So close yet so far

So many of us never thought they would be in South Africa. Many had fears before arriving and phobias they believed they were unable to overcome. Yet, here we are! We have done so much today. We went on a hop on hop off bus tour and viewed the natural beauties of South Africa. Many of us now believe we have encountered a beauty that many did not know of or did not believe it existed here in South Africa. 

Our first stop was at Hout Bay. We had the option of going on a boat ride to see the seals or shopping around the local market. Many of us took our time seeing the view around us. Amazing isn't it?

We continued driving to Boulders but we had to make some stops to see the scenery around us! We were so happy and felt so lucky to have the opportunity to see true beauty!

We finally made it to Boulders and saw the most adorable penguins! Many of us wanted to take them back on our carry-on! But Dr. Rance-Roney put a stop to that. 

You really can't blame us for trying to bring them home right? 

We continued to Cape of Good Hope and could not believe the scenery! Here the Pacific and Atlantic meet and we were there! Yet the best part of the adventure....we biked there!!! For many it was a fear they overcame and were able to say the mountain biked on Cape of Good Hope! 

We are truly lucky and blessed to have arrived at such a beautiful location and be welcomed the way we have. Just look at Sister John Marie's expression!

We decided that we would take the funicular up to the light house on Cape of Good Hope. Riding the bikes was enough exercise for many of us. There were a few who braved their way up to the lighthouse. I'm sure we will all feel it in the morning. 

At the top of the lighthouse there was a post that had various cities and their distance from the lighthouse. This just made us reflect that we are so much closer to different cultures, countries and people. To think that we are just 12,541 km from New York and 6,066 km from Rio de Janeiro truly makes us reflect and amazes us that we were once in New York awaiting to arrive at South Africa. We braved the 20, feeling almost 30 hours, to arrive at a new location, makes us want to experience more. How close are we to other countries? How many of us would dare the flight? Would you? Would you be willing to stand here and look up and see the various locations on the post and say,"I will be there one day"? 

We were told to beware of the vicious baboons that were around us during our tour! Yet we didn't see any. 

We were lucky to some zebras at the side of the road, back to Cape Town!! This just topped the day! Penguins, bike rides, beautiful scenery and zebras, what will tomorrow bring?

The weather of Cape Town...

We experienced such beautiful weather here yesterday on Table Mountain! Today it's been very cloudy and we had a thunderstorm last night. This weather didn't help on our travel to Robben Island. 

We had great tour guides! They were very excited for us and completed our tour with humor and love. We started at the clock tower on Waterfront. 

We then boarded the boat to Robben Island! Yet we had a friend accompany us: wind. 

As you can see we had to resort to umbrellas to cover us from the water splashing and the wind coming at us.

 

We arrived at Robben Island and had such an amazing and moving experience. We were able to do an island tour and a prison tour. 

The island tour was more than we expected. We were even able to see a penguin!! We saw the houses that housed the guards and the families. We also saw the building in which Nelson Mandela, Hilary Clinton and Bill Cosby hosted a party. 

Our tour guide for the prison tour was once a prisoner and even found a sneaky way to meet Nelson Mandela! He said he appeared to be one of the cooks and was able to collect the dishes from the inmates and he found his way into Mandela's cell. He was able to express his experience through a positive message. There was no bitterness. South Africa has truly moved on from the dark past of the country and want to show their history in order to show what they overcome and what will not be repeated. 

We returned to the Waterfront on a...pirate ship!!! 

We could not believe it! Just look at our emotion!

 

We even saw a seal!

We followed with a stop at the local township, Langa, one of the smallest and oldest townships in Cape Town. We were able to visit their pottery shops, where they produce the local artwork that sustains the community. Look at the pottery below, this was made for Georgetown University! We also were able to buy the pottery and other art local artist create. 

Our day ended with visiting the people in the township. This was possible the most emotional part of the day. The children jumped in our arms, others welcomed us with smiles and kind words. We were able to see their living conditions, culture and customs. They were very eager to show us their art of dance. They danced with such passion and made us want to learn so much more about their culture.They welcomed us with open arms into their lives, providing us a glismpe of their joy and happiness. It opened our eyes to the beauty of community and family. Many of us leave the township with a need to return because they have left an imprint in our hearts. 

Tonight's dinner was amazing! We visited Nando's! Such great food! 

We still have 2 more weeks here. We can only imagine how much more we will fall in love with South Africa. Stay tuned to find out! 

Tuesday's adventure! 5/21

Today we started off on the Cityseeing Cape Town Bus Tour. We saw many places and stopped at Table Mountain! It was such a peaceful sight! Nature was all around us. We hopped back on and stopped at Camp Bay for some ice cream! 

Before our tour:

Table Mountain:

 

And we are here!

Sorry for the late notice but we had some technical difficulties with the blog. We are all safe at the daypack! We are excited for what is to come in these 15 days! Thank you families for your thoughts and prayers during our flight. 

Prior to our 20 hour flight:

This is where we are staying. 

We have an amazing view of Table Mountain! 

Almost there!

We made it to the airport! 

5 Days and Counting!

We are down to 5 days until our departure date! We will begin our traveling on Sunday May 19th. For those of us leaving from DeSales, you should be arriving at 4:45 am. We will depart at 5:00 am. J&J Limo will providing transportation.  

We would like to thank everyone for their help and monetary support. We have  reached our target goal and will be donating 8 iPads to St. Mary's Primary School! Thank you once again for your support!

We will continue blogging while in South Africa. Stay tuned for more updates on our adventure!