Travel day

Today was a travel day so nothing exciting happened... Although, I did get really sick after being on a bus for 9 hours. I'm feeling a lot better now though and I love my new place where I'm staying! They even left me the most amazing chocolates on my pillows!!! Soooooooo good!!!!!!! Left Cape Town in the morning and am now in Plettenberg Bay!

Someone had asked me about safety the the other day so I thought I would mention it in the blog...at my first hostel there was a wall surrounding the entire building with a key pad for entry. There were wires on top of said wall and there were security guards at night... So it was pretty safe there. I walked down the street by myself to get some food (literally a minute walk) And I ended up walking to and from the waterfront by myself which was maybe a 15 minute walk. I was only approached twice by people, I said "no thanks," walked away and there was no issue. I didn't really understand what either one was saying to me, but they were asking for money of some sort. I did also come across a sketchy character, but with his pants dragging around his ankles. I wasn't too concerned because I knew I could easily outrun that. Caution was and is still to be used at all times, of course. (see below of picture outside of my room)

 

Hostels aren't really my thing, but I love them for a lot of reasons. 

1. Inexpensive-saves a lot of money!

2. Convenience-most have tours set up through the hostel so it makes booking easy!

3. Being with my travel tribe! For those back home -you know how much I talk about travel. I talk travel all the time ... Now multiply it by every single person you come across!! I LOVE it. 

Another question that was asked was about doing an organized tour vs going on your own... I'd have to say I like BOTH!

When I went to China, I had a private organized tour, which was nice and easy. I told them what I wanted to see beforehand and they made up an itinerary. It was scheduled base and had almost everything included so you can see the positives there. No worrying about a lot of things and getting knowledgeable guides to make the experience even better.

In Africa, I'm doing a mixture which is my FAVORITE travel style. I'm on my own which is super nice.. That means I can make up my own schedule and do whatever I want when I want! There have been days that I've joined an organized tour to get me to places that would have been harder to get to so that's also nice. Going with a guide and getting know more from the locals is always a plus.

Sorry for the slow and uneventful entry today, but it'll get more exciting these next two days... Promise !! 

Blessings :)

Today was 1 of 2 days in which I didn't have anything planned during my stay. My work off days are Monday and Tuesday.. Which means I could have started my trip on a Wednesday (and gotten rid of the 2 empty days in my itinerary), but I would have still been docked 2 days at work since I'm off then anyway. It was either sit at home for 2 days or have 2 days to sit in Africa. I chose to sit in Africa. :)

Today was the first day that has been cloudy and just kind of blah outside, but I walked down to the waterfront anyway and...got my fish and chips again! With a smoothie this time! It is my favorite place to eat in Cape Town and it's called Tribakery. 

I was hoping to catch a ride on a jet boat, but they had to have a minimum of 4 people so they sent me away. :( As I walked away from them, a semi annoying salesman came up and sold me on taking a harbor cruise with his company. (This is me rolling my eyes because the "cruise" was really dumb) I paid less than $5 U.S. Dollars for it though, so I guess I can't complain. 

We did spot a seal in a wheel though.. 

And then! Best part of the day was meeting up with my new friend, Jessie! I know her brother from back home so her and I decided to hang at the beach for a bit before grabbing a bite to eat. She is such a lovely person inside and out and I'm so glad I got to spend time with her! Great way to end my time in Cape Town!

Leaving tomorrow for.... Plettenberg Bay!!

Church and Prison

I started out the day by going to HILLSONG Cape Town!! I took a taxi there and it turns out that my taxi driver was also a Christian! He was very nice and we talked a lot on the drive there and also on the way back. 

I've now been to 3 different Hillsong churches on 3 different continents -Sydney, London, and Cape Town. (Need to hit NYC soon if someone wants to road trip with me!)

I was a little bummed because the service wasn't a typical service. Since its Mother's Day, they had a mother and a daughter come up and talk so I was slightly disappointed that I didn't hear the pastor preach, but what can you do... 

I grabbed something to eat at the waterfront... Fish and chips! I usually NEVER crave fish and chips, but being around it made me want it. I also got a free slice of cake for Mother's Day! 

Later I went to Robben Island...

And saw Nelson Mandela's cell along with a tour of the prison. My guide had also been a prisoner here so it was cool to hear him talk about his experience. 

And then on the way back I saw this guy lounging about ...

One more day in Cape Town and I'm off to ..... ?!? 

Last minute planning in Cape Town

Bummer news came yesterday when there was a misunderstanding with my hostel involving my tour for today. Long story short... I had nothing planned for today since the tour I was originally going to do was no longer an option... 

