Mauritius
About two weeks ago we went to Mauritius, otherwise known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It’s quite a pearl! Due to the shenanigans of past voyagers (according to rumors, they actually burned a hotel to the ground), we were only allowed to stay for about 5 hours, and everyone from the ship had to attend an official program in order to disembark. Fortunately, our program involved going to the beach -- a pristine, white sand beach flanked by swaying coconut palms and surrounding the most turquoise water I’ve ever seen. When Mark Twain visited Mauritius, he said that God created Heaven after creating Mauritius and He patterned the celestial paradise after the island one. Now I know why.
Because we were traveling on an official SAS program, we enjoyed being with about 60 friends from the ship -- all faculty, staff, or lifelong learners like ourselves. We played football in the water, the kids went tubing, and we all basked in the beauty of Mauritius. For lunch, a nearby food truck sold the most delicious Indian curries in a crepe-like bread with fresh salad and French fries. Others sold fresh pineapple cut before your eyes. One pick up pulled up selling homemade rum fermenting in giant glass jars. On another field program, I’m told some students were able to get drunk at a gas station stop! Our group was pretty tame, and I’m happy to report, nothing was burned to the ground, though my shoulders did get a little burned.
In the end, we returned to the ship after our short stay, amazed that we got to go to Mauritius. “Who goes to Mauritius?!” we said. Even crazier, who goes to Mauritius for five hours?!
South Africa
After sailing for a week, we pulled into Cape Town, South Africa before dawn. The outline of Table Mountain rose above the harbor in the morning light, and you could feel the excitement as we prepared to disembark.
South Africa quickly became one of our favorite countries in the world. Its stunning natural beauty, combined with the beauty of the people, the world class cuisine, and the plethora of interesting activities makes it a fabulous vacation spot. We literally waited until the very last minute to get back on the ship… we didn’t want to leave!
Words may never fully describe South Africa, but I’ll give you some highlights.
HERMANUS
After renting a car and praying before we started out (Kerry had never driven on the left side of the road before… but he did great), we drove east through some of the most beautiful landscape we’ve ever seen. With the crashing sea on our right and rocky mountains and twisting vineyards on our left, we made our way to Hermanus, a tiny village perched on cliffs above the water. It’s known as the world’s best whale-watching town, but unfortunately we weren’t there during whale season. Nevertheless, Hermanus is absolutely adorable. Even Charlie noted, “This is a charming little town.” And it is. It’s entirely walkable with outdoor cafes, markets with African crafts, and ice cream shops, all with a breathtaking view of the sea, which continually writhes and crashes against the weathered cliffs. Our little apartment overlooked the ocean, and all night long we heard the crash of the waves as we slept. The greatest sound machine ever.
After renting a car and praying before we started out (Kerry had never driven on the left side of the road before… but he did great), we drove east through some of the most beautiful landscape we’ve ever seen. With the crashing sea on our right and rocky mountains and twisting vineyards on our left, we made our way to Hermanus, a tiny village perched on cliffs above the water. It’s known as the world’s best whale-watching town, but unfortunately we weren’t there during whale season. Nevertheless, Hermanus is absolutely adorable. Even Charlie noted, “This is a charming little town.” And it is. It’s entirely walkable with outdoor cafes, markets with African crafts, and ice cream shops, all with a breathtaking view of the sea, which continually writhes and crashes against the weathered cliffs. Our little apartment overlooked the ocean, and all night long we heard the crash of the waves as we slept. The greatest sound machine ever.
SHARK DIVING
We came to Hermanus because it was close to Gaansbai, a nearby harbor and push-off point for many shark cage diving tours. Our second morning in South Africa, we woke to a dark, cloudy sky and strong waves. I worried about going out in such surf, but this was our day to shark dive, and nothing would stop us! After a generous breakfast, we all donned bright orange rain jackets and boarded the Apex Predator, our boat with Great White Shark Tours. Just getting out of the harbor was a challenge with the narrow clearance through the rocks and the high waves coming in. But after gunning it a few times to go up and over the incoming waves, our boat was speeding out to sea thanks to its four huge engines. I had Sydney and Charlie up on the top deck, and we clung to the rail to make sure we didn’t go flying off by mistake!
