Table Mountain, Robben Island, Penguins... and Sailing!

After 30 hours of traveling, I arrived in Cape Town and saw the Africa Mercy first hand for the first time in my life. It was surreal to finally put foot on the ship that will be my home for the next 8 months, and to see a dream that I've held to for so long finally coming true. Working, sleeping, and eating with the crew creates an intense bonding experience, and I've already become fast friends with my five cabin mates (more to come on ship life soon).

Once we get to Madagascar we will be busy with the field service, so we took every opportunity to travel and eat dinner off the ship. Cape Town is beautiful, international, and very tourist friendly. Our first group stop was a hike up to the top of Table Mountain. It didn't seem so strenuous at the time, but it's been four days and my legs are still giving me trouble going up and down the decks on the ship. It was worth it for the sunset view though! Here I am at the top!

We also managed to take the ferry out to Robben Island which housed many political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela for eighteen years. It was a very moving and impactful experience to hear the stories of former prisoners and how they fought to create change in their country. An "ex-political prisoner" even gave us a tour of the facilities. I cannot begin to imagine how difficult it must have been for him to come back to the place he was imprisoned for over four years, but his story was incredible and will continue to inspire visitors from across the world. 

Our final adventure was a trip to Boulders Beach, AKA home of the penguins! I never thought I would spend an afternoon watching penguins playing on a white sand beach, but it brought all of us a lot of joy and laughter. 

Although we all enjoyed Cape Town, we are also anxious to make it Madagascar and get to work! All of us are eager to serve and get settled into our home country in the next few weeks. We were scheduled to leave last night, but after a series of engine repairs and strong wind that prevented ANY ships from leaving the harbor, our departure was delayed until this morning. But we are now on our way! We've just passed the Cape of Good Hope about an hour ago, and are headed into very rough waters. Already the waves are crashing outside the window where I am sitting on deck 6. I am holding up well though, as our crew medical staff have been passing out seasickness medications at every opportunity. Early in the journey we were able to step out onto the bow and saw some amazing marine life - seals, whales, dolphins. Besides seasickness, the biggest concern seems to be cabin fever. We have movie nights scheduled, and nursing orientation every day to keep us busy while we are all cooped up on ship. We have ten days at sea, although we are hoping to make it more quickly as we are scheduled to be a part of Madagascar's celebration of the Year of the Volunteer. We are to be a part of the kickoff ceremony, and have some time to make up due to delays. Please continue to pray for a safe and speedy journey for all 315 crew on board. Our technical crew and deck hands have been working around the clock to get us ready, and many others are feeling sea sick. I will keep you updated on our progress! Here's a photo of Cape Town in the distance as we head out to sea.