A week ago, February 10, the Africa Mercy set sail (finally!) from the port of Durban. It was a bittersweet farewell, but also filled with excitement as we were then approaching Cape Town. Seals greeted us on the way in, which was cool to see and yet frustrating as we could never catch them on camera! The crew was allowed 24 hours of shore leave (18, actually, if you take away the time we were required to be on board that night), and we were determined to make the most of every minute.
Sunday afternoon, when we were allowed off, Samuel, Ben, Miriam, Steph, and I immediately headed into town to pick up our rental car. From there, we drove to Boulder's Beach, a penguin colony. While we did not actually go onto the beach, we were entertained by several penguins hanging out in the parking lot and along the side of the board walk. This had been one of my main Cape Town goals, so I was very excited to see the penguins!
From there we headed to Cape Point and drove around the opposite side of the peninsula back to the waterfront. The views were spectacular and more than worth the trip!
The evening was spent having a relaxing dinner and ice cream with friends at the V & A Waterfront, where we were docked. The place very much reminds me of Navy Pier - restaurants, shopping, theaters, even a Ferris Wheel! We were berthed very close to the center of it all, which was great for us as our last taste of civilization before we sailed for Sierra Leone. There was plenty to do at the waterfront alone, and if we ever go back to Cape Town (I'm already planning it!), I think we will spend a significant amount more time just at the waterfront alone.
Monday morning was our final opportunity to explore (we even got a day off school for the occasion - except we have to teach on Saturday to make up for it!), and we took the time to go to the famous Table Mountain. Samuel hiked up with 7 of our friends, while Natalie and I rode the cable car and waited for them at the top. It sounded like a pretty tough by rewarding hike, and I know that I thoroughly enjoyed soaking in the view while we were waiting! Even if I did get burnt to a crisp :) It was a great morning and a fun way to end our time there. We were even able to easily pick out the ship docked at the waterfront!
We sailed from Cape Town on Monday evening, and are now well on our way to Freetown, Sierra Leone. The seas have been fairly calm though some storms are expected. Please pray for our safety and general well-being (specifically rest if the seas get tough - generally that means several sleepless nights in a row) over the next week.
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