I walked down the waterfront with a friend (first time to the waterfront since I've been here) and the walk was way better/easier than I thought. She left to do a tour, but thankfully I found a 3 hour bike tour that I was able to join. *I even found a new friend who has been to 80ish countries and all 7 continents!!! Needless to say we had plenty to talk about. :)

Walked around for the waterfront for a bit and to kill some time I took a ride on the Ferris wheel. :)

Today stressed me out because I didn't have a plan... I didn't know where I was going... I didn't know what I was going to do... I didn't know a lot of things. Those kinds of things always cause anxiety for me, but that's part of why I travel. Time and time again it has been proven that there was never been anything to worry about. There was nothing to lose sleep over. There was nothing to fear. To be able to look back and say, "yeah! I did that!" is such an amazing feeling. 

And!! Best news of the day was that I found my South African magnet to add my collection! :)

City tour!

Before I start on today... I forgot to mention something exciting from yesterday! On our drive back from the shark diving, we drove past the president of South Africa!!! Literally!! He was on the other side of the highway with his motorcade or whatever you want to call it...How awesome is that?!?? 

Today I took a city tour. It was a nice day, but super windy!!!!! 

We saw the colorful beach huts...

PENGUINS...

This just made me laugh...we were in the parking lot at Cape Point and there were baboons running around. 

Cape Point... It was so windy that when we ran up to see the lighthouse we almost blew away.

And hey! I made it to the most south western point of the African continent!! 

And met really good people :)

Jaws theme song

Woke up before 6 this morning so I could do this:

One of the coolest experiences of my life!!! I went through White Shark Projects  (highly recommend them!!) It was a couple hours outside of Cape Town, but so worth the drive!!

Basically how it works is they send you down in the cage in the water with an air hole at the top. We clung to the top of the cage until they screamed "down!" And we would all hold our breath and go down. There was a yellow bar on the inside of the cage that was our safety to hold on to (it was further in than the rest of the cage) so our hands didn't get eaten. :) They had bait for the Sharks and in no time at all we saw so many up close! 

I was worried about the water because, as most people know, I hate the cold!!! But it was so incredible I didn't notice it that much... I even stayed in longer than most people!

At one point they had yelled, "down!" so I went down, but didn't see anything... And all of a sudden Devon (my name for him) aka Jaws was in my face ! He hit the cage at one point swimming by and I could have touched him. It was INCREDIBLE!! Everyone should add this to their bucket list!! 

It is Michelle approved !!

Why I started crying in Cape Town

Blessing #1: arriving safe and sound and having smooth flights to South Africa 

Blessing #2: the flights being (basically) empty which meant stretching out and having a decent shot at sleeping

Blessing #3: having a heightened sense of paranoia. Upon arrival I was unable to locate my ride. There were a couple of guys (taxi drivers) that had come up to me, slightly pestering, offering to give me a ride. They had official looking vests on and if I hadn't known any better, I might have gone with them. I've been warned by so many people about taking taxis and I would rather play it safe than risk it. Yay for doing research in advance!

Blessing #4: my actual ride was playing Christian music in the car... So I asked the driver about Hillsong church and how to get there on Sunday. He in turn offered me a ride because it's his home church!

Blessing #5: (the title of this entry) Traveling makes me a little emotional anyway, especially after flying for 24 hours... But when I saw my first African sunset from the plane and saw the lights of Cape Town from the sky, I started tearing up. How many people have the opportunity to get to do what they want to do in life?! The fact that I'm visiting my 5th continent and am able to experience this and have this opportunity is AMAZING. And it makes me cry. 

1st day in Cape Town: 

I was going to do a half day city tour, but that got messed up... And I also got lost trying to get down to the waterfront for a hop on/hop off easy tour so I started getting a little upset with myself... And thankfully...

Blessing #6: the European guys I ran into earlier this morning (at my hostel) found me walking around and invited me to join them on a free walking tour. Yay for travel mates! 

We took a walking tour of District 6 where 60,000 inhabitants were removed from their homes during the apartheid to make it a white area. This artwork shows  what it was like in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's and the struggles that they faced. 

and I finally got my classic Cape Town pic: (the three to my left and one behind me are my new European friends!)

German sister #2 suggested going on a sunset hike and that's exactly what we did!! Lions Head (pictured below) is what we climbed up...it's a peak situated at 669 meters above sea level and takes about 90 minutes to climb at a moderate pace. It's 5.5. km 

Literally (mom, don't look!)

But it was worth it!

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Blessing #7 was not dying. It was BEAUTIFUL at sunset, but then you have to hike back down as it's getting dark and 10/10 do NOT recommend that!!