Welcome To Africa!!!

It’s a long journey but we are finally here in the beautiful country of South Africa.  It took 24 hours with a stop in Senegal and a transfer in Johannesburg but we made a long journey a fun one.  With a successful transfer and a two-hour flight to Cape Town we arrive to our first host city.  Our tour guide Coleen Webster greeted us.  The coach was waiting for us and we were all ready to get to our hotel.  The next day was only four hours away and some solid sleep time would be crucial.  

7:30 a.m. wake up call, 8:00 a.m. breakfast and we are ready to explore the Mother City of South Africa, also known as Cape Town.  It took only five minutes on the bus and you can already hear the amusement in players and staff voices.  The scenic view of the mountains and the Atlantic coast is majestic.  The city begins to reveal its self more when you drive further down the peninsula.  Ocean and mountains combine to paint a picture of a town like we have never experienced. 

Our first stop is Cape Point.  A perfect picture opportunity with a view that one can only dream of.  As we step of the bus the African winter chill hits us and we quickly realize that New York is not only an Ocean away but is also a few seasons away from us too.  It is winter season in Africa due to its position on the equator and that also means that we have to buckle down and put on some warm clothes.  Everyone is of the bus and we are posing for our first picture.  A mist over the mountain added to the beauty and the mystery of the mountain and the town that lies beneath it.  After the team gets together for a picture we all spread out and try to catch a snapshot with the best view.  After many pictures and many angles we are ready to set off to our next stop.

Hout Bay is one of the many scenic areas in Cape Town.  It transfers in to Wood Bay, and is known for the timber that used to grow there for many years before the area was settled.  There is still plenty of timber around the area but it is also a place for local traders to set up shop and let the tourists buy some gifts.  As we approach the area, the mountain is always on top of us providing us with a view that we have come to enjoy.  We get off the bus and are ready to explore the bay.  With 30 minutes to explore everyone picks out the best gift they can and we move on to our next destination.

One of our final stops on the tour is Cape of Good Hope.  The Cape can’t be described in a few sentences but its importance historically can’t be overlooked.  It’s the place where explorer Vasco De Gamma discovered South Africa.  It now serves as a national wildlife preserve as well a place that people come to snap pictures and take in sights that will last a lifetime.  It only took a few minutes and we found our bus slow down, because two antelopes were chasing each other on the road.  This comes as a surprise even to our bus driver who claims he never saw that before in his life.  As we get to tip of the Cape we also find ourselves at the most Southwestern point of South Africa.  A few of us take the steps up to the cliff and some go high enough to see a whale put on a show for them and give us an experience they will never forget.  

First day and we have seen more that one can write.  It’s amazing that places like this exist and if they do you only hear about them in the books.  The day is over but the new day is almost upon us and we have only scratched the surface of our adventure.

“It’s a fantastic experience, and an opportunity to explore the world I have never seen before”

                                                            -Jhonny Alexander Osorio (Queensbourough)

“Today was one the best day’s of my life. I saw things I have never expected, things I only saw on postcards that left me speechless.”

                                                            - Nazir Chahbani (BMCC)