Africa Day 6

YES! Another early morning. I really wanted to hike Table Mountain because I heard it was one hell of hike that was totally worth it at the top. I, again, dragged myself out of bed far too early, grabbed some breakfast from the ship, and headed out to hike with Eddie. We were both out till the wee hours of the morning with lots of other people. Regardless, we split a cab with some girls who were also going out for the hike and ended up hiking the whole thing with them. It really was one hell of a hike. I had read that it was rather steep, but I was not expecting it to be straight up the mountain. We were literally climbing on rocks for over two hours, going straight up the mountain. It was a hardcore two hour workout and quite frankly, I am a bit out of shape. I was also out too late and, um, not “well hydrated” from the night before. Also, only going on a few hours of sleep. The view at the top was great. Better than that, I thought, were the views on the way up. Although the hike was comparable to a stair-master from hell, the views really are worth it. It’s incredible to look out and see the ocean and know that you are standing on top of mountain at the southern tip of Africa. It was surreal. We hung out for a bit, took some pictures, drank plenty of water, and took the cable car down. We really could have hiked it back down, but the cable car was kinda crazy itself. It spins and is also rather steep. It was cheap, we were short on time, and just plain tired. The views from it weren’t bad either and while we were waiting to get on, we saw two men base jump off the mountain and parachute down. CRAZY!!!
Back at the ship, I grabbed a quick lunch, took an even quicker nap, and headed out to Robben Island. I bought a ticket one of the first days we got to Cape Town and then it sold out for the rest of the week. I got lucky, but there was no way I was going to leave Africa without the Robben Island experience. I was really excited about this tour, but ended up sleeping through some of the tour guide’s talk. The tours of the island are given by people who were prisoners on the island at some point. We got to hear what it was like to be a prisoner including the ways they were treated, the tricks they used to break the rules, daily life in a prison cell, etc. Best of all, I got to see the cell that Nelson Mandela spent many years of his 27 years served. It was a very defining moment to stand at the gate of that cell and think of the history. There was nothing different about it when compared to the other cells around it, but when you know that Nelson Mandela sat there for all those years, something hits you. There’s a lot of history written in those walls and it was something worth seeing. However, the touristy tactic is somewhat unappealing, but relevant.
I spent the rest of the evening using up my phone card and grocery shopping for the next leg at sea. I had hoped that I would be able to catch some more free internet and post some more pictures, but there was just too much to do before I had to be back on the ship.
At 9:30, an award winning township choir came onboard the ship to grace us with their exquisite talent as a final good-bye to Africa. This choir was made up of young men and ladies probably around my age. They sang beautiful African songs that really showcased their talent and we all loved it. In some ways, it reminded me of my sister and the school choir she was in. These African kids were so talented and they just stood up there and kept singing to us because we kept asking for one more song. Their voices, their songs, and their dances were so beautiful. It was a very fitting end to the best week of my life.
The ship was scheduled and ready to depart at 2300 but fog was rolling in quite heavily. We ended up spending the night there and we left around 1100 the next morning. I stood outside on the 5th deck, port side, and let me tears fall to the ocean below as we sailed away. I can’t wait to go back.