths when driving so we had to be patient to find animals close but we got really lucky, only the elephants were far away. So the first drive we saw 3 of the 5 big five, (elephants rhinos lions leopards and buffalo). We also learned that these are called the big five because they are the most dangerous to hunt. As our guide Alicia described it, if you shoot them and don’t kill them, then you’re dead. But I have to say my favorite part of the drive was going back to the game lodge at night- the view of the stars was absolutely breathtaking. One of my strongest memories from Australia was camping in the outback where we got a great view of the stars, but I forgot just how amazing it was until this. You just cant even imagine how many stars there are, there is not a portion of the sky that isn’t covered with them- and its not like home where they are mostly the same size and only a few bright ones, there are huge bright ones and new constellations and clusters of tiny little grainy ones and you can even see parts of the milky way. You just never want to stop looking.
Dinner was set up outside in the “boma” for us, a circular enclosed area with a fire going in the middle and all sorts of different foods. It was at dinner that I met the other Marisa, prior to this I was aware that there were other Marissas on the ship but this was MariSa, which was extra special and obviously we milked it for all it was worth. We also discovered we have psychic abilities, which we tested by Marisa thinking of a number 1-30 then on the count of 3 we both said the number and we got it right 3 times in a row then continued to do throughout the rest of the trip and 9 times out of 10 got it right. Magical. Early to bed because our wakeup call was at 5am.
We were treated to biscuits and tea before our 5:30 game drive, then it was back out into the wild. Poor Dana could not make it because of an unpleasant stomach bug, so I had to do without for a while. The sunrise alone was great to see, but we also got to hear lions vocalizing for the first time. It was the mating period for them so the males were making a lot of noise calling to females, but although we could hear them we couldn’t find them for a while. But we were lucky and came across a “honeymooning” pair soon enough, and not only were they pretty close to us but we also got to see them, er, in action. Later we came across another pair and they were only about 10 meters off the road and the male was really active, getting up and coming right up to the cars because we were in his territory and making a lot of noise. We got some great videos. We were treated to a fresh breakfast including an omelette bar when we returned, and despite having been up for 4 hours by 9am I managed to hold off on a nap until noon. Spent some time outside swimming, then went to visit Dana who luckily seemed to have kicked the bug by then. Enjoyed the early afternoon outside on the patio listening to a storm come in, then experienced the outdoor shower during the little bit of rain we got. Definitely getting myself one of those someday. Game drive number 3 was at 4:30 and Dana was back in action and made up for lost time with the lions who were still honeymooning in the same spot. We also got a great view of hippos this afternoon, in and out of the water. We also saw a brown hyena briefly, which apparently are pretty rare because they are so skiddish. Our car, which we had nicknamed the bird mobile and included such pleasant company as the other Marisa, decided we would be ambitious in the morning and meat at 4:30, so it was another early night. We wanted to get out early in hopes of catching a leopard which are apparently incredibly elusive, but no such luck. We did however make it up the mountains in time to watch the sunrise, which was totally worth it in itself. We stayed out for a couple more hours after that, and got to see African wild dogs in a boma because they were integrating to tribes and they weren’t quite ready to be released yet. Other than that I don’t remember much because try as I might I could not for the life of me stay awake, I just passed out flying around on the top seat of the car. After another good breakfast there was time for a quick nap then it was back to Capetown, which took most of the afternoon. We got in around 6 and had to wait in line for an hour to get back on the ship because so many people were getting back at the same time and everyone had luggage that had to be searched. Our friends Danielle and Julia were also caught in the mass so we caught up for dinner on the waterfront at Balduccis- more delicious ostrich and pasta and cheescake and wine and monitors showing fashion shows on the walls which should have made me feel a lot guiltier for eating so much than they actually did.
Our last day we spent the morning at table mountain. A lot of people choose to hike it but hiking really isn’t my thing so we chose to take the cable car up, which also turned out not to be my thing. I always forget how afraid of heights I am until it’s too late. The top is cold and windy but obviously has an amazing view. Before getting back on the ship we went to a sushi restaurant called Willoughbys and it might have been the best sushi I’ve ever had, and was one of the first meals that really satisfied a craving. Not to mention our waiter was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. Left a wonderful final impression of south Africa.
