Cape Town and Table Mountain

Breakfast greeted us once again at The Yellow House in Stellenbosch where the whole-grain toast is just as exquisite as the fresh fruit salad. We loaded up the car, wondering if everything would fit—barely. In two short days we will be trying to figure out how to get it all on the airplane??? Our first task of the day was visiting the town center where Sho retrieved her bank card from the ATM that literally ate it the day before. Meanwhile Lindsay returned to the vendor at the open air market vendor and retrieved her purchase from the same vendor that took her cash and neglected to deliver the goods. At the open air market, Don and I shopped for more souvenirs and waited for the girls to finish with the travel agency. They are planning a nice little trip when the semester is over before returning to the USA.

Runners in the Winelands Marathon were heading toward the finish line as we headed out of town. The manager of the guest house told me about this event, that had started earlier in the morning. Too bad I did not know about this one, as I would have tried to work it into the trip. As it was, we filled up the car and beat feet for Cape Town arriving at the Delta Airlines ticket office with only 30 minutes to spare. Lindsay had no problem re-ticketing for her delayed return to accommodate further exploration of Africa.

Our next stop was Table Mountain—a monolith that towers over Cape Town. “The View,” write botanist William Burchell in 1822 “is singularly grand.” This mountain rising over 3500 feet above the city remains a focal point for Cape Town. We all rode the cable car up to the top to have a look around. Spectacular views—all around, 360 degrees—amazed us all including the quiet calm and absence of wind at the top.

Sho found an athletic event that we wanted to include along the way. The ‘Big Walk’ scheduled on Sunday vanished from our itinerary however, when we realized that we missed the registration cutoff by an hour. We headed back toward the Atlantic side of the city when we spotted a great place for lunch—prawns 500gm R40. Decisions were made on the plans for the rest of the day and accommodations secured. Lindsay and Sho found a new and delightful boutique hotel right in the heart of the city with close proximity for the night life on Long Street. Each room of this new trendy hotel, Daddy Long Legs, had its own theme. The girls chose the “Fresh Room” that had a ‘Mentos’ theme. We were given a glance at the “Emergency Room” looking sterile with mirrors all around that had pillows for both the Doctor and Nurse. Don and I found a nice quiet guest house villa at the base of Table Mountain with nice views of the city and gated parking—although as the night long progressed, I longed for ‘Daddy Long Legs’ on Long Street. In the morning, I called Lindsay told her to hold the ER for us, we were on our way.