Shark diving

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CAPE TOWN

Well after leaving Buenos Aires behind and trying to figure out how to fit my fucken Inca Trail walking stick, Stephen lets just say that your wish about me getting rid of it came true. When I arrived to South Africa 8 hours later the airport said that the stick was carrying some kind of bacteria and other nonsense and they took and shred it. It was a bit heart breaking because I was hoping to make it home with it, but I guess it’s for the best since I didn’t have a purpose for it anymore. Plus I couldn’t fit the stick anywhere.

So after a 2 hour wait at the airport the hostel never showed up to pick me up like they said they would so I had to catch a shuttle. So the guy who drove me there of course was explaining a few things to me about Cape Town and where I should visit and all that. I think he was a bit disappointed when I told him I was only staying a day and tomorrow I’d be heading off to Johannesburg.

Funny thing was when I went to get into the shuttle on the right I realized that there was no door. Then the driver laughed at me and said, you Americans are all the same, we drive on the right side of the car here, so you have to get in on the left side. Then instant flashbacks of being in London came back, and I was remembering where to look before you step off the sidewalk. Always look right first, then left.

Then he told me that most of the people in South Africa spoke English but that there were 11 other languages spoken in the country and that most people spoke 2. He also mentioned that there was still racism among the whites and blacks, but not as bad as the blacks treated the Indians. I think what really took me by surprise was the large population of Indians in South Africa, that I wasn’t expecting.

The one thing I won’t forget about that conversation was the guy saying to me, you might feel a bit intimidated by being surrounded by only black people here in South Africa and much more when you get to Kenya. And I thought to myself, Is dis nigga fo real, does he really think I haven’t been around black folk? And then I thought, ahh, he must think I’m white.

After checking in to the hostel I wasn’t sure I wanted to go anywhere I was a bit tired and sick from the airplane food. So my roommates invited me out for dinner, and the 6 of us headed out to the main strip on Long street where all the bars and restaurants are. Man I kept looking at the local street vendors and that food smelled so good and I’m sure it was way cheaper than where we were going. Had I been there by myself that’s the first place I probably would’ve eaten at.

Mama Africa’s restaurant was really cool but very pricey and touristy and my wallet was already thin. I remember looking at the menu and for first time going, no way, we can eat crocodile, ostrich and springbok. What happened to the chicken? I guess black people down here don’t really eat chicken when you’ve got that kind of selection.

I still wasn’t really feeling good after the airline food which is why I was kind of hesitant to leave the hostel, I was afraid I’d shit myself if I went out. So as much as I wanted to try the crocodile I had to stick to soup. At the dinner I got to meet the people I was rooming with, there was an Australian couple, a German guy who had won a free ticket to south Africa out of a magazine contest, a really friendly Scottish guy and this girl from Holland who really wanted to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

The couple and the German guy were in town for the magazine convention, well apparently they had some news about the upcoming World Cup in 2010. So according to these 3 they dedicated a full day at the convention to telling about what the city plans on doing for the big event.

Of course the cup will be hosted in 9 cities in South Africa including the infamous Jo’berg that has a similar reputation as Mexico City. So now the idea of city transportation is to add more taxies to this already traffic congested city. But these wont be just any taxies for they will have plasma screens for the people to watch the game while you’re stuck in traffic. Yeah, genius idea. Of course some of the people in Cape Town are opposed to the construction of their current stadium. Apparently it currently holds 25,000 people and even then it doesn’t get full. Well with the World Cup the stadium is set to accommodate 45,000 people. Sounds like a big waste of money to the people there.

After all the world cup nonsense we left the restaurant after finding out that we each had to pay $10 each for the reggae house band that played that night. Then of course the Scottish guy convinced me that drinking beer would be really good for me and it would stop the diarrhea. And I was like, really? You’re so FULL OF SHIT, but I’ll go have a few beers anyway. Let me just say that people in Africa love their reggae music, it was fucken everywhere.

We ended up going up the street to this café called Cool Runnings, nice title. The bathrooms there didn’t have any windows on the stall doors. So often times you’d go in and try to open the door and peak at someone taking a piss. Or sometimes you’d see a head pop up out of nowhere, it was a bit stupid to have doors if you could still see people taking a shit.

We hung out till about 2 am and decided to walk back to the hostel after drinking all night. Funny thing was I remember bumming a cigarette from someone and then walking up to a police officer for a light, and the response that followed left me dumbfounded for a minute. So I go up to ask the guy and he says, I DON’T SMOKE, IM MUSLIM. And I thought that’s the first time anyone has ever responded to me with religion as an excuse for not having a lighter. Weird.

