Cape Town Part 1

I waited to publish this post, because yesterday I received some difficult news about my Uncle passing away. I didn't feel it was appropriate to share about my travels while my family and I were coping and mourning for our loss back home. I loved my Uncle Mark and had shared this blog with him. He was not forgotten during my time in South Africa, and I ask that you would not forget him either. Please pray for the hearts of my family members and for peace to abound during this time.  With that being said, I do want to share the experiences we have had so far in Cape Town. So many wonderful friends and family members have contributed suggestions and lists of places we need to visit. We have been using them to plan our time and soak up every last minute we have here.

Cape Town is treasure of a city. It has everything a person needs to have fun and stay busy. No wonder everyone raves about it!

One part of our trip that we were not expecting was how wonderful our hostel has been! We knew they had great reviews online but now we know why. They help us book all of our day time excursions and provide lots of activities and "community building" events for the hostel. Last night they cooked one of the best braais we have had in South Africa! A braai is similar to an American BBQ but bigger and better. The meat in South Africa is very fresh and no one ever leaves a braai hungry! We enjoyed it, not just for the food, but also for the fellowship. We met people from all over Europe and Australia. It has made this experience even more fun since we feel a part of something.

Here are some pictures of the hostel:

Our room! I'm lucky enough to have Nelson M. watching over me at night ;)

Cool hang out area. I am currently writing this in the cubicle(left)

Gotta support S.A. even when we're walking through the hostel, you know?

So now it's time to talk about the awesome excursions we have been on since being in Cape Town...

Hiking Table Mountain

The Sunday after we arrived we decided to hike Table Mountain because the weather was gorgeous. We had been forewarned that if you hike on a cloudy day that you will not be able to see anything from the top. We took that advice and were excited for the gorgesou day.

Unfortunately we did not know that the hike was straight uphill, in the scorching African sun, so while getting to the top was an incredible accomplishment, the two hours it took us to hike it, without sunscreen, left us with terrible sunburns. It took us a few days to recover from the burns BUT the hike was worth it...

Before the hike

Encouragement to get to the top

As we climbed higher, our view kept getting prettier

We did it! This is us at the top of the Table Mountain hike. A huge accomplishment

I told you the hike was worth it... welcome to Cape Town! :)

Ray taking in the view

We have bonded so much from this 4 month adventure- So grateful for Rachel

Anyone remember my blog post about chacos and how they are the best shoes ever? I still stand by that. Here is my "chaco tan" after Table Mountain...this should give you an idea of the strength of the African sun!



This brings us to Monday! Monday was supposed to be our wine tour, but there was a slight mix up with the bookings, so we used the beautiful day to explore Cape Town and the waterfront.

We decided to take one of the double decker buses around the city so we could get an idea of where  everything is

The bus tour was a great idea except that both of us hadn't slept the night before because of our sunburns. So, we may or may not have unashamedly taken a little snooze...on the bus... in public...by accident... both of us... :) classy, we know. 

Super happy and refreshed after our nap!

 Here are some of the pictures from Cape Town's waterfront....

Strange to think other people celebrate Christmas in the Summer heat!

 Tuesday was used to catch up on University work, so that brings us to Wednesday. Wednesday we went to Robben Island. It was a full day event. We had to take a rough ferry ride from the waterfront to the island. I am not sure which bits of information to include. For those of you who don't know, Robben Island is significant because it was where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years. Rachel and I found it to be a heavy day hearing about the events that went on in the prisons. The tour was important, because it continued to give us insight into South Africa's history and how the people and culture are affected by it.

Nelson Mandela's prison cell

Our guide, who was imprisoned at the age of 24. They fit 40 prisoners in this small room

Robben Island is a different atmosphere from anything else we have done here, for obvious reasons, but I know Rachel and I both feel it was an essential stop.

That brings us to today- the rescheduled wine tour! There is so much to share, and quite a few pictures, so I think I will save those stories for my next blog.

Enjoy your afternoons!

Love,

Casey :)