Cape Town , South Africa

We have just finished our 5 days in Cape Town, and the Nice family had a great time in this port. Cape Town is a beautiful, modern city with the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and some amazing Mountains mixed together. Our port was right in the heart of the city, so getting around was easy, with all the pleasantries a short walk away. We were scheduled for a six day visit, but the strong winds kept us circling in the ocean for 30 hours and delayed our arrival. That 30 hours of circling was a lot of fun, with huge swells rocking the boat and clearing dishes off tables.

On day #1 in Cape Town we got a tour of the city by a friend of a friend. His name is Geoff, pronounced (Jeff), and he has lived in Cape Town all his 64 years. He drove us around to the top of Signal Hill where we got a beautiful view of the city. After that he drove us to his house in a suburb of Cape Town and treated us to a British lunch. Geoff and his wife Mary are British and have tea everyday, so you can imagine that the lunch was very prim and proper. Unfortunately our kids haven't had the formal finishing school training, so the British lunch quickly turned into a finger food, no utensils needed affair for our children. They were delighted to find out that Cape Town ketchup tastes similar to U.S. ketchup however so the lunch ended on a positive note. During lunch Geoff offered me a beer and after I polished off the second one he stated that they never drink more than one beer at lunch. I said this was my first time in South Africa and I was still adjusting to the culture. After our lunch the kids went swimming in their pool and played a little tennis on their tennis court. Geoff gave us a ride back to the port and we weaved our way through traffic, which included 86,000 people walking to the new stadium for a U2 concert. We hit the grocery store and were delighted to find some recognizable snack food for a change. We stocked up at the Pick and Pay and went back to the ship.

On day#2 we took a city bus tour (Red Line). These buses are double deckers with the top deck in the open air. They have earphones which describe each point of interest with 14 available languages. The idea is you can hop on and hop off, since the buses keep going around the route, so you never have to wait more than 15 minutes for the next one. We stopped at the famous Table Mountain and took a tram ride to the top. This was an amazing ride with a serious vertical gain to the top. Once on top we took pictures, had a snack, and the kids played on the rocks. After riding back down we stopped at the Two Ocean Aquarium. William absolutely loved this place, and the highlight was the Ragged Tooth Sharks that swim around just beyond the glass. After the aquarium we got ice cream and headed back to the ship, but not before stopping at the Pick and Pay for some more groceries.

On day #3 we took the city bus tour (Blue Line). This is the same idea, but a different route. We made stops at a Botanical Garden, Hout Bay, and Camps Bay. Jen took an hour tour through a township (ghetto), while the kids and I went to Hout Bay and had ice cream and played in the sand. When we got back from our tour we decided to go out for dinner, and the kids learned about eating dinner in a 40 mph wind. You must secure napkins, menus, and even empty glasses.

On day #4 we took a trip to Robben Island to visit the jail that Nelson Mandela and other activists were jailed during the Aparteid era in South Africa. We got a tour from a guy who had spent 4 years there, and he was predictably very serious and somber during the tour. Robben Island is very hot and the kids were melting in the heat. At one point in the tour William had to take a leak, and with no bathrooms I snuck him into the corner of the jail yard and had him leak in the corner. Unfortunately another tour guide walked by before he finished, and I was hoping he didn't think we were disrespecting the prison. William needs to learn that it's not necessary to drop his drawers to his ankles while going #1. We ended this day with a babysitter for the kids and Jen and I went out for dinner. We had a great time at dinner and enjoyed our last night in Cape Town.

On day #5 we were charged up to go swim with the Penguins at a place called Boulder Beach. We hopped on the train and made it to the Beach where we proceeded to stop for lunch. We were under a time crunch, since we had to be back onboard at 6pm. We had a great lunch where I discovered my favorite South African beer - Black Label. After lunch the owner gave us a ride to the beach and even came back an hour later to pick us up. We got to the beach and instantly you're surrounded by little African penguins. They used to be called the Jack-Ass penguin since they sound like a Jack-Ass when they talk. We sunscreened up, took pictures of the little guys, and climbed around rocks for a while. I took a swim in the cold waters with the penguins, and enjoyed watching them go sailing by. Standing on the beach with penguins made me feel like a big man. After the beach it was back on the train and back to the ship. We had a great time in Cape Town, and are looking forward to our next port.

Running News:
Cape Town provided me with the opportunity to get some good running in. They have a six mile promenade along the ocean that I used, as well as a road that goes along the coast. I was able to get in over 40 miles in 4 days, and felt great doing so. On one run I fell in with two African-African's and we clipped off about 3 miles at a sub 6:30 pace. There are a lot of runners in Cape Town, and biking is huge as well.

Other Items:
William has become very interested in the different bathroom urinals around the World. He loves the trough, and his side hobby has become checking the facilities in different bathrooms. I snapped a picture of his favorite trough in Cape Town, with him showing how to use it.

Vivian discovered the karaoke version of High School Musical and loves to high volume sing along in her room. I am also her Math teacher and so far she is earning an A.

Jennifer turned 40 yesterday and we celebrated as best we could on the ship. She took the day off from kids, had an 80 minute massage, cocktail hour at a friends cabin, dinner on the top deck, and opening of presents. This was followed up by a huge cake shared with about 30 new ship friends. I haven't met half of them, but when the cake rolls out, you have a lot of friends show up.

Take Care