Allie Menzel is a student at Towson University and an ISA Photo Blogger. She is currently studying abroad with ISA in Cape Town, South Africa.
Within our first week here, my roommate and I decided to hike Lion’s Head. We thought about trying Table Mountain, but decided it would be a better idea to start “easy” with Lion’s Head. Turns out, there’s more climbing involved rather than hiking! The climb was much more difficult than we had prepared ourselves for, but it was worth the blood, sweat, and tears (literally…) when we made it to the top and saw the spectacular view.
Before coming to Cape Town, I had seen many photos of people who had climbed Lion’s Head and took a similar photo. I always told myself that there was no way I would ever sit out on that rock overlooking Cape Town… even for an awesome photo. But, once we got to the top I couldn’t resist. There is nothing more exhilarating than letting your feet dangle thousands of meters in the air!
The V&A Waterfront is a popular tourist attraction in Cape Town. There is an awesome (but high-end) mall and several delicious restaurants. We have gone here several times for lunch and dinner and enjoy watching the sunset.
This photo, also taken at the Waterfront, was captured on the boat ride back from our ISA excursion to Robben Island. As different as Cape Town is from my hometown, Baltimore, this photo reminds me a lot of the Inner Harbor in Baltimore City. It’s funny how I am halfway across the world, and yet little things like docked boats can make me feel at home.
Muizenberg Beach is one of the more quiet beaches in Cape Town, but it is so beautiful. For less than R20 ($2), we took the train from where we are living to Muizenberg, and were amazed by the views. The colorful, old beach huts contrasting with the white sand is so beautiful.
One of my friends who had studied abroad in Cape Town a few years ago told me I had to visit a restaurant called “The Bungalow”. Not knowing anything about it, my roommate and I decided to try it out one night. It overlooks the ocean and has one of the best sunset views. We had a great dinner and were able to capture great photos of the spectacular setting sun.
For our first ISA excursion, we visited Langa Township. It was very eye-opening to meet the people of Langa and hear their stories. The kids were so sweet and despite their serious faces in this photo, they loved having their picture taken! After every photo I took, the kids begged to see themselves in the camera!
The children of Langa were so excited to see us when we arrived. They screamed “Umlungu”, which means, “The white people are coming!” They attacked us with hugs and asked to be held and spun around. We had such a great time!
I loved watching the little children of Langa run up to the other students in my program. It was heart-warming to see so many students play with the children and have such a great time. Some of the boys were hesitant and reserved around the children at first, but it was neat to see them warm up to the children and have an amazing time.
To finish off our first ISA excursion, we visited Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for several years. The tour was given by a former inmate which gave us an entirely different perspective. My favorite part of the tour was seeing Nelson Mandela’s jail cell and the view of Cape Town from Robben Island.
Want to read more about Cape Town? Check out “Cape Town: My Top 10 Superlatives”