White Shark Projects!!!

            Greetings from the White Shark Projects volunteer house! I’m so unbelievably happy to be back!!! Okay, I guess I’ll start right where my last blog post left off. Yesterday evening, at about 7:30, my friend from the UK, Ryan (whom I call Cake because that’s his last name and it’s too perfect not to use) arrived at Atlantic Point. I greeted him as he was checking in with a much-anticipated hug- it’s so nice to be reunited! We hadn’t seen each other since May 2015, but with the help of social media, we’ve kept in touch very well since then. After he got into his room at the hostel, the two of us decided to walk down to the waterfront to grab something simple to eat and just hang out and catch up. The waterfront is absolutely beautiful at night- all the lights reflecting off the water make for a perfect setting. We walked around the area for a while, then found a bench right by the ocean to sit, talk, and take in the wonderful reality that we were finally back in Africa. We talked about his adventures volunteering in the amazon in Peru, and my time in Bolivia. We talked about the crazy things happening in our home countries, and how happy we both were to be away from it all. We learned that when we were both in South America volunteering, we were both in areas that were pretty disconnected from society- neither his place nor mine had wifi, we had to go into town to get on the internet, etc. That was actually really nice, but weird at the same time. We both had felt really disconnected and out of touch with what was going on in the world. He learned about Brexit while out in the amazon, not until days after the decision had been announced. I was in Bolivia when the shooting in Orlando happened, and I felt like I was one of the last Americans to hear about it. It had been weird, but not necessarily in a bad way.

            After enjoying the waterfront for a while, we walked back to Atlantic Point. I went to hang out in my room while he took a shower, and afterwards we headed upstairs to the bar that the hostel had, and had a couple rounds of Castle to celebrate us both being back. We went to bed soon after, having heard from the front desk that we were getting picked up by White Shark Projects at 9:15.

            This morning, I woke up in time to have one last complimentary breakfast from Atlantic Point. I’ve stayed at that hostel three times now, and I absolutely love it. Then, shortly after 9:15, Cake and I got picked up by the White Shark Projects van and relaxed for the two hour drive from Cape Town down to Gansbaai. I’d almost forgotten how beautiful the drive down here is. We passed through the South African winelands, which are always gorgeous.

            When we got into Gansbaai, things started to look very familiar. We recognized the store where we bought our groceries, the bar where we’d spent one of the volunteers’ birthday, and eventually, the volunteer house that would once again be our home. As we got our bags out of the van and went into the house that we knew so well, we were greeted by the other volunteers. I was surprised how many there were! Last time there were never more than four or five of us at a time. I heard that now, with Cake and me, there are eight, with Lizzy and Beth arriving in a couple of days (I think a couple of them will be leaving soon though). In fact, all of the beds in that house were being used. Tom, a White Shark Projects employee that hadn’t been here last time, told us that they had another house just a few lots down the road, next to the WSP office, that we would be using. Right now, Cake and I are the only two volunteers in this house, so I think Lizzy and Beth will be put in here when they arrive. I don’t think WSP owned this house in 2015, so I’m sure that it has grown in popularity since then. This house has two bedrooms, each with two beds, plus a kitchen and front room with some chairs, couches, and a tv. The setup is pretty much the same as the other house, but I think this one’s a bit nicer, especially since right now it’s just me and Cake in here. After unpacking our stuff, we walked back up to the other house to hang out with and get to know the other volunteers. Yet again, I’m the only American. There’s a girl from Scotland, one from the Netherlands (I always seem to volunteer with people from the Netherlands!), a guy from Germany, a girl from Switzerland, and a few more. Soon, Tom came back to ask if Cake and I would like to work at Swap Shop, and then go out shopping to get ourselves some food afterwards, to which we said sure. I think Swap Shop deserves its own blog post, and explaining it all here would make this one way too long, so I won’t go into details. Basically it’s a little place in one of the nearby neighborhoods where local kids come with recyclables that they’ve collected. In exchange for them, they get points that they can “spend” at the shop for things like school supplies, clothes, toys, and other things. It happens every Tuesday afternoon, so I’m sure I’ll work with it again sometime, and I’ll explain it more then.

