Day 64: South Africa
We were told that we were going to be arriving into Cape Town between 6 and 8 in the morning. And that if there was any port you should get up early to watch our entrance into, it was this one. So I set my alarm for 5:45. The plan was to throw clothes on, go get Molly, and go up to deck 7 to watch the sunrise and watch us come into port. Jessi wanted to film the entire sunrise so her alarm was set for much earlier.
When she got up I snoozed for a bit but then forced myself to roll out of bed. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when she came back into the room. "We are already here." She told me.
What.
"We have been for hours."
That would be why I had been hearing noises outside our window. They were putting out the gangway.
What the hell. Someone lied.
Or is really bad at predicting our timing.
It was then that my phone rang. It was Ashley, telling me to get upstairs because it was beautiful out. So at 5:45 I went up to deck 7.
Everyone was pissed. And there were a lot of people who had gotten up early just to watch us sail in.
The view was incredible. The city was very modern looking and was situated at the base of a huge mountain that just seemed to shoot up out of nowhere. The mountain was completely flat on top, hence its name of Table Mountain. The sky was almost perfectly clear except for a cloud right over Table Mountain. It looked like it was sliding off the mountain.
It wasn't as cold out as I had expected and while I was mad that we hadn't been able to watch the ship sail in, it was still very cool to see the city so early in the morning.
I went and got Molly at 6, she was equally as mad that we didn’t get to watch us sail in. When we got back upstairs I finally found Ashley. But I didn’t really find out what was happening. He didn’t know all that much either. The parents were supposed to be at the port to wave to us as we came in….but we were already there. Their shuttle was still scheduled to depart the hotel at 7. So basically we were just going to be waiting around.
I hung out on the 7th deck with a bunch of the other parents trip kids while Ashley figured out what was happening. We eventually decided to reconvene in the same place at 7. So I ran down stairs and took the quickest shower ever. It was a good thing that I had decided to pack the night before because I would not have had time.
On my way back up to deck 7 I ran into Ashley who said to follow him. Apparently the parents weren't going to be in a place that we could see from deck 7. He lead us to deck 5 on the starboard side, where the gangway was. Apparently the parents would be behind a large gate when they first got there. It was then that they started the immigration process, a full hour and a half before it was supposed to happen. We were called in our seas. I managed to shovel in a bowl of cereal before they called our sea.
Dean Eddie was standing outside and yelling for people to go faster. We didn’t even swipe out. We just ran down the gangway and into the building. There we waiting in a short line and then did the face to face where we received a sticker and a stamp in our passports. I was standing the line with Jessi when I saw some parents standing behind a glass wall at the back of the building. Then, my parents joined them!
I made our family sign and they found me easily. I jumped up and down waving to them. Yay!! It was so exciting.
Once we had gone through immigration we had to walk right by the glass wall. My mom and I had a "through the glass wall in prison" moment. I couldn't hear her so basically we just waved hi.
Back on the ship I just had to wait around for everyone to finish immigration. I sat in on the diplomatic briefing while I waited. Once the Q&A session started I got out of there, I was too excited to see my parents again. I went back to deck 5 starboard and was able to see my mom on the other side of the gate we originally thought they would be behind. We basically were just standing there staring at them. We watched the crew go through immigration.
I never saw people with dogs get on the ship so maybe that didn’t happen.
I eventually found myself up on deck 7 again. It felt like we had spent all morning waiting. By this point it was 9 o'clock. Our parents had to get visitor badges but they slowly trickled out of the building. We all waved and pointed out our parents to each other. Once they were all through the building they were greeted by Ashley and then lead up the gangway and onto the ship.
They were brought to the Glazer lounge where we met them. I gave them the biggest hug.
It was weird to see them. I already go to school so far away from home that I hadn't been too homesick and hadn't missed them any more than I usually do.
I was really excited to see my dad because I hadn't spent all that much time with him in the past 3 years. Our schedules just never matched up when I was home and he hadn't vacationed with us in a while. I was really looking forward to getting to spend four five whole days with him.