We came to Hermanus because it was close to Gaansbai, a nearby harbor and push-off point for many shark cage diving tours. Our second morning in South Africa, we woke to a dark, cloudy sky and strong waves. I worried about going out in such surf, but this was our day to shark dive, and nothing would stop us! After a generous breakfast, we all donned bright orange rain jackets and boarded the Apex Predator, our boat with Great White Shark Tours. Just getting out of the harbor was a challenge with the narrow clearance through the rocks and the high waves coming in. But after gunning it a few times to go up and over the incoming waves, our boat was speeding out to sea thanks to its four huge engines. I had Sydney and Charlie up on the top deck, and we clung to the rail to make sure we didn’t go flying off by mistake!
A mere 15 minutes out of the harbor, we stopped in the aqua water to check things out. The chum man at the back of the boat began stirring a mixture of fish guts, sea water, and blood… a mixture he would churn the entire time we were at sea. Every now and then, he poured some of it into the water behind the boat.
Now apparently the only sharks you see near Gaansbai are Great Whites. And the Great Whites near Gaansbai definitely know the drill, judging by the number of shark boats out in the ocean with us. Basically, this is big-time business. I couldn’t figure out how all these boats could find sharks, but I soon discovered the South African version of Field of Dreams: “If Mr. Chum Man pours his concoction into the ocean, sharks will come.” It’s pretty much like clockwork.
To lure the sharks close to the boat, a man uses half of a large fish baited on a hook and held afloat with a buoy. There is also a rubber seal decoy named Gladys, who, judging by the teeth marks, has duped many a shark. All day long, the captain, a veteran shark chaser named Brian, sits on a platform above the water, scanning for sharks and throwing out Gladys whenever one comes by. His cohort keeps throwing out the fish bait. We saw 8-10 sharks, but it was hard to tell as many kept coming back and sometimes we saw several at once.
The best viewing of the sharks is done from the boat… particularly when the captain jerks Gladys out of the water, and the sharks jump out to chomp her. Occasionally, the guy holding the fish bait isn’t fast enough, and the sharks actually get a little lunch. Frankly, I think they deserve it after putting on such a spectacular show for us all day. But even though the best seats are the dry ones on the boat, we were all thrilled to get a chance to get in the water and see these behemoths up close and personal.
First we donned wet suits, shoes and hoods. Then masks. Then a weight belt to make it easier to stay underwater. Unfortunately, our kids’ wetsuits didn’t fit quite as well, so they were much chillier in the water than we were. Then Austin couldn’t wear a weight belt at all because, according to the captain, if he did, he would drown. So Austin had a harder time going underwater than the rest of us. But he didn’t drown, so that’s nice.
Once you’re all suited up, you lower yourself into the icy water of the cage which is tied to the side of the boat. It has room for eight people. Ideally, you hold onto bars that are within the cage, but occasionally people forget and grab onto the outside bars, not advised. The cage is only partly submerged, so you keep your head above water until the captain (who is luring the shark close to the cage) yells, “Down, down, down, down, down, down!” Then you take a quick breath and go underwater. At this point you are in a silent, frigid, pale green world waiting for the shark. Depending on where the bait is, he may glide past inches from your face, thrash around biting at the fish, or shoot up from below you to leap straight out of the water. Once when Austin was in the cage, a shark came swimming right at him, his mouth wide open, and ran right into the cage. I think he thought Austin was a chicken nugget!
I expected to be scared of the sharks and possibly traumatized for life about swimming in the ocean, but instead, I was truly awestruck by these giant creatures. I found them tremendously beautiful. Their sheer size took my breath away. Their silent almost imperceptible movements in the water were fascinating. Their power made me feel small and insignificant. Like so many other experiences on this trip, I was reminded of the awesome power of the Creator, who not only made the sea, but everything in it, including the Great Whites.
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
No trip to Cape Town is complete without visiting the very tip of the peninsula that juts out below the city. On the way down, we stopped at Simonstown, the site of Boulders Beach where African Jackass penguins roam freely. We spent an afternoon following these darling creatures, watching them waddle around, and hearing them bray like a donkey, hence their name. My favorite was to see them swim. They would do a version of the doggie paddle, leisurely paddling, paddling, then they would duck their head underwater and go into hyperdrive. They would just ZOOM all over the place, then pull their head back up and resume casual doggie paddling. When they want to, these guys can move!
