The second part of orientation went by in such a way that
our experience seemed to pass so quickly but the depth of the things we did
made it seem like we’ve been in South Africa for a very long time. Part two of
our orientation adventure included hiking, sight-seeing, jazz music, and a
little bit of everything in between.
On Saturday we headed around the peninsula and were
astounded by staggering coastline where mountains lead right into vibrant ocean
below. The day started at Maiden’s Cove where the backdrop is “The Twelve
Apostles” an impressive chain of mountains overlooking Camp’s Bay. There is
said to be twelve separate peaks, but after much debate we only counted eleven.
Next stop was Hout Bay where amidst the seaside marketplace
we saw a man feed a sea lion a fish from his mouth. To fully view Hout Bay you
need to drive up Chapman’s Peak which overlooks the splendor of the bay below
and makes miniature the fishing boats dotting the harbor.
The pinnacle of the day was the trip to Cape Point the
Southernmost tip of the African Continent and despite the “Two Oceans”
restaurant’s claim to fame the Atlantic and the Indian oceans meet further to
the east at Cape Agulhas. The cliffs of Cape Point slope steeply into the ocean
and succulent fynbos covers the land in shades of purples and green. We did not
encounter any of the infamous baboons known for sandwich thievery among other
mischievous deeds. As you hike out to the point the cliffs wind down and narrow
to a lookout point where you can stare into the horizon that melts away in
someplace you can’t be sure of.
Emily K at Cape Point with housemates:
 |
| left to right: Ava, Savannah, Jen, Emily W, Katrina, Jenna, Lauren, Allie, Emily K |
Next we stopped at the penguin colony that lives at
Boulder’s Beach. At first you walk in and you see one little penguin, then two,
then a couple more but when you come to the beach you appreciate the term
colony because there is an assortment of penguins sleeping, swimming, and
waddling about. These are endangered African penguins commonly referred to as
“Jackass” penguins but they seemed like pretty friendly penguins to me. The
penguins almost seem out of place with palm trees swaying by the warm Indian
Ocean waters, though if I were a penguin I think I would much prefer South
Africa to Antarctica.
Sunday morning we woke up and then we woke up. The twenty
six of us piled sleepily into the bus after our first foray onto Long Street
the night before but upon entering the Sivuyile Baptist Church in Gugulethu our
sleepiness was swept aside in favor of a much more powerful experience. We were
welcomed into the church by everyone that we met and upon sitting down the
women seated in front of us passed us a Xhosa song book and continued to find
the songs for us and help us follow along. What followed were a few hours of the most
joyful singing, dancing, and thankful prayer that I have ever encountered. My
version of church is seated near the back counting ceiling tiles and
reluctantly half singing, my favorite part about church was always the “peace
be with you” exchange because I could actually move around and talk to people.
At Sivuyile I was in constant interaction with people and it was awesome; you
feed off the energy of those around you and though I lack the rhythm or the
pitch to sing along to the car radio here everyone was so enthusiastically
participating and welcoming that you wanted to be a part of it, you wanted to
feel a part of those around you.
After church we enjoyed a lovely meal prepared for us by
Vernon’s mother and sister at their lovely home in Bridgetown. From there the
music didn’t stop as we packed a picnic lunch and headed to Kirstenbosch
Botanical Gardens where Johnny Clegg treated us to an evening of music. I would
say Johnny Clegg is kind of like South African Phil Collins, in sound anyways,
his music was a little more folky and in his younger years he wrote songs
against the apartheid regime. We had a very nice picnic somewhere way in the
back but even though we couldn’t see the stage there was enough beautiful
scenery between Table Mountain and the gardens to keep us more than happy.
The second half of week two was filled with very powerful
experiences and certainly has enough information to fill another blog post, but
overall South Africa is amazing and I cannot wait to continue on the
adventure.
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