I think it's about time I uploaded some more pictures! I've been slacking on this front, so just a warning, the following pictures are going to be a compilation of the many things I've done the past month
1. Sports!
Here in South Africa, the two big sports are soccer and rugby. I've gone to one game each so far, and both games were so much fun. It's great how passionate the fans are, and the whole stadium starts singing their chants and it's so exciting! It's basically impossible not to have fun at these games because the company is so great. We went to a rugby game one of the first weeks I was here. I think it was the amateur team, the Stormers, playing, and we won! To the right, you can see a picture of everyone cheering and waving their flags after a goal (called a
try), which is worth 5 points.
Two weekends ago, we went to see the South African national football (soccer) team, called Bafana Bafana, or "the Boys," play a friendly match against Angola. They played in the beautiful Cape Town Stadium where they played the 2010 World Cup. It was supposed to be a downpour that day with lightening, but it turned out to be an extremely nice day with very few clouds. Perfect day for a football game! Since it was a friendly match, the stadium wasn't too full, but like the rugby game, we all got really into it and had a blast. It also doesn't hurt that we won 2-1!!
2. Hiking
I've done a couple of hikes while I've been here, but this one is still my favorite to date. We hiked Lion's Head for sunrise one morning, and the view was gorgeous. I think this is the prettiest time of the day, and we got to the summit just in time to capture this gorgeous picture.
Once the sun came up a little bit more, we could see the ocean and all of Cape Town beneath us. In the distance, you can see Robbens Island, where Nelson Mandela remained while he was in jail. Definitely will be visiting that soon!
(Note: the picture on the top of the blog is also of the sunrise from Lion's Head summit. It really doesn't get any more beautiful than that!)
3. Food and Wine
Of course, no trip is complete without good food and drinks! Last week, we visited three wineries in the second oldest city in South Africa, Stellenbosch, which is considered to be the Napa Valley of South Africa. This is a group of us enjoying our first of three wine tastings of the day!
Believe it or not, Indian food is a staple of South African cuisine. This gigantic meal on the left is from the Eastern Food Bazaar in downtown Cape Town. It was possibly the best Indian food I've ever had, but the my favorite was the Garlic Naan, which was made from scratch and baked in a tandoor right in front of my eyes! The best part? All of this for $5.
4. Befriending Animals
One of the coolest things about South Africa is that there are so many opportunities to get up and close to a huge variety of animals. Not only are there the famous African safaris (which I will be doing in August), but there are elephant walks, and cheetah sanctuaries all over the region. I haven't gotten to these yet, but I've been hanging out with some smaller animals. Several weekends ago, we went to Boulders Beach to see some wild African Penguins. In the summer, we can go into the water and swim with them, but it's a little too cold to do that without a wetsuit, so we hung out with them on the beach! I guess they must be pretty used to people coming up to them, because they were pretty bold sneaking up behind me.
Last week, we went to the World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park. As the largest bird park in Africa, it's home to over 3000 birds. But the cutest attraction were the Squirrel Monkeys. There's a guy that works at the park who throws food on you so that the monkeys climb all over you to find it. I especially loved the one that stayed on my head...his feet were so ticklish!!
This has been one whirlwind of a month... I can't wait for the rest! If they're anything like the past four weeks, I'll be the happiest and luckiest girl in the world.
As always, thanks for reading! Will post again soon. Cheers! :)
Two weekends ago, we went to see the South African national football (soccer) team, called Bafana Bafana, or "the Boys," play a friendly match against Angola. They played in the beautiful Cape Town Stadium where they played the 2010 World Cup. It was supposed to be a downpour that day with lightening, but it turned out to be an extremely nice day with very few clouds. Perfect day for a football game! Since it was a friendly match, the stadium wasn't too full, but like the rugby game, we all got really into it and had a blast. It also doesn't hurt that we won 2-1!!
Once the sun came up a little bit more, we could see the ocean and all of Cape Town beneath us. In the distance, you can see Robbens Island, where Nelson Mandela remained while he was in jail. Definitely will be visiting that soon!
Of course, no trip is complete without good food and drinks! Last week, we visited three wineries in the second oldest city in South Africa, Stellenbosch, which is considered to be the Napa Valley of South Africa. This is a group of us enjoying our first of three wine tastings of the day!
Believe it or not, Indian food is a staple of South African cuisine. This gigantic meal on the left is from the Eastern Food Bazaar in downtown Cape Town. It was possibly the best Indian food I've ever had, but the my favorite was the Garlic Naan, which was made from scratch and baked in a tandoor right in front of my eyes! The best part? All of this for $5.
I am reading that South Africa, one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world, has nearly 10% of all known species of birds, fish and plants registered in the world and 6% of mammal and reptile species.Amazing!! Penguins and monkeys you met must be cute South African mascots. Being there in winter season, you would not see much blooming flowers? Looking at the map of the country again , its biodiversity can be understood. Indeed, SA is the only country, in the African continent, which had Indian and Atlantic Ocean in its both sides. No wonder of its uniquness.
ReplyDeleteUntil I talked with my friend who came back from the Gorilla habitat tour in Uganda last spring, I did not realize the importance of tourism in Africa. Until then, I considered tour in the countries that still suffer from hunger, thirsty, poverty, crime, war and diseases a shame or guilt. I am now convinced that tourism - responsible tourism - create jobs and educational opportunities for people and bring resources to conserve African nature, culture and history.
You should be proud of yourself in taking a small part of infrastructure development research project over there.
I wish Providence also had a Capetown-like pretty viewpoint... SO jealous #_#
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ReplyDeleteIncredible photos! Your hike looked amazing and you really seem to be exploring the local culture and events. I had no idea that Indian food was so common in SA! Very interesting.
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