I decided long before this trip that I was not going to participate in the whale watching activity, on account of it being on a boat. In the ocean. For several hours. Many of us decided that it would be a good day to duck out and go to Table Mountain instead. But when we told Latifa our plan, a look of pure sadness fell across her face as she conveyed how much we would miss out if we stayed home. She was so sad for us and her voice was so utterly filled with devastation that we all changed our minds and decided to at least travel with the group and sit in the bay while the whale boats went out. Anything for Latifa.
I am so glad I went, because I ended up seeing some beautiful things. I walked around the shore with Carmen, Ben, Sue, and Mark. I collected sea glass for Sue and it was there that we spotted our first whale! He was very close to the rocks and was just sort of frolicking around, not really going anywhere fast and not doing tricks, either. There were a few flaps of the tail and then after several minutes, he was gone. Though it was overcast and sprinkly, it was nice being outside. Also we saw some rock hyraxes, which I taught my students about in 4th grade at TIOH. Related to the elephant, these small, furry things live in Israel, too.
Later, we headed up to Cocos restaurant (no relation) where we could watch the bay and eat at the same time. On the way, we saw our second whale. This one was moving fast and we could only see its back as it passed by the road. At Cocos, I got a delicious cheese melt. Then the boat people came back and we land people felt smug that we saw the same number of whales as them but didn't have to suffer on the rough water. (Several people did get sea sick.) I watched an incredible video of Sami sleeping slumped forward and Tom Reinsel holding onto her life jacket from behind so she wouldn't slip off her seat into the ocean. At the restaurant, we had our best whale sighting – a whale breached (jumped) totally out of the water and slapped back down again, repeated five or six times. He lifted his whole body except the tail out of the water. It was total Planet Earth quality. I'm hoping someone has it on video. (Probs.)
At this point, the buses split up and the lazy ones returned to Cape Town while the more adventurous trekked on to the southernmost tip of Africa, where the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean officially meet. This was my first time on Cyril's bus since the airport. There was palpable excitement on this new bus, being filled with people who chose driving and oceans over drinking and sleeping.
The route to the tip was gorgeous, passing through a landscape we hadn't seen before on our trip. Rolling green hills, pasture land, bright yellow fields of canola, idyllic sea-side villages with white-washed buildings and thatched roofs, meadows and a meandering road. Many remarked that it resembled Ireland. It was green, green, green. The sun was out and everything was fresh and happy.
At Cape Agulhas, brown and gray rocks sliced through the water, earning the nickname “The Place of Needles.” The water was turquoise, clean. Small waves lapped against the shore. The water was 10 degrees warmer than at the Atlantic. The Atlantic and Indian Ocean currents actually meet at the Cape of Good Hope, where we were the other day with the lighthouse and the hills. That's where the temperatures mix and theoretically create water turbulence. At this location, the oceans' names change, simply by virtue of being at the southernmost edge of Africa. Some old mapmaker drew a vertical line from here down to Antarctica and declared the left Atlantic and the right Indian. (If you take into account science and nature, the water here is all Indian Ocean.) We took pictures near the marker in a big group, alone, with an American flag (weird?) and a South African flag.
The beach here was covered in rocks. Big, sharp rocks about 6-8 feet sticking up at the shoreline and smaller pebbles on the beach. All the beach rocks were round and polished so smooth. I spent a good ten minutes trying to come up with a reason to take some home. You know, the ultimate Sophie's choice about taking and keeping (and later not wanting) versus leaving and missing. In the end, I realized the perfectly round pebbles would be perfect for a game of mancala (that I could keep in my classroom), and loaded about 30 rocks into my pockets before I was called back to the bus.
On the way home, we drove through the same lovely hills that were now strewn with flocks of sheep and herds of cows. Paul and I had some heart to hearts about camp and teenagerhood in the back of the bus. I played a game with Sue and Kelly wherein Sue correctly guessed all of the furniture and décor in my apartment. Cyril passed out single serving bottles of South African liqueur Amarula, which is like Baileys but fruity and equally delicious. Kelly, Sue, and I buttered up Cyril and got a second bottle each. Everyone was getting drowsy and there were many rows of people lying down and sleeping. At 4pm, we passed our first stop-light since the morning. The setting sun over Cape Bay was beautiful. We rolled into the hotel 2 hours later than expected, but it was a fantastic afternoon.
Did I mention the balsamic vinegar chips I bought? They were divine.
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