Cape Town, a city full of life, history, and hospitality

*From now on, you will get to hear directly from our singers about their experience in South Africa. Our posts will be trailing one day, as the blogs are written at the end of each day to give our singers time to process. Enjoy!

Cape Town has been amazing in the short 24 hours we’ve spent here. Noordhoek Outdoor Center is a gorgeous, rustic lodging in a shrubby, shady valley. Today [7/27/2017], we woke up early, bumbled around between the bathrooms and bunks, and tried to stay warm in the breakfast line. Outside, beyond the line of craggy trees, we took pictures of the sun lighting up the mountain. Later, we took a coach bus over the mountains, punctuated by Leonard's (our tour guide) historical commentary, and saw the trees and buildings of Cape Town sprawled between Table Mountain and the bay. We visited so many amazing places and areas of the city. Leonard also took us to a part of Cape Town where there is a group of bright, multi-colored houses and shops. We also stopped at the District Six Museum, where we learned about Apartheid, the demolition of the district, heard a few personal stories from Leonard, and even sneaked in a pop-up performance. Noor, a man that was here on our last tour to South Africa in 2011, was pleased to hear a performance he had been waiting six years for.

Later on, we ate lunch down at The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and went shopping in the mall that resembled the ones that we have in the U.S. Then, the choir split up into their five family groups to stroll on the Victoria Wharf, using Rand - the South African Currency - to purchase food and souvenirs. There were street performers, a seagull battle, and a bus ride along the scenic coastline. On our way back from the waterfront we stopped at the coastline on top of a grassy hill that leads to the ocean. We ended our day preparing for our concert tomorrow [ 7/28/2017] at one of the schools we are visiting and we couldn’t be more excited! Also, today is Raavi’s birthday. Happy Birthday Raavi! After rehearsal, we ate dinner and sang to Raavi (with David providing a lighter for her to make a wish). We can’t wait to see what the next couple of weeks brings us with all of the music, culture and people we will encounter along the way.

-Sophia Thomas & Alexis Ralston

Quote of the day:

“The world needs more people like you, thank you” said one of the staff members of a souvenir shop as one of the family groups sang Bring Me Little Water Sylvie for them.