My God! If I thought Santiago was hot, fuck Cape Town was worse. Good thing that the hostel had a swimming pool. So the next day I checked out and left my stuff in the storage room of the hostel and set out walking for the day. I really wanted to go up to see Table Mountain which looked so cool but I think the cable car ride up to that was like $20 and I wasn’t about to spend any money since I didn’t know how much my visa would cost me when I arrived in Kenya.

So the idiot at the reception desk tells me that it’s a 20 minute walk to the Waterfront (which is a very touristy port), and says that I could walk it. Well I did and it didn’t take me 20 minutes but more like a fucken hour to get there. But I didn’t mind it, I’ve been walking everywhere since I started this trip to reduce my costs, at times having to walk 20 blocks.

Well when I get there I decided I’d spend my money going to Robben Island to check out Nelson Mandela’s prison, but when I got there tickets were sold out for the rest of the day. I really wanted to go not just because of Nelson Mandela, but to see penguins on the island.

Before I left home I really wanted to be able to set foot on all continents including Antarctica. I figured it would be a shorter distance from Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina to Antarctica just to pet a fucken penguin. Anyway, I figured that going to Robben Island was the closest thing to seeing a fucken penguin. So yes, I will be returning to Cape Town in hopes of finally making it out to the island.

For the next few hours I walked around the Waterfront and then headed back to the hostel in mid day heat. I felt like my body was on fire. The first thing I did once I was back at the hostel was jump in the pool. For the rest of the day I sat around the pool not wanting to move, and listening to people brag about going shark diving.

Yes, shark diving can be a bit pricey, which is why I’m coming back to South Africa. The best place to dive is in Shark Alley right between Dyer Island and Geyser Rock, don’t let them fool you into taking you anywhere else. Of course I had to look into it. So after the prep work apparently and a crash course in sharks and diving you get a certificate, that says you’ve completed the stupid course. Wow! Then you get all geared up and wait for them to throw bait at the sharks from the boat. After getting inside the cage they dunk you into the ocean with all the sharks swimming around you. It sounds so cool and so worth coming back for.

JO’BERG

After a short flight to Jo’berg from Cape Town and lack of funds I would be spending the night at the airport like usual. Since my flight left really early in the morning for Kenya I found no point in venturing to the city to find a fucken hostel.

So after calling various people in different time zones, sorry for waking some of you, but I had to get rid of the phone card. I put my bag in storage and went up stairs to find a cozy place to sleep. After seeing the massive amounts of people in arrivals I decided to head up to departures and find a place in a corner by myself.

Sometime around midnight this security comes up to me and decides he wants to chat and so for the first hour I amuse the guy until I say, look I’m really sleepy and I want to take a nap before my flight to Kenya in the morning. So he actually let me sleep behind the ticket counters so that no one could see me and attempt to rob me while I slept. That was cool of him and every now and then he’d stop by to check up on me and see that I was still there. It was all good up until 6am when some of the airlines were getting in and I had to leave.

I think South Africa is one of the places on my list that I want to come back to along with visiting Peru again. Next it was off to Nairobi, Kenya to pick up another GAP tour, only this time for Safari.

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Photos

Welcome to south africa
This sign was posted on one the shops closest to the port down at the waterfront.

View of Table Mountain from the hostel
Cant beat a $9 a night hostel with a pool and a cool view.

Hanging with the roomies
So what if I cant remember any of their names. Scottish guy was next to me and the Holland chick followed. Across was the couple and the German guy I thought was gay.

No jamaican bobsled team here
We had a great view of the congested downtown strip, it was a fun place to hang out at up until I had to go pee.

So whats the point of having a door
View from inside the toilet. I think they forgot to put something in the window space.

Nelson Mandela
So this small museum is free but you do have to pay to get on the ferry out to Robben Island where the prison is at. So Im saving it for next time.

Waterfront tourist trap
So the waterfront was a place like Long Beach bunch of boats sitting around and tons of shops and bars everywhere. I didnt stay long otherwise I'd melt in the hot sun.

Comments

[yo bitch]

not from africa but i'm african
I WILL STOP TELLIN YOU HOW AMAZING YOU ARE WHEN YOU STOP BEING SO FUCCIN AWESOME so here it goes again YOU ARE BAD AS HELL AND I ADMIRE YOUR DRIVE AND COURAGE

[marlon]

20 minute walk
well if you had longer legs it prolly would've been a 20 minute walk, nerd. and i definitely need to try beer next time i have the runs.