A mere half an hour drive south, we reached Cape Point – the bottom of the peninsula. The day we were there, the winds were howling and gusting up to 40-50 miles per hour. I’m guessing they often do that at the southern tip of Africa. We climbed a hill to the old lighthouse for a commanding view of the crashing seas and rocky cliffs, all the while trying not to get blown off. We then hiked down to a deserted, windswept beach tucked between Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. I could imagine many an explorer coming upon this beach – if he could get his ship in without wrecking on the rocks, something that happened often here throughout the centuries. We leaped around the sand, with the wind howling around us, and then made our way to the Cape of Good Hope just before sunset. Thinking of Vasco de Gama, we posed for the obligatory photo, then jumped in our car to get out of the wind and to our youth hostel for the night!
The next morning, after some delectable cinnamon rolls from a nearby bakery, we drove back up the peninsula where we were rewarded with stunning vistas of Chapman’s Peak Drive, even though a fire two weeks ago charred the fynbos vegetation and left the mountainside a reddish-brown color. After a sandcastle and swim at Hout Bay, we tasted the most delicious calamari of our lives at Muriel’s Munchies. Just $3, it was the most tender, tasty lunch you can imagine! Next stop, Camps Bay Beach, where the beautiful people go, where we just stopped for an hour to get some gelato and enjoy the view.
LION'S HEAD
Finally, we headed to Lions’ Head, a cone-shaped mountain right next to Table Mountain. Sydney wasn’t feeling well, so she and Kerry stayed back while the boys and I began our trek up. It was mainly walking at first, but soon it offered challenging rock scrambles, including ladders, rungs, and chains in the mountainside. We hit “traffic” on the trail as many others were trying to get to the top before sunset. The climb was much harder than I expected, and I wasn’t sure if Austin could do it, but the kid did a super job, and kept looking up, as I advised. After about one and a half hours, we got to the top at 6:30 p.m. The entire city was below us, and we enjoyed the 360 degree view for about two minutes, then quickly began our descent to try to beat the impending nightfall. Charlie ran ahead and apparently was leaping down the mountain because perfect strangers were coming up to me reporting on his recklessness. After seeing Charlie pretend to jump, one college kid remarked, "That's when you don't want to be a mother." Welcome to my world. As we were going down, we saw Kerry and Sydney … she had revived, and they were just a few minutes behind us! In the end, we didn’t beat the darkness, but that was just as well, as watching Cape Town go from daylight to the pinks and purples of sunset, to twilight, to black night with the city lights twinkling below us, was a great joy.
Finally, we headed to Lions’ Head, a cone-shaped mountain right next to Table Mountain. Sydney wasn’t feeling well, so she and Kerry stayed back while the boys and I began our trek up. It was mainly walking at first, but soon it offered challenging rock scrambles, including ladders, rungs, and chains in the mountainside. We hit “traffic” on the trail as many others were trying to get to the top before sunset. The climb was much harder than I expected, and I wasn’t sure if Austin could do it, but the kid did a super job, and kept looking up, as I advised. After about one and a half hours, we got to the top at 6:30 p.m. The entire city was below us, and we enjoyed the 360 degree view for about two minutes, then quickly began our descent to try to beat the impending nightfall. Charlie ran ahead and apparently was leaping down the mountain because perfect strangers were coming up to me reporting on his recklessness. After seeing Charlie pretend to jump, one college kid remarked, "That's when you don't want to be a mother." Welcome to my world. As we were going down, we saw Kerry and Sydney … she had revived, and they were just a few minutes behind us! In the end, we didn’t beat the darkness, but that was just as well, as watching Cape Town go from daylight to the pinks and purples of sunset, to twilight, to black night with the city lights twinkling below us, was a great joy.
Sunday we celebrated Palm Sunday at Hillsong Church in Century City, just 15 minutes from Cape Town. We loved worshiping with people of every color and nationality, and the message was on unity, a fitting theme for our trip to South Africa. That afternoon we saw even more sharks at the aquarium and topped off the evening with a concert and picnic at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens at the foot of Table Mountain. This spectacular place is perfect for relaxing, strolling through the mountainside park, and hanging around with guinea fowl. These medium-sized, flightless birds -- with strange blue and red markings on their heads and beautiful black and white-spotted feathers -- run wild around the gardens. We may or may not have chased them until we were laughing hysterically and rather sick to our stomachs. Needless to say, have a look at the botanical gardens when you’re in Cape Town and bring some bread for the guinea fowl!
Our last hurrah took us back to Camps Bay Beach for one final day in paradise. It was just what the doctor ordered -- crashing, ice cold waves that left your body numb; gorgeous views of Lion’s Head; and the most delicious pizza and salad at Col Cacchio’s. A lovely way to end our time in a most beautiful country.
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