Penguins and Cape Point!

Hi Everyone!

Today I went on an excursion with the other 46 students in my AIFS program. Our first stop was Boulder’s Beach to see all the African Penguins! A lot of them were motionless because they were sleeping, either on their belly or just standing up. Some were waddling around, some were cleaning each other, and one was modeling for us right next to the boardwalk. We walked to another section of beach where many people were swimming, but some penguins hang out there too. We got pretty close to a couple of them but I didn’t want to encroach too much and tempt them to bite me. After spending time at the two beaches and checking out the street vendors we got back on our bus and headed to Simon’s Town.

Simon’s Town is a really cute waterfront town with lots of shops and restaurants lining the main road. We all split up to grab lunch and do some wandering. I got a delicious plate of hake & chips for really cheap. After lunch we hopped back on the bus and drove 45 minutes to Cape Point. We had an hour and a half to explore the cliffs and the point, which is the southern most tip of Africa. It was a hot day so the strong breeze at the point felt really good. The views were absolutely incredible, but yet again my pictures don’t do it justice. We had been warned several times about the baboons that roam the point, but we didn’t actually encounter any while we were walking around. Once we got back in the bus however, we saw several of them on the side of the road. There were some really big ones as well as some tiny babies that clung to their mothers. I was glad we got to see a bunch of them, but I’m thankful it wasn’t up close. Supposedly they like to attack humans and take their bags, so that would have put a damper on our day. I’m pretty sure everyone fell asleep on the way back to school, but it’s definitely difficult to doze off when the scenery is so beautiful everywhere you look.