Tuesday, November 26, 2013

So, that South Africa Beach, Right?

Sunday was Funday.

Sunday was the first day we had to ourselves since arriving in Cape Town: Nothing planned by Shawco, the service placements, teachers, anyone. So 8 of us decided to go Camp's Bay and go to the beach.

Preface time: I started feeling sick on Friday at the police celebration and still felt sick Saturday, but dragged myself through the Wine tour. It sucked to be sick, but at least I had a reason to sleep a lot. Anyway, Sunday, I woke up feeling better but still sick. Figures. I decided that maybe it would be a good idea to get some sun and maybe I'd sweat out whatever I had, you know, break the fever.

Long Story short: Didn't work. Sunlight does not sweat out a sickness.

The beach was beautiful! The water was the bluest I've ever seen at a beach. Granted, the last time I went to a "beach" beach (sorry to all my Ohioan friends, Lake Erie doesn't count as a beach in my book) was in 5th grade, and I don't remember the water being anywhere close in color. The sand was also incredibly white and soft (still didn't make up for the fact that it gets everywhere and I hate it, but at least it was..comfortable? Is that the best word?). The area was pretty small compared to other beaches, so there were lots of people in a very confined space. Plus there were lots of rocks people were climbing on.

Because South Africa (and Cape Town in particular) is at the bottom of the Continent, some beaches are located on the Atlantic Ocean and some are located on the Indian Ocean. Camp's Bay was an Atlantic Ocean Beach.

Now imagine a glass of water, filled with ice cubes, in the freezer for a day or two. Now imagine jumping into that. That's what the South Atlantic felt like! It was freezing! Kuz used to joke in Northern Ireland when our hot water tank was broke that the water felt like "a little penguin was living in there pooping lots of little ice cubes and that's where the water is coming from." I'd believe that for this water. You see, when you're so far South, the water only comes from one place: Antarctica.

Talk about a different beach experience.

It's also a good thing to note that the "Harsh African Sun" is no joke. You see, I normally don't need to put on sun tan lotion or sun screen back home in the States. Here, I put it on just to be safe. And I still ended up looking like Frickin' Elmo!

My entire chest, back, shoulders, ankles, and the insides of my knee caps. WHO DOES THAT?!?! Weirdest Sunburn? Check! Most Defined/Awkward Sunburn to Non-Burn? Check!

So, here's my final South Africa Beach Tip (#SouthAfricaBeachTips for all you tweeters out there): wear heavy duty sunscreen when on the beach. And reapply it very often. A lot.

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