            At about 1:30, Cake and I got picked up at the volunteer house by none other than our wonderful friend Jerome, one of the WSP crew. We got to know Jerome pretty well last time we were here- he might be my favorite person at WSP. He would often hang out with the volunteers in the evening, sharing some great shark stories over a few beers, and he’s just an all around great guy. I was so happy to hug him again!

            After Swap Shop and stopping at the supermarket to pick up some food, Cake and I came back here and I made dinner for the two of us (like last time, we’re alternating the job of cooking). We just cleaned up after dinner, and I’m sitting here at the new volunteer house writing up this post. Cake and I haven’t been able to stop saying how amazing it feels to be back, and how happy we are to be here. It still feels almost surreal being here, in this home away from home. There’s no place in the world that I’d rather be than right here.

            Well, I think this post is long enough, so I’ll cut it off here. This post’s food for thought: “We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there.”- Pascal Mercier

High on Life

Getting ready to board the plane! 

The beautiful view from the plane

Free falling! 

Right after opening the parachute 

Back on solid ground! 

            Well, this morning I did what was quite possibly the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life- and keep in mind, I’ve been swimming with sharks! Skydiving is something that I’ve wanted to do for quite a while- I figured if I’ve already survived bungee jumping, cliff diving, and zip lining, I might as well try my luck with skydiving too, right? On Friday, my first full day here, I went the desk at the hostel and asked if they knew where and how I could book a skydive while here in Cape Town. One of the reasons I love this hostel is that they took care of the large majority of the details and booking process. I simply told them what days I was available to do it and they took care of the rest, including booking transportation for me to and from the hostel! I hadn’t yet posted here in my blog, or anywhere else, that I was planning to do this since it wasn’t 100 percent certain yet. There were some interns working here that had booked a skydive for a few days ago, but theirs ended up getting cancelled because it was too windy. Knowing that, I didn’t want to announce that I was doing it and then have it end up getting cancelled. Yesterday evening it was getting really windy, so I was kind of doubtful for a while that it would happen. But when I got up this morning at about 7:30, the desk said they hadn’t gotten a call about it being cancelled, and the weather looked much calmer, so it sounded like it was still on! After breakfast and lathering up with some sunblock, at 8:30 my transfer picked me up from Atlantic Point, and we were off! It took a little less than an hour to drive from the hostel to the place where we’d be skydiving. When I arrived and paid they told me that I’d be on the next flight, with two other girls that had arrived a little before me. We met the guys we’d be skydiving with and got our harnesses put on. I was diving tandem with a guy named Gerry- he told me that this weekend would make 29 years that he’s been doing this! I figured if he’s been doing it for that long, I was pretty safe. Before I knew it, we were headed to the little plane to take to the sky!

            When I say little plane, I mean it- the thing was really small! There were seven people total in it- the six people diving plus the pilot- and we filled it up! Gerry told me that we’d sit farthest from the door so we could let the others go out first. Once the plane was in the air, we spent about twenty minutes just gaining altitude and enjoying the view of Cape Town, Table Mountain, and the gorgeous ocean. Soon enough, the door of the plane was opening, and I watched as the other two groups sat on the edge with their feet hanging out for a moment, then they were gone! My adrenaline was pumping hard as I felt the strong wind against my face. I hardly had enough time to think about what was happening before we were free falling through the air! The thirty seconds or so of free fall were some of the most insane of my life. The feeling of just flying through the air with my arms wide open, feeling the wind against my face was such a rush! I guess I’m officially an adrenaline junkie now.

            After free falling for a little while, Gerry opened the parachute and we slowed down enough to enjoy the beautiful view of Cape Town. It looked like I was diving into a painting- I could hardly believe what I was looking at was real. I got to take in the beautiful sight for several minutes while we slowly sailed to the ground. After some of the most exhilarating few minutes of my life, I landed back on solid ground.

