Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Students woke up bright and early at 5:15 am this morning to the sound of the Lion King’s “Circle of Life” blaring from a portable speaker. This set the tone for the rest of the day, as we spent most of it on a safari! Luckily, the safari started about an hour and a half away from Cape Town, and most of us were able to take a long nap on the bus.
We expected it to be very hot and sunny, but to our dismay, we arrived to cloudy skies and chilly air at Fairly Glen. With the possibility of setting sail soon, many students took advantage of the breakfast and lunch buffets at the safari lodge by loading up their plates with chicken nuggets and pudding for some of their last “land meals.”
Our group was split into two different large safari trucks, and some students picked more wisely than others. After the first five minutes, one of the trucks managed to get a tire completely stuck in the mud! The rest of us continued on to see the zebras while they waited by the elephants for a tow. We really enjoyed getting to feed the elephants by tossing whole squashes into their mouths. Lily may or may not have been knocked over by one of their trunks… We also saw rhinos and lions! Thanks to our guide Kenny, we learned that zebras are actually black with white stripes and that elephants can drink an impressive 200 liters of water per day.
After lunch, we loaded into the bus back to Cape Town with full stomachs and full camera rolls. When we returned home to Argo, we were very excited to have our first Oceanography class with Stef. Yes, mom and dad, I promise we are actually taking class and learning lots!
This evening we had a yummy South African dish (phutu pap and boerewors) for dinner prepared by Calum and his excellent sous chefs.
It’s hard to believe tomorrow marks the end of our first week together on Argo. I think I speak for all of us when I say how comfortable we have already become with each other and with our new surroundings on board. The comfort levels are bound to change soon, as we will soon be embarking on our first passage!
Much love to everyone at home,
Sierra