And so it goes. Coronavirus won. Our voyage had to end 35 days early. We got to Cape Town on Friday, March 13, and everyone had to be off the ship by Sunday, March 15. Most of the students left on Friday after we cleared immigration and health screening (no Coronavirus on our ship!), some left on Saturday. We chose to stay on board on Saturday and enjoy the sunshine and pool, say goodbye to our ship and shipmates, and leave Sunday morning.
We are so grateful for our friends Denis and Michael who live in Cape Town. They picked us up at the port, took us in, fed us, wined us, toured us around their beautiful city and country, responded to our curious questions, took us to the airport and shared their life and its coronavirus ups and downs with us for 6 days. We love you guys!
Highlights of our time in Cape Town:
-wildfire on Lion's Head Mountain on Sunday, March 15 (3 houses and 3 cars burned, along with acres of brush) smoke billowing overhead (Michael and Denis live on the water in front of Lion's Head)
-the amazing, achingly beautiful sunset created by the soot in the air
-the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa's address to the country on Sunday, March 15, announcing the country's response to growing cases of COVID19, and discussing the effects with our friends
-exploring the wares of Oranjezicht Market, buying fresh figs by the kilo and having lunch by the beach
-walking along the promenade and along Clifton Beach 1,2,3 and 4 and back home, clocking 7 walking miles on Monday, March 16. Lunching on the BEST calamari and Portuguese steak (with piri-piri sauce) at Chapman's Hotel.
-trying to use the tramway up Table Mountain on Tuesday, March 17, only to find it closed (it holds close to 100 people....gatherings of 50 were the max allowed by the government). RECALCULATE....
-driving to the wine region and visiting the towns of Franschoek and Stellenbosch, only to find the wineries closed because someone with COVID19 had allegedly visited some of the wineries in prior days. RECALCULATE.....
-shopping for dinner food on Tuesday with Denis, and finding the shelves empty. We came away with squash and a rotisserie chicken. RECALCULATE....
-sending Michael to the store early Wednesday morning because "senior citizens" could get in an hour before the store officially opened so that they could have a chance to buy food. He found dinner items.:)
-going to Boulders to see the penguins. We watched one laying eggs, saw one with a chick beneath her, saw several molting, watched lots of them playing in the water
-driving to Cape Point Nature Reserve on Wednesday, March 18, where we walked to the end of the Cape (falsehood: it is NOT where the Indian and Atlantic meet and it is NOT the farthest southern point of Africa) and spent time looking at the gorgeous ocean and multi-colored earth as we hiked along a ridge and descended to the beach.
-driving along Chapman's Peak Drive, a curving cliff road along the shore with dramatic drop-offs, and which winds under cliffs......
-checking out the V&A waterfront, listening to a choral group sing in beautiful harmonies, watching a group of men dance, looking at cool art statues, watching the swing bridge open and shut as boats went through, eating sushi lunch and seeing lots of our Semester at Sea friends in our travels, walking along the beach, learning how to use a Thermomix to cook chicken garam masala for dinner, missing out on a show because the government made rules about restaurants and theaters closing (Thursday, March 19)
-seeing the vast expanses of the townships, and learning about daily life there
-seeing firsthand the effects of the Coronavirus and the government's response and how that played out in the life of our friends
-Bill spotting a whale from the patio of the apartment, and the resulting long walk along the promenade to spot whales and dolphins
-South Africa wildlife count: 6 whales, dozens of dolphins, 1 wild ostrich, 1 zebra, 1springbok, 1 snake, lots of noisy seagulls and pigeons
-tasting lots of South African wines ( I may have to give up my French wine snobbery!)
-And through it all, constant contact with the US State Department through our SAFEY App about leaving South Africa sooner rather than later, news reminders of President Trump's responses to COVID19
We feel so lucky to have gotten an Emirates flight out of Cape Town on Friday, March 20. All week we witnessed domestic and international flights in and out of Cape Town being canceled...and learned today, March 22, that Emirates will suspend ALL flights by this Wednesday. Screening for us was minimal, as South Africa was not on the high-risk list at the time we flew. Even upon arrival in Boston there was no screening for our flight.
