 |
| Glenn's Journal for 11-8-02 Cape Town Friday morning and we arose in time to have breakfast and shower before Renate arrived to pick us up. She arrived right on time and dropped us off in town about 20 minutes later. We hurried off to the local bus station to find the bus to Table Mountain. We were redirected to another street where we found a minivan taxi that would drop us off at the Cable car on Table Mountain for 10 rand per person. On the way to the taxi we did buy some hats as we had gotten plenty of sun yesterday and have burnt noses (and I have a burnt forehead as well). We arrived at the top around 9:30 am where we quickly checked the map and headed off to the start of the Platteklip Gorge trail. The hike to the trail head took approximately 15 minutes along the road and the hike up the gorge trail took almost 2 hours and was definitely a medium to difficult hike. Most of the trail is uphill and in some parts pretty steep. We stopped often and took on water as we made our way up. We were also passed occasionally by persons that were in better shape than us but we did pass one couple on the way up. Upon arriving at the top of Table mountain the view was spectacular. You can see from the west coast to the east coast, from Camps Bay on the Atlantic Ocean to False Bay on the Indian Ocean. We had a clear day as well which made the views even more spectacular. We walked around the top for about an hour before taking the cable car back down the mountain. You can abseil down the mountain if you are so adventurous. We then taxi'd our way back to town where we departed at the Green Market Square. We walked through the market for less than an hour before heading off to the bus station to find our way back to the apartment. We arrived back around 3:30 pm after stopping in the grocery store for additional food. We were definitely worn out from the days activities but we were going out tonight to the theater. We cleaned up from the day and even napped a little before preparing dinner. Renate picked us up at 7:00 pm and off we were. We stopped to pick up another friend of Renate's before continuing on to the theater. The play we were going to was "Touch and Go" and a friend of Renate's is in the cast. The play was excellent and enjoyable. We spent some time afterwards talking with Renate's friend before heading home. We arrived home after 11:00 pm. We decided to call the parents tonight because it is not often that we have access to a phone where they can call us back. I tried Judy (Erin's mom) first but received no answer (I didn't let the answering machine pick up though). I then called my parents and provided them the number where they could call us back. They called back and we talked for about an hour, until after 1:00 am. The phone call had plenty of delay between each answer but we got used to it pretty quickly. It is always nice to hear the parents voice occasionally. We finally crashed around 1:30 am. Tomorrow we can sleep in as we are planning a nice, relaxing day. We also need to contact our friends that just flew in to Cape Town today. |
| After the day's hike up Table Mountain, we barely had the strength to stop for a sunset photo! It doesn't look as steep in the dark! |
 |
| These playful seals abound in the waters of Cape Town's wharf (the downside being that they're quite smelly!) |