Dinner was set up outside in the “boma” for us, a circular enclosed area with a fire going in the middle and all sorts of different foods. It was at dinner that I met the other Marisa, prior to this I was aware that there were other Marissas on the ship but this was MariSa, which was extra special and obviously we milked it for all it was worth. We also discovered we have psychic abilities, which we tested by Marisa thinking of a number 1-30 then on the count of 3 we both said the number and we got it right 3 times in a row then continued to do throughout the rest of the trip and 9 times out of 10 got it right. Magical. Early to bed because our wakeup call was at 5am.
We were treated to biscuits and tea before our 5:30 game drive, then it was back out into the wild. Poor Dana could not make it because of an unpleasant stomach bug, so I had to do without for a while. The sunrise alone was great to see, but we also got to hear lions vocalizing for the first time. It was the mating period for them so the males were making a lot of noise calling to females, but although we could hear them we couldn’t find them for a while. But we were lucky and came across a “honeymooning” pair soon enough, and not only were they pretty close to us but we also got to see them, er, in action. Later we came across another pair and they were only about 10 meters off the road and the male was really active, getting up and coming right up to the cars because we were in his territory and making a lot of noise. We got some great videos. We were treated to a fresh breakfast including an omelette bar when we returned, and despite having been up for 4 hours by 9am I managed to hold off on a nap until noon. Spent some time outside swimming, then went to visit Dana who luckily seemed to have kicked the bug by then. Enjoyed the early afternoon outside on the patio listening to a storm come in, then experienced the outdoor shower during the little bit of rain we got. Definitely getting myself one of those someday. Game drive number 3 was at 4:30 and Dana was back in action and made up for lost time with the lions who were still honeymooning in the same spot. We also got a great view of hippos this afternoon, in and out of the water. We also saw a brown hyena briefly, which apparently are pretty rare because they are so skiddish. Our car, which we had nicknamed the bird mobile and included such pleasant company as the other Marisa, decided we would be ambitious in the morning and meat at 4:30, so it was another early night. We wanted to get out early in hopes of catching a leopard which are apparently incredibly elusive, but no such luck. We did however make it up the mountains in time to watch the sunrise, which was totally worth it in itself. We stayed out for a couple more hours after that, and got to see African wild dogs in a boma because they were integrating to tribes and they weren’t quite ready to be released yet. Other than that I don’t remember much because try as I might I could not for the life of me stay awake, I just passed out flying around on the top seat of the car. After another good breakfast there was time for a quick nap then it was back to Capetown, which took most of the afternoon. We got in around 6 and had to wait in line for an hour to get back on the ship because so many people were getting back at the same time and everyone had luggage that had to be searched. Our friends Danielle and Julia were also caught in the mass so we caught up for dinner on the waterfront at Balduccis- more delicious ostrich and pasta and cheescake and wine and monitors showing fashion shows on the walls which should have made me feel a lot guiltier for eating so much than they actually did.
Our last day we spent the morning at table mountain. A lot of people choose to hike it but hiking really isn’t my thing so we chose to take the cable car up, which also turned out not to be my thing. I always forget how afraid of heights I am until it’s too late. The top is cold and windy but obviously has an amazing view. Before getting back on the ship we went to a sushi restaurant called Willoughbys and it might have been the best sushi I’ve ever had, and was one of the first meals that really satisfied a craving. Not to mention our waiter was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. Left a wonderful final impression of south Africa.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Capetown
South Africa was another really great experience, maybe not quite as much active fun as Namibia but still really nice. The port we were in was right on the waterfront and had shopping and food and entertainment so it was a great place to be docked, and the city in general is just so beautiful. Our first day our shark diving trip was cancelled so we wandered a little and ran into a few friends who were on their way to the winelands so we tagged along. We took a train to Stellenbosch, about an hour ride. The trains there are really really minimal it was weird, they felt bare like a warehouse, just empty cars and plastic seats along the walls, but “first class” had leather, or some sort of similar substance. Can’t imagine making a daily commute on one of those. But Stellenbosch was gorgeous, the mountains in the distance and gorgeous vineyards and plants all around. We managed to wander into a winery, Bergkelder or something like that, and enjoyed about 45 minutes of quiet and personal wine tasting for $1.50. We didn’t want to do a tour because we wanted to make it to another winery before our train home and tours were at least an hour, but the man doing our tasting gave us lots of information anyway and was very nice. We discovered that for $5 a year, you can have your own wine cellar in the mountains that you stock with your favorite choices and can come visit and have private tastings of your wine anytime, or have it shipped to you when its ready. Dana and I were very close to purchasing them for numerous friends and family. We also considered shipping cases of wine as gifts too because even some of the best wine was just so cheap it was amazing, but then we discovered shipping to the US was not so cheap at all.