We were planning to take Dartmouth Coach from the airport upon our return in May....however due to the rapidly changing conditions of public transportation, we are unsure about how long Dartmouth Coach will be running. We have rented a car so that we can return to Vermont.
One more post to come. Returning home and our thoughts about our trip, as well as our plans to do it again. Stay tuned.
We are so grateful for our friends Denis and Michael who live in Cape Town. They picked us up at the port, took us in, fed us, wined us, toured us around their beautiful city and country, responded to our curious questions, took us to the airport and shared their life and its coronavirus ups and downs with us for 6 days. We love you guys!
Highlights of our time in Cape Town:
-wildfire on Lion's Head Mountain on Sunday, March 15 (3 houses and 3 cars burned, along with acres of brush) smoke billowing overhead (Michael and Denis live on the water in front of Lion's Head)
-the amazing, achingly beautiful sunset created by the soot in the air
-the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa's address to the country on Sunday, March 15, announcing the country's response to growing cases of COVID19, and discussing the effects with our friends
-exploring the wares of Oranjezicht Market, buying fresh figs by the kilo and having lunch by the beach
-walking along the promenade and along Clifton Beach 1,2,3 and 4 and back home, clocking 7 walking miles on Monday, March 16. Lunching on the BEST calamari and Portuguese steak (with piri-piri sauce) at Chapman's Hotel.
-trying to use the tramway up Table Mountain on Tuesday, March 17, only to find it closed (it holds close to 100 people....gatherings of 50 were the max allowed by the government). RECALCULATE....
-driving to the wine region and visiting the towns of Franschoek and Stellenbosch, only to find the wineries closed because someone with COVID19 had allegedly visited some of the wineries in prior days. RECALCULATE.....
-shopping for dinner food on Tuesday with Denis, and finding the shelves empty. We came away with squash and a rotisserie chicken. RECALCULATE....
-sending Michael to the store early Wednesday morning because "senior citizens" could get in an hour before the store officially opened so that they could have a chance to buy food. He found dinner items.:)
-going to Boulders to see the penguins. We watched one laying eggs, saw one with a chick beneath her, saw several molting, watched lots of them playing in the water
-driving to Cape Point Nature Reserve on Wednesday, March 18, where we walked to the end of the Cape (falsehood: it is NOT where the Indian and Atlantic meet and it is NOT the farthest southern point of Africa) and spent time looking at the gorgeous ocean and multi-colored earth as we hiked along a ridge and descended to the beach.
-driving along Chapman's Peak Drive, a curving cliff road along the shore with dramatic drop-offs, and which winds under cliffs......
-checking out the V&A waterfront, listening to a choral group sing in beautiful harmonies, watching a group of men dance, looking at cool art statues, watching the swing bridge open and shut as boats went through, eating sushi lunch and seeing lots of our Semester at Sea friends in our travels, walking along the beach, learning how to use a Thermomix to cook chicken garam masala for dinner, missing out on a show because the government made rules about restaurants and theaters closing (Thursday, March 19)
-seeing the vast expanses of the townships, and learning about daily life there
-seeing firsthand the effects of the Coronavirus and the government's response and how that played out in the life of our friends
-Bill spotting a whale from the patio of the apartment, and the resulting long walk along the promenade to spot whales and dolphins
-South Africa wildlife count: 6 whales, dozens of dolphins, 1 wild ostrich, 1 zebra, 1springbok, 1 snake, lots of noisy seagulls and pigeons
-tasting lots of South African wines ( I may have to give up my French wine snobbery!)
-And through it all, constant contact with the US State Department through our SAFEY App about leaving South Africa sooner rather than later, news reminders of President Trump's responses to COVID19
We feel so lucky to have gotten an Emirates flight out of Cape Town on Friday, March 20. All week we witnessed domestic and international flights in and out of Cape Town being canceled...and learned today, March 22, that Emirates will suspend ALL flights by this Wednesday. Screening for us was minimal, as South Africa was not on the high-risk list at the time we flew. Even upon arrival in Boston there was no screening for our flight.
We were planning to take Dartmouth Coach from the airport upon our return in May....however due to the rapidly changing conditions of public transportation, we are unsure about how long Dartmouth Coach will be running. We have rented a car so that we can return to Vermont.
One more post to come. Returning home and our thoughts about our trip, as well as our plans to do it again. Stay tuned.