            As I mentioned before, skydiving has been on my bucket list for quite a while now, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat! By the time I got back to Atlantic Point it was nearly lunch time, so after looking at the pictures on my laptop, I strolled down to the waterfront to grab a bite to eat and take in the beautiful day. My friend and fellow White Shark Projects volunteer Ryan Cake should be arriving here at Atlantic Point in a few hours, and I’m sure when he gets here we’ll skull some delicious South African Castle beer for old time’s sake, then tomorrow we’re getting picked up by the project to head down to Gansbaai to go swimming with the sharks again! I’m so ready to be back with the volunteers, the amazing crew, and those sharks! See you tomorrow, Gansbaai! This post’s food for thought: “It’s okay to be scared. Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave.”- Mandy Hale

Two Oceans Aquarium!

This guy was pretty impressive! 

Lionfish- one of my favorite fish! 

My first shark to see on this trip! 

South African penguin! 

This was such a cool exhibit! 

         

       After having the Robben Island tour planned for the first day, I woke up yesterday morning with nothing set in stone for the day. I slept in a bit that morning, getting out of my bunk shortly before nine o’clock. I was sharing a room with seven other people, but thankfully, I guess I’ve gotten used to sleeping in hostels, so I got a great night’s sleep. Not to mention, my roommates either sleep in as well, or are courteous and quiet waking up. I think I’m the only American in the room, and I’ve noticed that Americans tend to be louder than people from other places (I always try to not be that stereotype while traveling). I spent a good portion of the morning in my hostel, eating breakfast and writing up the Robben Island blog post. After posting it, I lathered up with sunblock and walked back down to the waterfront to hang out by the water, find a place to get lunch, and find something to do that afternoon. I spent some time just sitting by the ocean, enjoying the view of the beautiful water, doing some people-watching, and taking in my favorite city. After doing that for a while, I headed into the indoor shopping center to find something simple to grab for lunch. I found a little café and got a sandwich and smoothie for 50 rand- less than four dollars. Gotta love that exchange rate here! Cape Town clearly draws a lot of tourists from all over the place- I’ve heard so many different accents and languages since I’ve been here. Just within my hostel, there are people from Canada, England, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and more.

            I’d heard that the waterfront had an aquarium, so I decided to spend the afternoon finding and exploring that. It turned out to be a great place to spend the afternoon. I saw everything from ragged-tooth sharks to sea turtles to South African penguins! They had a tank that had a big tube you could walk through and watch huge fish swim above your head, a touch pool for the kids, and more. It was called the Two Oceans Aquarium; my guess as to why is Cape Town isn’t far from the southernmost tip of Africa, which is geographically recognized as the spot where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean (I visited that spot the last time I was in Africa). I spent several hours in the aquarium exploring, taking pictures, and loving life. When I had walked through the whole place, I walked back to Atlantic Point to upload the pictures I took and relax for just a little while. When the pictures were up, I went and sat on the outdoor terrace here at the hostel and made a few phone calls. The weather here is absolutely beautiful! The temperature has been mostly in the seventies during the day, often dropping into the sixties at night. It’s nice and sunny, with a near constant cool breeze, especially down by the ocean.

            After that I headed back down to the waterfront yet again for dinner. I opted for just heading to the food court in the waterfront’s shopping center, which was absolutely packed, and grabbing a little personal pizza. I haven’t been bringing my phone out of the hostel with me, only my camera, so whenever I take some time to just sit down at the waterfront, I mainly just do some people-watching. I see so many tourists constantly glued to their phones, and it’s kind of annoying. I want to tell them come on, you could sit and play on your phone at home. You’re in a beautiful city. Enjoy it with your own eyes. You can be on your phone later (and don’t even get me started on selfie sticks!).