I spent the morning giving them a tour of the ship. The first place we went was deck 7 aft where the pool is. I knew that Molly would be there waiting to debark with her group for shark diving and I wanted her to meet my parents. She was so excited when she saw us and ran up and gave them a big hug. She asked me later if that was weird and I told her that it wasn't at all. Because I blog so much it was like my parents already knew her. I was really glad that they got to meet.
I took them everywhere, which didn’t take all that long. When you are giving someone a tour of the ship it makes it seem even smaller. Most of the hallways are cabins so it gets a bit redundant.
We eventually found ourselves in my room where we talked and exchanged updates. Apparently I am the most communicative SASer with my blogging and emailing. None of the other parents knew very much.
My mom and dad brought me a giant bag filled with things I asked them to bring including my mom's DSLR camera. It's my new baby. They also brought me the zoom lens which I made great use of during our safari. I took over 3,000 pictures. Just in South Africa.
And they brought me presents from my Lake Compounce family! Colleen had everyone sign a picture and they got me a sweatshirt/T-shirt set. It made my whole week, I almost cried. Thanks guys, I miss you!
We ate lunch on the ship, my parents opted for that, which I didn’t really understand but alright. We were sitting in my room getting ready to leave when my dad said that he hoped there was fried chicken for lunch. We never have anything fried so I told him there was no way that was going to happen.
And then we walked upstairs. And there was fried chicken for lunch.
What.
My dad has magical powers.
There was also grilled ham and cheese. Which was delicious.
I knew the food would be extra good because the parents were eating on the ship. I knew it.
We got off the ship after lunch. Our plan was to go up table mountain and then have a leisurely evening of shopping. We walked to the hotel so that I could drop my stuff. The hotel was gorgeous. It was right on the ocean and was huge. The bedroom area opened into the living room area which had a glass wall. The bathroom was huge and had a jacuzzi tub and a shower.
We lounged for a bit and I was able to get on the internet. Woo!
We then walked to the mall to find an ATM and from there grabbed a cab to take to Table Mountain. My dad had pre-purchased tickets for the cable car so that we didn’t have to take the time to hike it. But when we got there we found that it was close. That was surreal. The sky was almost perfectly blue except for a small cloud right above the mountain. It was the wind. Apparently it was very windy at the top, windy enough that you didn’t want to be riding a cable car in it.
The vantage point from the bottom was almost just as wonderful so we snapped some photos, invaded the gift shop, and then headed back down to the mall. It looked like our leisurely evening of shopping was going to become a leisurely afternoon instead. We went to a safari store where they sold gear for camping and awesome safari hats. My dad wouldn’t let me buy one. Boo.
I did get pants though, and two shirts. Then we went into a Guess and I was able to replace the pair of jeans that I ruined with paint in Ghana.
We were thinking we would go back to the hotel and relax before walking back over to the mall for dinner. But at 5:30 our stomachs were rumbling so we decided to just eat so that we wouldn’t have to go back and forth. We went to a restaurant that had been recommended to my dad. He was told that they had great pizza and I was totally ok with that. It was weird how much I was craving good pizza. The place was called Primi Wharf. The waiters had a saying on the back of their shirts that I really liked:
"Work is love made visible."
That was their motto. I loved it. To me it embodied the idea of being really passionate about what you are doing and spreading your passion to others.
That is how I interpreted it. An interesting motto for a restaurant.
The remainder of our evening was very calm. I spent the entirety of it on the internet. Oh internet how I have missed you. And this internet wasn't even that good. I was able to download the remainder of the songs that I needed for the talent show and that is all that mattered.
I was in a different room from my parents and was rooming with Lara, a girl that I had seen but didn’t know very well.
She stuck her head in to say hi and then left to shower in her parents room. She just came back to sleep and then left again when I was in the shower in the morning. So I basically had the room to myself. Me and the internet, a fabulous evening in South Africa.
The adventure began the next day.