The second winery we went to was Spier which is supposed to be the most famous or best or something, and it was really neat with a little craft market in the courtyard and a awesome restaurant called moya that is known for having tables in the trees, we didn’t stay for dinner though. The wine tasting here was a little less impersonal but still enjoyable. And this was also where I encountered the biggest regret of my trip thus far: the beaded cheetah. South Africa is known for their wire craft, just shaping wire and beading it, and at the craft market there was a life sized beaded cheetah that I seriously considering purchasing but didn’t and just cant forgive myself now. It was wonderful. But we did get a few items of jewelry and enjoyed some time at moya before our train ride home. We decided not to eat there because we wanted to go to a restaurant called Mama Africa on Long Street that served traditional African dishes, so even though we really hadn’t eaten all day and were starving we decided to suck it up the train ride home and hopped in a cab to Mama Africa- we asked our cab driver if he liked it and he said he didn’t eat African food. But anyway we got there and it was really neat and authentic feeling with a African band playing but they said it was a 45 minute wait, but we figured we made it this far and we could wait a little longer. Well 45 minutes turned into 3 hours, and by the time we sat down to eat we were so tired and hungry Im not even sure I noticed what all the dishes were. I believe we ordered springbok, ostrich, some skewers with different meats one of which might have been crocodile, and lambchops- this was for 3 of us by the way. But it was all delicious, especially the ostrich. I mean, it was really really really good. Dana and I are opening an ostrich farm. Its really healthy too. Ugh sooo good. Then it was about 1230 so it was right to bed because we had to meet at 8am for our safari.
The second winery we went to was Spier which is supposed to be the most famous or best or something, and it was really neat with a little craft market in the courtyard and a awesome restaurant called moya that is known for having tables in the trees, we didn’t stay for dinner though. The wine tasting here was a little less impersonal but still enjoyable. And this was also where I encountered the biggest regret of my trip thus far: the beaded cheetah. South Africa is known for their wire craft, just shaping wire and beading it, and at the craft market there was a life sized beaded cheetah that I seriously considering purchasing but didn’t and just cant forgive myself now. It was wonderful. But we did get a few items of jewelry and enjoyed some time at moya before our train ride home. We decided not to eat there because we wanted to go to a restaurant called Mama Africa on Long Street that served traditional African dishes, so even though we really hadn’t eaten all day and were starving we decided to suck it up the train ride home and hopped in a cab to Mama Africa- we asked our cab driver if he liked it and he said he didn’t eat African food. But anyway we got there and it was really neat and authentic feeling with a African band playing but they said it was a 45 minute wait, but we figured we made it this far and we could wait a little longer. Well 45 minutes turned into 3 hours, and by the time we sat down to eat we were so tired and hungry Im not even sure I noticed what all the dishes were. I believe we ordered springbok, ostrich, some skewers with different meats one of which might have been crocodile, and lambchops- this was for 3 of us by the way. But it was all delicious, especially the ostrich. I mean, it was really really really good. Dana and I are opening an ostrich farm. Its really healthy too. Ugh sooo good. Then it was about 1230 so it was right to bed because we had to meet at 8am for our safari.
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