            I guess that’s enough for this blog post. Tomorrow evening my friend and fellow volunteer Ryan arrives here to Atlantic Point, and the following day we both get picked up and head back to Gansbaai work with White Shark Projects! I can’t wait to see everyone again! This post’s food for thought: “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”- Anonymous

Robben Island

Nelson Mandela's cell, where he spent 18 years of his life

Jama, our tour guide. He had been a political prisoner of Robben Island for five years

I treated myself to a delicious dinner last night, matched with a view of the sunset over Table Mountain 

            I thought I might have time for a second blog post yesterday, but after a day full of walking all over the waterfront out in the sun, I was pretty tired last night, so I decided to head to bed early and make the post this morning. Shortly after posting my last blog yesterday morning, I headed out of my hostel, armed with a good pair of walking shoes, my camera, and my Robben Island tour ticket, down to the waterfront. Atlantic Point is in a great location- it’s only about a ten-minute walk from here to the waterfront, which is my favorite part of town. It’s a huge, very busy area, with everything from restaurants and bars to a ferris wheel to helicopter and yacht tours. And the name “waterfront” is very appropriate- it’s right on the ocean!

            I got to the spot where the Robben Island ferry picks up shortly before eleven, and not long after we were on our way! It was about a half hour ferry ride to the island- the water here is absolutely beautiful, by the way. First we headed to the tour buses that would take us around the majority of the island. Before we took off, our tour guide asked us what part of the world we were all from. There were two other groups of Americans, as well as people from Canada, England, Germany, Spain, Australia, Namibia, and more. Then the tour guide said something I doubt I’ll ever forget. She said, “once the world discovered what was happening in South Africa during apartheid, many other countries stepped in to help bring it down. It wasn’t about one person, one race, or one country. It was about humankind. If other nations hadn’t gotten involved, South Africa might still be in the grip of apartheid. So thank you all.” I think that’s a lesson that applies not only to apartheid in South Africa, but to life today, and every day. It’s not about one person, one race, or one country. It’s about humankind.

            The bus tour took us around most of the island, stopping at certain points, like the limestone quarry where many of the prisoners worked, a graveyard for those that died on the island, and a church that the prisoners used. We then got out of the bus at an area that was great for pictures- we had a pretty clear view of Cape Town across the water, could see South African penguins out on the rocks, and there was a little shop where we could get some snacks. After spending some time there, the bus took us back to the spot we started, right in front of the maximum-security prison. That’s where another tour guide met us. His name was Jama, and he told us that he had been a political prisoner at Robben Island for five years. As we walked through the complex, he pointed out the communal cells, which still had some straw mats on the floor that had served as the prisoners’ beds, as well as the individual cells and exercise yards. He also explained the images on the walls, like the prisoner ID cards, censored letters, and description of the prisoners’ diets. Our last stop on the tour was Nelson Mandela’s cell. He was in prison for a total of 27 years, 18 of which were spent at Robben Island. It’s hard to put into words how it felt looking at that tiny cell, knowing 18 years of his life were spent there. What I know for sure is it was a feeling I never could’ve gotten from reading a book or watching a movie. That’s just one of the many reasons I love travel.

            After getting a few more pictures, we headed back to the ferry, and arrived back at the Cape Town waterfront at about 2:30. I had noticed that morning that we were pretty close to the ferris wheel, so I decided, since I didn’t have any plans for the rest of the day, I might as well try that. I felt like such a tourist, but hey, it wasn’t expensive and provided a fantastic view of the city! After doing that and walking around the area a bit more, I headed back to Atlantic Point to upload the pictures I took and relax for a while before going out again to grab dinner. I’m staying in an eight bed shared dorm room here at the hostel. My first night here only four beds were taken, including mine, but yesterday, four girls traveling together arrived (I think they’re from Germany), so last night my room was full!

            After relaxing and browsing the internet here at Atlantic Point for a while, I headed out to the waterfront again a little after six to grab something to eat. After walking around and weighing my options, I noticed a place right outside the main shopping mall, right next to the water, that had a sign outside for their special: a t-bone steak with chips (aka fries) and dessert for only 180 rand, which is less than 14 dollars. And a complementary view of the sun setting over Table Mountain, reflecting off the ocean? Sounded like a deal to me! I love this city!

            An hour later, feeling very full and high on life, I walked back to my hostel to shower, relax with my fellow travelers, and head to bed early, which is exactly what I did. It was a damn near perfect first day back in South Africa. This post’s food for thought: “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”- Maya Angelou