Hello Everyone,
Another post here about the trip to Cape Town over our spring/fall break. Continuing my post from yesterday, we started off Saturday the March 31st at the Slave Lodge in Cape Town. This museum in the center of the city focused on the Trans-Indian Slave trade that was fundamental in the formation of Cape Town. It was separate from the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade that was used in the Americas that most of you are familiar with. The difference being that the slaves came from across the Indian Ocean, not the terrible conditions or treatment of the slaves themselves. Also, some may think that because Africans were slaves in the Americas that it is the same in Africa. This was not the case. The majority of slaves in South Africa were not natives, but from India and other areas like Malaysia. This is the root of SA’s large Indian population today.
Following that tour we hopped on our busses to head to the base of Table Mountain. The hike was great. There is a cable car that heads to the top, but everyone in our group decided to trek it up. The group ended up splitting up because of the various paces that we took. I ended up cruising to the top with the front group and it took us a hair under an hour to make it to the top. The last of our group made it up in about an hour and a half, so not far behind. The views just get better and better the further up the mountain you get. At the top, the city, the surrounding mountains, the bay, and Robben Island are all visible. It is rewarding seeing it after the hike itself. Words, nor pictures, do the view or feeling justice of being at the top of the city or even world for that matter. It is really an awe inspiring emotion that really makes somebody humbled and thankful for that moment. I know it made me thankful for everything and everyone that was involved in me coming to South Africa thousands of miles from home. We also brought sandwiches and ate them atop the city that we would be exploring the next week.
After the mountain we grabbed our gear and headed over to Gugulethu, a large township of Cape Town. The reason for this was home stays that we had planned. We were broken up into pairs where we lived with different families in the Township. Talking, eating, sleeping, and living with them for two days. We arrived in the afternoon and were able to meet our new families. The mothers are referred to as Mamas in respect, and my mama was Mama Pinky. The family consisted of a father, mother, two teenage daughters, and five sons; but they were happy to house us as well in their two bedroom government built house. They had actually built 3 rooms in their small backyard that the three older boys lived in for some more space. I was paired up with Matt, and we were able to converse with the father Liter about things from his job to touching on how it used to be during Apartheid. The older three boys, Liter, Kilo, Sobi, were about our age in their early 20’s and they took us around the townships showing us what it was like. I was amazed to see some really nice cars driving around. There was everything from old Toyotas to nice, new Mercedes.
Driving around was great because it was dusk and we were able to see everything getting going for the night. There was one street that was one big braai that it took us about 20 minutes just to get down a few blocks because there were so many people in the streets and people hopping out of their car to say hi to a friend. Like any other township that I have seen while here, there were a large amount of taverns and trash that covers the land. The neighborhood that we lived in was called Tambo Village and the brothers took us around that and the adjacent Kuwaito. The second night we spent time conversing with the family some more and talking and playing with the younger brothers Cea and Wamkelekile (which means welcome inn Xhosa). Overall, the experience was amazing. Hearing from the others, it seemed everyone had a different experience and did something different. From my side, the family showed great hospitality and made me feel very welcome. I definitely saw some things and was able to get a better feel for how people live.
Sunday morning we went to church in the townships. It was a very lively mass that focused on prayer through music which made for a somewhat entertaining morning. We then headed over as a group to the waterfront to catch the ferry over to Robben Island to take a tour around the jail that housed Nelson Mandela for 18 of his 27 years. The jail was used for both political and common prisoners in the early years, but the political minds like Mandela and Sisulu ‘infected’ the minds of the common prisoners. The government decided to use the jail primarily as a political prisoner outpost in efforts to stall the freedom struggle. The island itself has a very desolate feel to it because it has a lot of bush, but very little trees. The jail was moving. After reading everything about Mandela’s time in there, it was powerful to say the least walking through the areas where he did for so long. The tour guide we had was a former inmate and he explained to us the conditions and routines of the day for them. One of the Mamas came with us with her boyfriend. We asked them if they had been to the island before. Both said yes. The man, whose name I did not catch unfortunately was very quite while we were loading onto the tour bus. The Mama notified us that he had been imprisoned on the island for 10 years and that this was the first time he had been back. Wow. At the end of our tour, we ended up in a large room where a large amount of prisoners could be held at once. The man with us stayed after everyone had left looking at a spot on a floor in the room. He then took the mats they had for show and rolled them out as he had done for years. I can’t even fathom the emotions that he was feeling, but I hope he was able to find some sort of resolution in the visit.
The following day we visited Parliament in the morning for a tour. We have been learning about the government in politics obviously, so it was interesting to see some of the building where everything happens. We then headed to a part of the city called Bo-Kaap which is situated on the upper part of the city. This part of town is a coloured community which has a large Muslim population and a vibrant culture that was able to stand strong and not get moved throughout the forced removals. The city is full of colorful houses that give the area a life of its own that is really a creation of all the different cultures that have been to Cape Town. We later had a nice dinner at Mama Afrika where we at some more local food. I had a nice kudu burger.
View of Bo-Kaap with the colorful houses to the bottom left.
The next day Tuesday, April 3rd, we took a couple busses to Cape Point, an absolutely beautiful spot at the edge of the African continent. It is where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. Situated next to False Bay that is outlined in mountain, it gives a view that seems like a painting. A packed lunch at the edge of the world was delicious. Later that evening, I climbed Lion’s Head in Cape Town (it is the point to the right of Table Mountain) with Isaak, Ryan, and Andrew. The climb was great. The peak is not nearly as high as Table Mountain, but the hike is more challenging where there are points where you need to climb straight up the side using chains and ladders on the trail. It is also situated almost in the middle of the city which gives it a spectacular view. We decided to climb it to watch the sunset as encouraged by one of our guides up Table Mountain. The sun setting over Cape Town and South Africa was truly a sight to see that was a highlight of the trip for me.
The Atlantic and Indian Oceans meeting.
Me atop Lion's Head.
I will try and finish the last part of my trip in my next post, so stay tuned for that. It rained all day yesterday, and it has cooled down considerably from early in the semester. It is technically Fall here being in the Southern Hemisphere, so things are cooling down instead of heating up like back in the States. It is still nowhere near a Minnesota Fall, but I must admit I did not give SA credit for having cold. I look forward to sleeping under the covers from here on out. Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Bobby
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