The next day in Cape Town began at an ungodly hour as we headed to the Aquilla Private Game Reserve for an all-day safari. The reserve was so luxurious, complete with swimming pools, amazing food, and animal decor in the restaurant. After a much needed breakfast, we divided up and got into several game vehicles (open-air 4X4s). On completely rugged and thrilling terrain we rode through the reserve. Although on the longer, overnight safaris many students went on were more "authentic" in that the reserves were huge and the animals were in a more "natural" setting, the animals in Aquilla were all free and in their natural habitats. They just happened to have those habitats in convenient places for our viewing! I saw elephants, giraffes, hippos, springbok, antelope, wildebeest, buffalo, zebras and rhinos! We also had to change to view several lions, although their area was fenced off. If the reserve let the lions roam free, they would eat the other animals that the reserve tries so hard to protect! There was also a pen that held cheetahs, but sadly I didn't get a glimpse of this big cat. Overall, I had the time of my life getting to experience these animals in a safe environment, but without the restrictive and isolating bars of a zoo.
After my safari I, of course, went shopping. It is hard to stay away when a fantastic mall is but a few steps from the exit of the ship! I was so glad to be able to call home for a few minutes from the international pay phones in the mall.
The next day, some friends and I had tickets to go to Robben Island. Unfortunately, it was raining and windy, and we got all the way to Nelson Mandela Gateway, where the ferry to the former prison leaves, only to find out it was canceled due to the weather. Luckily, my friend Rachael and I were able to by tickets for the next day, but some of the other girls in our group were not going to be able to go to Robben Island at all.
So, graced with rain and a change in plans, a few of us decided to head to the Jewish Museum in downtown Cape Town. We took a taxi and explored the Company's Garden (complete with cute little ducks wading in the pond!) before going into the museum. South Africa had a rather large influx of Jewish immigrants in the same way that the United States did, and I personally had no idea about this history. The museum was very well done. It was striking to me to think that many Jews came to South Africa to escape Nazism, only to find that their new home would elect the Nationalist Party in 1948 who deeply sympathized with the Nazi's idea of a pure, superior race of people. Interestingly enough, in South Africa, the Jewish were on the other side of this racism, because instead of being the hated Jew, they were the part of the superior race of the Whites. What a phenomenon to completely switch sides of the same issue by traveling only a few countries over!
Later that day my Rachael and I headed to the movie theater in the mall. We are both in "World Cinema," and we are supposed to see a movie in a foreign country during the semester. We couldn't find a theater playing any South African films, so we ended up seeing the American remake, "Fame." It was fun being back in what I might call my natural habitat, the movie theater (LOL), smelling that familiar popcorn smell, but the movie was pretty much nothing but terrible. After the movie we went out for one last hurrah in Cape Town. The streets and bars were littered with SAS students, as it always seems to be wherever we go. It becomes like "real college" when you go out at night and recognize a lot of your friends and classmates. We don't really get that social part of college, the party scene, on the ship, and our time in port is a weird sort of substitute for that.
Thank goodness the weather was nice today because I was able to go to Robben Island. I'm not quite sure how to describe it in words. This seems to be my biggest problem in my trip so far--relating my experiences in ways others might understand. I have never in my life been witness to anything so powerful as being toured a political prison by an ex-prisoner. Our tour guide blew up a governmental building working for the militant wing of the ANC. No one died and a few military personnel sustained minor injuries, and our guide, at 19, was sentenced to 18 years of incarceration. He was beaten, tortured, and humiliated regularly. He told a story of how when his father applied to visit him (as this was difficult to do), security officers came to his father's home and shot him eight times. To this day our guide's father resides in a wheelchair because of his wish to visit his son. The most sickening part of the whole story was that the very men who tortured and beat the prisoners have been pardoned completely, many running successful private businesses that sell products to their former prisoners. I saw Nelson Mandela's cell, and places in the prison I have only seen in photographs before. It was so important to me to see Robben Island, to experience this dark part of this beautiful country's past. On a lighter note, leaving the prison for the return ferry I saw the penguins of Robben Island that live and play on the beaches of this beautiful island. It was quite and ending to a powerful experience.
Now, we're headed away from Cape Town, on our path to Mauritius. I could stay in South Africa for another week, another month, for a whole year. I know I am coming back here. Walking the streets of Cape Town, I feel a strange sense of connection to this nation. The only other time I have felt such a sense of belonging was when I moved to Santa Barbara. Is it possible to have two cities where your whole being completely and wholly belongs? Can I split my time between Santa Barbara and Cape Town? With the same weather and the most beautiful beaches, respectively, I think I could make a life of it! Now, to prepare for the real world again--tests, midterms, so many papers, reading, and continuing to press onward with Nelson Mandela's autobiography. Truly, though, this is not a bad place to be at all.
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