4 day catch up

It's been a while…but I can explain. On top of getting a little sick from that rainy Portugal game and ruining my stomach with more chilies than I should have eaten in one sitting, we've been a little busy. Here, let me recount:

Monday night:

To celebrate the Portugal game we all decided to party at Mercury, a club on the other side of town. Our cab driver, however, thought we said "Maverick", a strip joint on a different side of town. What was supposed to be a fifteen minute ride turned out to be a chaotic trip around Cape Town's many neighborhoods at 11pm…we asked cops, cab drivers, and various passerby for any bits of direction to our destination but it seemed that no one had heard of this place. This went of for thirty minutes--we saw Parliament and a few other government buildings on this impromptu tour--before a cop finally said, "by the Ferrari dealership".

By the Ferrari dealership?? What kind of club were we going to? Contrary to what I was expecting, Mercury turned out to be this college-student-oriented, South-African-hipster club.

God, I hate hipsters.

And the DJ had the WEIRDEST song line-up: stupid techno followed by Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" followed by some weird rock followed by AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" followed by the Super Mario theme? Great music flow, guys. I love the consistency.

Regardless, we had a pretty good time and got back to the hostel around 4:30am. Needless to say, no one woke up the next morning until 1 pm.

Tuesday:

Given the previous night, we decided we weren't up to climbing Table Mountain that morning. Instead, we just took it easy until our 3 o'clock ferry to Robben Island--where Mandela was help political prisoner for 27 years! Unfortunately, we got there to find all ferries were cancelled that day due to high sea swells…I actually think they all shut down to watch the South Africa game at 4pm. I don't blame them, I would have done the same thing. So, we rescheduled the trip for 9am the next dayAs I waited in the gift shop, someone came up to me and said, "So it IS you!"

I looked over only to find an old high school friend, Tammer, standing there completely bewildered. Here's the thing about Tammer: I've actually run into him once before in Egypt--it's almost a habit that I see him in random places abroad! It's crazy to think we could have both been anywhere in Cape Town…I always like running into old friends. He told me he was catching the ferry the next day at 2pm; that's during the USA game…way to be a patriot, Tammer!!

Tammer's the one that's not me.

Since we had no other plans, we headed to our favorite sport's bar and cheered on the South Africans with a bunch of the locals. Unfortunately, the Bafana Bafana didn't score enough goals to win the point differential and will not be making it to the next round. It's kinda weird being in South Africa without South Africa even making it to the Round of 16…

Wednesday:

We went on the Robben Island tour in the morning…a very moving experience. Our tour was actually led by a former political prisoner who was held there when he was only 19! He educated us on the history of Robben Island, both before and during Apartheid, and shared a lot about what he experienced there. It speaks tons about his spirit that still gives tours so enthusiastically despite all the difficulties he faced…most people would not want to be reminded of those things. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience on the island, and my hat goes off in respect to all of those who were held there.

Our tour guide. I really wish I remembered his name...

After our three hour tour, we headed once again to our favorite sports bar to watch the most important game thus far: USA v. Algeria! If the intensity of my American pride was gonna affect this game in any way, I made sure there was no way I could mess this up for our boys . Hence, this:

Coupled with my US jersey and American flag handkerchief, I would have totally gotten a bit of air time if I was really at the game. I have to say though, I was very disappointed by our team's enthusiasm on the field. Not only did we deserve that one goal (I say it was onsides), we should have scored at least two or three more. Come on, fellas! Be more aggressive with the shots!!

But thanks to Donny, we scored in the 91st minute! This is why I love being American:

The gang.

Overall, a good day but I was feeling a bit sick so I turned in very very early.

Thursday:

Ok, Table Mountain time. We climbed it, but not without some difficulty. For some reason, none of us realized we were actually climbing 3000 feet worth of mountain. It don't know if you've ever seen a picture of this thing (google it), but it's pretty shear. Why I think this was gonna be stroll? And word to the wise: Think twice before you scale something like this with an upset stomach and a slight fever…neither help. about 1h45 later, we found ourselves at the top looking at a view that made everything we pushed through worth it. I think I must have spent an hour just soaking up the view. Check out the panorama! Jeff missed because of his own stomach problems--all three of us have our own troubles at the moment--but he can climb up on his own time.

Table Mountain and Cape Town as seen from Robben Island.

Mid-climb. This picture does no justice to the presence of the mountain

Massi looking over the edge.

These were interesting birds. Their wings were orange on the underside.

Either way, the last few days have been eventful. We have wine tasting tomorrow followed by a braai (it's what they call a BBQ) and bungee jumping the next day. Pics and videos for both to follow when I sober up and get off my adrenaline high. Cheers!

-kav

P.S. My apologies on not updating my flickr or videos page yet. Wifi at the hostel sucks and I have to use an internet cafe for heavy uploading. Soon come, soon come...