Blog 1
Sanibonani! Bear and Higgs here—the first pair of SLU field hockey teammates blogging about our team’s adventures abroad. After a grueling 17 hours of flying, misplaced passports, one lost stick bag, and some impromptu sprints through the Johannesburg airport, we arrived yesterday in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. Following very refreshing showers at the hotel, we had a pretty low key evening, exploring the shops and curios on the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Wharf and enjoying a nice dinner at the hotel.
Having finished our first official day in Cape Town, we think its fair to say that most of our team’s preconceptions about what this trip would be like have been shattered (in a good way). This morning’s breakfast came bright and early at 7:30, which normally
wouldn’t be an unheard of hour. However, looking over at your alarm clock and seeing it say 7:41 is quite scary when you’re on Fran time. (Oops! Better now than in preseason!) Luckily, Fran was also late. Phew. After breakfast, we headed off to a nearby field for a clinic with Bert and Craig, coaches from Holland and South Africa respectively. It was really great to be playing again, especially together. After an interesting “warm-up”—which lasted 3 minutes and consisted of African dancing—we built upon some basic skills and learned some new game strategies and sneaky tricks. We finished the clinic with a quick scrimmage or “match”, which left us feeling hopeful and looking forward to the upcoming season.
Returning to the hotel, we showered quickly and made our way to the V&A Wharf to grab a quick lunch, and to catch a ferry ride to Robben Island. Robben Island is about a 20 minute ride (13 km) off the coast of Cape Town, and is a significant tourist attraction because of its past use as a maximum-security prison. Under apartheid, the prison held infamous political figures and activists, many of who ultimately contributed to the end of apartheid and South Africa’s progression into the Rainbow Nation that it is today— notably Nelson Mandela.
Our tour began with a bus ride throughout the island, which proved to be less foreboding that we expected. The island was actually quite beautiful, with scenic ocean views along the coast, and a quaint village that houses approximately 300 people who live and work on the island. Following our bus tour, we moved on to experience the prison. We had the privilege of having an ex-prisoner, who was a political activist under apartheid as our tour guide. All of the tour guides of Robben Island are men of similar background, and represent the last of their generation. This opportunity greatly enriched our experience and we are lucky to have had it! We concluded our tour with a quick walk down to Penguin Boardwalk, where we managed to find a few nuggets (aka penguins) hiding in the bushes. After a bumpy ferry ride back to the mainland (nobody barfed—phew), we docked back at the V&A wharf. The Wharf is covered with little shops, restaurants and a giant Ferris wheel! With time to kill before dinner, some of us braved the height (and by “we”, we mean Matos), and went for a ride, which gave us some great panoramic views of Cape Town’s scenery. We finished the day off with dinner at Quay Four restaurant on the waterfront, getting to taste some delicious South African cuisine. Tomorrow brings a safari and our first match against Fairmont Girl’s Team, wish us luck! Stay tuned for the safari with Africa’s big five, including the infamous Phinney! Bear and Higgs
Having finished our first official day in Cape Town, we think its fair to say that most of our team’s preconceptions about what this trip would be like have been shattered (in a good way). This morning’s breakfast came bright and early at 7:30, which normally
wouldn’t be an unheard of hour. However, looking over at your alarm clock and seeing it say 7:41 is quite scary when you’re on Fran time. (Oops! Better now than in preseason!) Luckily, Fran was also late. Phew. After breakfast, we headed off to a nearby field for a clinic with Bert and Craig, coaches from Holland and South Africa respectively. It was really great to be playing again, especially together. After an interesting “warm-up”—which lasted 3 minutes and consisted of African dancing—we built upon some basic skills and learned some new game strategies and sneaky tricks. We finished the clinic with a quick scrimmage or “match”, which left us feeling hopeful and looking forward to the upcoming season.
Returning to the hotel, we showered quickly and made our way to the V&A Wharf to grab a quick lunch, and to catch a ferry ride to Robben Island. Robben Island is about a 20 minute ride (13 km) off the coast of Cape Town, and is a significant tourist attraction because of its past use as a maximum-security prison. Under apartheid, the prison held infamous political figures and activists, many of who ultimately contributed to the end of apartheid and South Africa’s progression into the Rainbow Nation that it is today— notably Nelson Mandela.
Our tour began with a bus ride throughout the island, which proved to be less foreboding that we expected. The island was actually quite beautiful, with scenic ocean views along the coast, and a quaint village that houses approximately 300 people who live and work on the island. Following our bus tour, we moved on to experience the prison. We had the privilege of having an ex-prisoner, who was a political activist under apartheid as our tour guide. All of the tour guides of Robben Island are men of similar background, and represent the last of their generation. This opportunity greatly enriched our experience and we are lucky to have had it! We concluded our tour with a quick walk down to Penguin Boardwalk, where we managed to find a few nuggets (aka penguins) hiding in the bushes. After a bumpy ferry ride back to the mainland (nobody barfed—phew), we docked back at the V&A wharf. The Wharf is covered with little shops, restaurants and a giant Ferris wheel! With time to kill before dinner, some of us braved the height (and by “we”, we mean Matos), and went for a ride, which gave us some great panoramic views of Cape Town’s scenery. We finished the day off with dinner at Quay Four restaurant on the waterfront, getting to taste some delicious South African cuisine. Tomorrow brings a safari and our first match against Fairmont Girl’s Team, wish us luck! Stay tuned for the safari with Africa’s big five, including the infamous Phinney! Bear and Higgs
