I made a new friend in Africa yesterday
Even though
yesterday was a no sea day, it turned out to be a very busy, fun-filled day
anyway! Yesterday Lucy needed to be taken to the Cape Town airport, but her
flight wasn’t until late at night, so we still had most of the day to hang out
and do some sightseeing before dropping her off. At eight in the morning, all
of the vols piled in the WSP van and, with Jerome at the wheel, we headed back
to the beautiful city of Cape Town. On the way we stopped at Stony Point, a
spot that serves as a protected area and breeding ground for the African
penguin. I’d seen the African penguin before, but had never been to this
specific place. I could get much closer to the penguins here than at other
places I’d seen them, and it was nice to think that I’ve now gotten a pretty up
close look at all of South Africa’s marine big five- African penguin, great
white shark, southern right whale, cape fur seal, and various species of
dolphins.
After
spending about an hour at Stony Point, we returned to the van at about 10:30 and
continued to Cape Town. Tom had headed to Cape Town the previous evening to
take care of a few things, so we picked him up when we arrived there at about
noon, and parked down by the V&A Waterfront to find a place for lunch.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Gansbaai, but after spending so much time around the
waterfront back in February when I first got to South Africa, it was so nice to
be back in Cape Town!
We found a
restaurant right on the water, near where I caught the ferry to Robben Island,
for lunch. I’d actually eaten there with the other vols the last time I was
here back in 2015. I figured I hadn’t had enough seafood since I’ve been here,
so I got a Cajun catch of the day, and it was delicious! Cape Town is a rather
touristy city, especially around the waterfront, and it makes for a great
“foodie” city.
When we were
done at the restaurant, the other vols that hadn’t spent much time in Cape Town
wanted to explore the waterfront for a while, and I tagged along even though
I’d already spent a lot of time there. Jerome wanted to be back in the van by
about three so we wouldn’t get stuck in the terrible Cape Town traffic, so not
too long after we finished lunch we were back on the road, headed to drop Lucy
off at the airport. When we pulled up to the Cape Town airport, Lucy got her
bags off the van, hugs were exchanged, and we wished her luck on her future
travels. Then, after a really nice no sea day in one of my favorite cities in
the world, the vols hit the road back in Gansbaai. Some of us suggested doing a
braai for dinner that evening, but by the time we got back in town it was
nearly six, so we decided to do one tonight instead; Tom’s got the fire going
right now.
Today has
been another no sea day, so this morning we went up to the top house and Tom
lead a lecture on shark behavior. Behavior is one of my favorite topics to read
and learn about in regards to sharks. Even though just about all of it is
speculative, it’s really interesting to think about why sharks do the things
they do, especially considering the fact that we see their behavior first-hand
out on the boat all the time. After the lecture, I came back and made lunch,
then headed out to do a beach clean. Today has been a really windy day here in
Gansbaai, so it was a bit of a challenge to do a beach clean, but the wind also
meant that the strong waves brought in more trash from the ocean. I was out for
about an hour, and my trash bag was nearly full by the time I headed back home.
I’m
currently sitting out in the backyard near the fire with Tom and the other
volunteers, listening to music and enjoying the smells of the braai meat
cooking. Tomorrow is looking like another no sea day because of the strong wind
and swells, so I’m sure we’ll go out and do something else- maybe snorkeling in
De Kelders if we can. I don’t really mind no sea days here- I can always find
something to keep me busy! This post’s food for thought: “The world’s big and I
want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.”- John Muir
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