Continuing from Cape

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The last day in Cape we went to Robben Island. It actually wasn't as good as I was expecting. I'm glad I went, but it could've been more informative. They basically just walked us through the prison. The bus tour of the island was better, but everything was rushed and the group was huge. It was still worthwhile to see though. The buildings and everything actually looked a lot nicer than I expected! I'm sure with a bunch of people there in the heat without much food it was terrible, but it wasn't as run-down as I expected. The rooms were tiny though. The single cells were about 6 feet by 7 feet.

Cape Town is a really nice city! I could've spent a lot longer there and I definitely want to go back. The Waterfront area is really nice, there are good restaurants (Long Street), right on the coast, mountains nearby (even though they're small mountains...), Stellenbosch area nearby (gorgeous winery area), nice people, green. Things to do next time: beaches...Camps Bay, Botanical Gardens (supposedly good to go for a picnic), museums.

Saturday we left Cape going south along the coast. We stopped at Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope, most south-western point on the African continent. We also stopped to see the penguins at Boulders Beach. The whole drive was gorgeous! We were going along the coast so the ocean was on one side and rocky mountains in the distance in the other direction. Also trees! I was realizing that I haven't seen real trees since Thailand! I didn't realize how much I missed them and the mountains. The desert was cool, and good to see, but when I get back in the mountains or on the coast everything just seems a little bit more right.

We spent the night in Hermanus at the Hermanus Backpackers. We're getting spoiled from staying in hostels every night! It's going to be weird to go back to camping. This morning (Sunday) we continued down the coast, reaching Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point on the continent. From there it's just ocean all the way to Antarctica. It's also the place where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic. You couldn't really tell from looking at the water though. Slightly disappointing. From there we drove through the mountains to Oudtshoorn where we are now. The scenery is more varied in South Africa so the drive days are better. Lots of looking out the windows. We can't see as much as we would be able to from a car just because we can only look out one side, not the front. It's a better view from up on the beach but it's really windy up there! The whole truck is more windy because we have the wind from the ocean. Back to truck hair...

This trip is mostly about animals and scenery and adrenaline adventures, not so much about culture so there aren't as many observations to make. Which turns this more into just a play-by-play of where I've been and what I've done. Boring! Here are a couple observations though:
There isn't really any specific "African" food like there was in India or Thailand. There's game meat (kudu, springbok, zebra, warthog, etc) but that's about it. The locals mostly eat nshima/pap/pamp (different name in different countries) which is basically a maize porridge. It's the consistency of mashed potatoes except denser and more sticky. It's good if it has a sauce, otherwise it's just really plain.
The more northern deserty countries that I went through were full of lots of open spaces; not many people. South Africa is completely different. It's much more densly populated! There are some farming areas and vineyards, but for the most part there are lots more towns and cities. More developed. Kind of what I expected though.
That's about it for African observations. Now for the truck...
There are only 14 of us instead of 23 so of course it always feels like we're missing people! The first day I was sitting in the back and there was no one across from me! It was weird! We're able to spread out more and lie down which is nce, but I miss everyone that left! It was weird for our first cook group shop too. We're used to getting food for lots of people so we weren't really sure how much we would need for our smaller group.

Only 2 more weeks until I go home! That seems like such a short amount of time! Crazy! I'm getting really excited! Still some fun-filled days to go here, exploring South Africa, but then I will definitely be ready to go home!

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