Friday, July 20, 2007

Cape Town=Love of My Life

Well a lot has happened since my last post so bear with me. Our trip to Kasane and Victoria Falls was a huge bust. It started out pretty solid with a boat cruise along the Chobe River. There we saw tons of elephants (one swimming!), hippos, giraffes, crocodiles, and zebras. This was much cooler than our game drive as the animals were in their natural setting. Our lodge was right on the Chobe River, which is amazing, so everything was going really well. We even decided to do a night swim in the lodge pool that was about 10 degrees below zero. Unfortunately, that swim was interrupted with the news that Zimbabwe was on the verge of anarchy and the U.S. government had added it to the "Travel Advisory" list. This meant that OU could not allow us to go to Victoria Falls, even though it is very safe and people from our lodge were on their way there that same day. They also refused to allow us to see the Zambia side because it had not been an approved trip. Our group was told that if we went on our own we would be expelled from the program and have to pay our own way back. This was completely devastating as all of us had really been looking forward to the trip and had even planned to bungee jump off the Falls. I was upset with the world as the entire trip I felt had been incredibly frustrating. OU handled the situation very poorly and looked out for their own welfare (after consulting with their lawyers) before they looked out for ours.

With the time we had left in Kasane, we took a boat cruise in Namibia. This was relaxing, but hardly the thrill of jumping off the world's largest waterfall in the world. We did get a Visa extension in Botswana upon our return. Thank god, because I had been an illegal immigrant in Botswana since the first week. Apparently the guy at immigrations in the airport thought 6 weeks meant 6 days. I was so angry with the world that I went to an internet cafe to write nasty emails to OU and George Bush. Just on a whim I looked up prices for flights to Cape Town, as well as we all had decided it was time to get out of Gabs. They were cheap, hostels were cheap, and the next day we were backpacking it across South Africa.

We woke up early the next day, tried to get a luxury bus, failed, and ended up taking a combi to Johannesburg 6 hours away, where our flight was leaving from. Let me explain how combis here work. They are the size of minivans, privately owned, and don't leave until you fit 20 people into a car that should only fit 12. Also, keep in mind that all of us had large bags with us. So now you can picture the seven of us who decided to go to Cape Town, bitter about Vic Falls, working on 4 hours of sleep, and having traveled 12 hours in a cramped van the day before killing ourselves for 6 hours. Add to that the fact that our driver, driving a combi named "Slow Jamz", played Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Elton John, and Bryan Adams on a continuous loop for the duration of the trip. You can't make these things up.

We finally made it to Cape Town and the smile has not left any of our faces. Landing at the airport was an unbelievable view and love at first sight for all of us. I'll do my best to explain but nothing will do it justice. Cape Town is blessed with stunning beaches, a quaint little city with awesome European architecture (think Bourbon Street in New Orleans), all with the backdrop of absolutely breathtaking mountains. It really is unfair how amazing the city is (especially compared to Gabs). My well traveled friends and I (combined we have been to almost every major city in Europe, Asia, and North Africa) all quickly decided it was the most beautiful city in the world. Our time there was spent taking in the views from the top of Table Mountain, where the city looks unreal (it has been voted "Most Beautiful View in the World" several times), hanging out on the world class beaches, and shark diving. Yeah, that's right I swam with Great White Sharks. 9 to be exact. Our group needed some kind of thrill to replace bungee jumping off Vic Falls, so we came to Cape Town on a mission. Instead of a 4 second bungee, we got to spend the day on a boat, whale and seal watching and shark cage diving. Although Cape Town is the Great White capital of the world (70% of shark documentaries are filmed there, including the Planet Earth episode where the shark jumps from the water), no sharks were guaranteed. The group had been there all of 10 minutes before we got our first one and then for the rest of the day we had a steady diet of 8 more, including a 13 foot long one (our guide apparently measured him). It was a surreal experience as they would ram into the cage, jump out of the water for the bait (Cape Town is the only place where Great Whites can breach the surface), and just circle the boat for hours. The guide said it was one of his most successful trips. Apparently, all of the frustrations endured on this trip led us to have unbelievable luck in Cape Town as everything went perfectly. My new vacation home, my medical school, and my next trip (2010 World Cup, anyone?) are all located in Cape Town. Trust me when I say, no vacation in Europe will be better than this place. I miss it already.

I'm writing my 10 page final paper now after pulling an all nighter, due in a few hours, and then we leave for America on Saturday! I'm definitely not looking forward to the 24 hours of plane rides, but being home will be awesome. I'll post one more time when I get back to the States. See you guys soon!

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