More Cape Town

Since my last post, I've been very busy.

I spent most of Saturday at the botanical gardens. The gardens are very interesting, and have a focus on native South African plants. The whole gardens runs up the side of Table Mountain and affords beautiful views - I tried in vain to get a really good photos of it, but I failed miserably. I got to the top of one hiking path and realized that I was on my way to hike all the way up Table Mountain. Since I was wearing flip flops, and not carrying a whole lot of water, I decided that this was a distinctly poor idea and have vowed to take the cable car up some other time. The neatest part about the gardens was the "weed garden", a section that showcases plants that have become invasive in other countries. Very cool.

I spent Sunday on a tour of Cape Point, which highlighted Boulder Beach and the WIIIIIILD penguin colony (many photos taken there, I assure you), as well as scenic views from Cape Point. We then walked from Cape Point across to the Cape of Good Hope, the most southwestern point in Africa. There were a group of four Dutch high school seniors with us that decided not to do any of the activities, and instead sit around and gossip and be annoying. I'm not sure why they came on the trip in the frist place, unless they are here with someone's mom who wanted them out of their hair for the time being.

Monday found me starting my research. The cheapest way to get from the center of Cape Town to the university is by the free shuttle. Because of my limited experience with proper college campuses, I naively believed that the shuttle made a number of stops in some kind of circuit, and I would just get off at the one that looked right. Silly, silly me. Instead, there is a labyrinthine bus system that can only be navigated by certified cape town students. There are abbreviations that are meaningless to the casual consumer, as well as at least ten different lines that run to different places. With the help of several valiant bus drivers, I was able to figure it all out. My only mishap was a 30 minute bus ride that took me right back to where I started without going anywhere near where I needed to go. Oops.

Today, I took the train down to Simonstown to have a look around. Taking the train down was no problem, but the train back was a bit irritating. I happened to hit it right during rush hour and spent the better part of an hour smashed up against smelly people. It almost made me a little homesick for the 4-5-6 and F Trains during rush hour.

And that's where I am right now! Tomorrow, I'm sightseeing around Cape Town, Friday I am shark diving, Saturday I am taking a wineland tour and Sunday, I return to the USofA.