A Vacation on the rocks
"Well well well - what heck is this?" I thought as I trekked from the Cape Town bus depot to the waterfront. I had been told it was a beautiful metropolis but was unprepared for just how brightly this African jewel shines in the bright southern summer sun. The waterfront region is a world -class mixed residential/commercial space beautifully combining great architecture with functional living in an awe-inspiring setting. After Joburg and the less-than-spectacular neighborhoods I "enjoyed" while there, I was caught off guard. My Mom had said it was nice -- why oh why do I question her judgement? Hmm will I ever learn 😉
As I explored the waterfront I ambled across this wonderful bronzed Mandela with Table Rock Mountain in the background. The mountain is ubiquitous in that it sits solidly in the middle of the city. It is in almost every view as you survey this beautiful place. The mountain begs to be climbed and given my penchant for doing just that -- the next morning -- I did just that!!! Cable cars are for woosies.
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| "Hey - give me a fuckin' smoke bud" |
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| Steeper than it looks ...and straight up |
It's 2 hours up this deceptively steep side-hill and an hour back down if you don't fall. Much quicker coming down if you do. 😊 The mountain is beautifully accessorized with wild flowers as you climb through a landscape home to 28 varieties of snakes including nasty cobras and such. There have been very few incidents mainly because of the snake picker uppers who are always on the prowl for these prehistoric nasty fuckers. I hate snakes.
The Hirax are the real owners of the table top that is flat, large and the perfect vantage point to enjoy heart-stoppingly beautiful views the city and coastline sparkling down below. This fellow was not so welcoming.... About the size of a small racoon -- they are a peaceful creature but look menacing as he does here. I was careful to hang onto my wallet give my recent experience with assholes in Paris. He looked capable of just about anything. Hopefully the snakes get him. hehe
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| Views from the top of table top are hard to leave. Like Beyonce in a music video, it's hard to look away...... |
Having enjoyed The Table Rock hike so much - I got up at 3:30 the following morning to hike the Lion's head for a sunrise experience. It certainly did not disappoint. It was arranged by Camille who works at the hostel where I stayed for a few days. As pleasant as she is adventurous ... I loved her energy and gratefulness for the natural environment at her doorstep. She is a graceful climber, moving with enviable ease up the treacherous mountain. It was more of a climb than I expected...and in the dark ... hmmmm. I had a plan for a trip to Cape good hope later in the morning and had to tease her about not staying all day ... given her work duties elsewhere and later in the day. I truly believe she would have stayed all day if she could. The only unfortunate bit was the drone that was launched by some inconsiderate goofball. The load whirring cutting through the morning silence like a buzz-saw in a nursery, it was offensive and disturbing. The guy and his gal-pal stood in the edge of the mountain as the drone circled around them catching the moment on video for all eternity. I would have pushed both of them off the cliff-- but the video evidence would have been incontrovertible. Camille said it was an almost a daily occurrence and we were lucky there was only one on that day. Hmm .... this is not an ok thing.
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| First light as the sun slips lazily up over Cape Town on a lovely warm though buzz-filled morning. First light is special. |
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| A pretty good view of the city lit in the early morning moments.... |
A Day At the Beach ..... and what a beach!!!
Spectacular beauty greets you and your beach towel at Camp Bay just minutes from downtown. That's the thing about Cape Town - the city and the country are mixed up like eggplant and tahini in a decent Babaganouche. It's remarkable being a $4 --10 minute Uber from town center but seemingly a million miles away. The water is cold but given that the Great Whites ostensibly patrolling for seals ... it just as well you can't really go for a swim. About the seals -- well they are a bout 3x the size of any seal I've seen. More like a sea lion... or maybe there's been some steroid use going on here. It's quite possible that the seals have been hitting the gym and popping 'riods so that they stand a chance again the Great White killing machines just off the beach. Interestingly -- in my mind at least -- the bay was clear of Great Whites on this day as the Killer Whales had come for a Great White Shark "all you can eat Buffet" where apparently they kill the Sharks and eat just their livers..... with a bit of delicious South African wine I hope.... did anyone say Chocolate block?
A final note on New born Jake and his Mom.... we'd like to thank those who donated to help my friend through a challenging time for her and the beginning to little Jake's life. Thanks to your generous donations, they will have a decent income for the next year and a half. When I told her about the donations -- she was shocked and surprised by the kindness of strangers. She notes that there is some evil ... but so much more good in this world. I'm not sure I would have the same perspective if I had gone through anything remotely similar. Cheers to her and thanks to you all.
Thanks for Reading ......... Layno!!!
"Well well well - what heck is this?" I thought as I trekked from the Cape Town bus depot to the waterfront. I had been told it was a beautiful metropolis but was unprepared for just how brightly this African jewel shines in the bright southern summer sun. The waterfront region is a world -class mixed residential/commercial space beautifully combining great architecture with functional living in an awe-inspiring setting. After Joburg and the less-than-spectacular neighborhoods I "enjoyed" while there, I was caught off guard. My Mom had said it was nice -- why oh why do I question her judgement? Hmm will I ever learn 😉
Having enjoyed The Table Rock hike so much - I got up at 3:30 the following morning to hike the Lion's head for a sunrise experience. It certainly did not disappoint. It was arranged by Camille who works at the hostel where I stayed for a few days. As pleasant as she is adventurous ... I loved her energy and gratefulness for the natural environment at her doorstep. She is a graceful climber, moving with enviable ease up the treacherous mountain. It was more of a climb than I expected...and in the dark ... hmmmm. I had a plan for a trip to Cape good hope later in the morning and had to tease her about not staying all day ... given her work duties elsewhere and later in the day. I truly believe she would have stayed all day if she could. The only unfortunate bit was the drone that was launched by some inconsiderate goofball. The load whirring cutting through the morning silence like a buzz-saw in a nursery, it was offensive and disturbing. The guy and his gal-pal stood in the edge of the mountain as the drone circled around them catching the moment on video for all eternity. I would have pushed both of them off the cliff-- but the video evidence would have been incontrovertible. Camille said it was an almost a daily occurrence and we were lucky there was only one on that day. Hmm .... this is not an ok thing.
Spectacular beauty greets you and your beach towel at Camp Bay just minutes from downtown. That's the thing about Cape Town - the city and the country are mixed up like eggplant and tahini in a decent Babaganouche. It's remarkable being a $4 --10 minute Uber from town center but seemingly a million miles away. The water is cold but given that the Great Whites ostensibly patrolling for seals ... it just as well you can't really go for a swim. About the seals -- well they are a bout 3x the size of any seal I've seen. More like a sea lion... or maybe there's been some steroid use going on here. It's quite possible that the seals have been hitting the gym and popping 'riods so that they stand a chance again the Great White killing machines just off the beach. Interestingly -- in my mind at least -- the bay was clear of Great Whites on this day as the Killer Whales had come for a Great White Shark "all you can eat Buffet" where apparently they kill the Sharks and eat just their livers..... with a bit of delicious South African wine I hope.... did anyone say Chocolate block? 
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