Week 3- the end of Cape Town

hey
so our time here in Cape Town has come to an end - tomorrow we leave to go to Edeni, a private game reserve, along with a day in Kruger National park- South Africa's largest! SUPER excited for that, but it will def be sad to leave cape town. we've gotten to do all the major things on my list, but as always, more time would have been better!
i guess i left you in some suspense about the shark diving, but it was AWESOME! after bringing new meaning to the phrases "butt crack of dawn" and "if the trip getting there didnt kill you then nothing will" we got into the lodge for some breakfast and briefing on the boat/cages/sharks/etc. i wasnt really scared at that point (a bit too groggy) but i didnt actually freak out at all- the boat ride out to "shark alley" was beautiful! it was super overcast and the water SUPER rocky (we had to change our schedule for the weather - it was rainy/stormy from about thurs-wed! ewww!)but as soon as we saw the first shark i couldnt wait to get in! i had some trouble getting my bearings in the cage, but the sharks came around several times, VERY close to us so everything worked out! no, i didnt get sick- was feeling really gross when i first got out of the cage, but it all worked out! incredible day!
we had to change up our plans for the weekend because of all the rain, but we got to check out cape town's museums downtown anyway! (and of course restaurants- had some AMAZING indian food; o club mcat memories! <3)
a miscommunication kept our trip to the District Six Museum a bit too short, but it was one of the more passionate ones i've ever seen. People living in District Six, a thriving multicultural community, were forced to move to the racially separate Cape Flats and watch their houses be bulldozed in the 1960s. On the floor was a map of the district, and people (including our driver for these weeks, al)had come and written their name where they lived. Incredible. For dinner that night we went out to Africa Cafe where each course (10+ or so) came from a different part of Africa- very cool, although the Ghanaian dish was NOT my favorite....oops?
The trip to Robben Island also got postponed because of weather, but we decided to go to the CT aquarium instead! Robben Island has some work to do- the tour itself was interesting and very good, but it wasnt a museum like it said; i guess things are still coming together! seeing nelson mandela's cell (during his 18 yrs on the island) was cool but reminded me why i dont really care about visiting famous sites- it looked exactly like the others, except it still had original furniture in it!
Since the weather cleared up today, we were able to do some more hiking- this time up to lion's head, visible between table mountain and the ocean. we didnt make it all the way to the top bc the sun was setting (we were told to go to watch the sun set, but also to be back before it got dark!) but it was an amazing hike/rock climb to the top! i'll try to post some pictures of it, but the last couple hundred feet are just almost vertical rock- VERY cool, but not conducive to hurrying up OR down! BEAUTIFUL!
So its time to say goodbye to cape town :( but its been SO awesome! sorry for the ramblings, im not proofreading heh-
i wont have any contact with the outside world for the next week but i <3 u all!!!! <3