Semester at Sea: South Africa, Kenya and India

So the next ports of call on my Semester at Sea voyage were Cape Town, South Africa, Mombasa, Kenya and Chennai, India. I had a hard time narrowing down the images I wanted to use so I am featuring some in this blog post. The rest of the images are in a slideshow at the end of the post.

South Africa was a great reminder that the world still has a long ways to go when it comes to equal rights and judging people by their character as opposed to the color of their skin. Although it was the year 2001 and system of apartheid had been dismantled, it was very apparent that the idea of apartheid still lived on in South Africa through the actions and thoughts of many South Africans. I am not exactly sure what it’s like now, 10 years later, but I’m hoping that there has been change for the better.

We visited the township of Guguletu.

Viewing a sunset out in Kagga Kamma Private Game Reserve.

On the way to Kenya we celebrated Mardi Gras on the ship!!!

Kenya was refreshing. I had never been on a safari so I of course wanted to experience one. Being out in the wilderness was fun, exciting and waaaaaay better than the zoo!!! I actually spent most of my time in Nairobi and the Maasai Mara as opposed to Mombasa. I think I was only in Mombasa for a day or so.

I did have a bit of a scare at the beginning of my safari adventure. As you can see in the images below, our driver was driving too fast, we fishtailed off the road and the van tipped over. Luckily no one was seriously injured, but it definitely was an unnerving experience to have been in a car accident in the middle of the savannah with no radio or any other possible way to get in contact with someone for help, AND there were wild animals around because we were in Kenya in the middle of a savannah!!! We all piled out of the vehicle, but we were later instructed to pile back into the vehicle in case any wild animals wanted to say hello. I will admit that once I was in the van I freaked out a bit and cried. I thought that I was seriously going to be eaten alive in the middle of Kenya and no one would know. I know, I know, a little overly dramatic but hey who knows how one is going to react in those kinds of situations?!?! Another stroke of luck happened and a family of 5 visiting from Tanzania were driving back home. They stopped and piled the 7 of us into their SUV and took us to our lodge. Thank goodness for good Samaritans!!!

I was sitting here in the front passenger seat.

I think that cheetahs are such gorgeous cats.

Visiting a Maasai village

Visiting the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Elephant Orphanage.

India was another country that was on my bucket list, because I have always wanted to visit the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is one of those monumental structures that must be seen in person. It is huge and grand. It is just simply breathtaking.

India as whole was a difficult country for me to be in because of the poverty, the illnesses, the sanitation or lack of and the constant begging. Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to visit India, but it was just difficult to be there mentally and emotionally. It is a lot to take in and it drained me. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend a visit to India—it’s good for the soul.