On day two of my visit I woke up to a bright and sunny day. Brie informed me before I left that the moment there was a clear day I should head to Table Mountain--so I did just that. First I headed to Lola's Cafe on Market Street for a tasty breakfast/lunch, then I headed to the mountain. I knew I was in for a serious climb because my ear popped as I drove up to the start of the mountain.
As I drove through the traffic (many of the streets are congested due to the construction for FIFA 2010), I drove by a group of students heading into a municipal parliamentary building. I assume it was for a field trip, but I really enjoy seeing kids dressed in their uniforms embarking on learning. I am a firm believer that education is the path to freedom and opportunity and many of the children of South Africa are in search of those two things.
In the center of the city there's also a beautiful waterfall. I passed by it a couple times then decided to take a picture of it on that beautiful day. Just a reminder of how beautiful a country South Africa can be. There were two men cleaning the area. Of course, with World Cup looming, the country is making a greater effort to ensure that when the 500,000 people arrive into the country next summer, they leave with a changed image of the African country. They even have McDonald's (I am not a fan so I never went inside of one). 
So back to this crazy hike. Table Mountain is vying to become one of the eighth wonders of the world. It is a beautiful and majestic mountain that is situated across from another mountain called Lion's head Mountain, with the city of Cape Town tucked in between. I knew I was in for a serious climb because my ears popped as I drove to the start of the mountain.
Lion's Head Mountain
Table Mountain
As I headed to the entrance to start the climb (the lady informed me that the climb would take approximately 3 hours) I began to have second thoughts. I could not see anyone else climbing up the mountain and I feared that I might be attacked by snakes, or even worse--cascading down the mountain to screams only heard by mother nature. I became more hesitant with each step toward the entrance of the trail. I walked a bit further when two men approached me and asked whether I knew the entrance to the climb. Then they asked if they could join me because they had been climbing for a couple of hours but they were unable to find the entrance. I agreed, and my two new friends who hailed from Ireland joined me as we embarked on climbing to the top of Table Mountain.
Jack and Ben arrived in South Africa from Ireland a week before I meth them. They were a part of a group raising money for the blind by hiking various mountains throughout the country. Jack, who is 51 years old is the soin n-in-law of Ben, who is 73 year young! Ben was insistent on getting to the top of the mountain and was more game than Jack was. Jack, was mainly worried that another three and a half hours of hiking would be too much for Ben. But with Ben's determination, the three of us started to climb.
Jack and I took turns leading the way while Ben took his time hiking up the steep trail. I prayed for the mountain to level out, but to my dismay, it appeared to be going up on a 90 degree vertical angle. Despite all the running and yoga I have been doing, my heart felt as if it wanted to jump out of my chest on every step. However, Ben remained my motivation. At 73 years-old, he climbed that mountain better than some 30-year-olds who I know. I asked Jack if his wife was on the trip, and he proceeded to tell me that his wife was ill and passed away in 2006. However, she is with him whereever he goes. He always carries around her memorial cards and leaves them in special locations which he visits. Thus, on our way up the hill, he tucked one of the two cards he had in to a hole in a rock, and filled the hole with other rocks. It was heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. We made it our goal to find a good place to leave the other card.
The view of the mountains as were picturesque as we climbed. There were tiny streams which turned into waterfalls that cascaded over the mountains. There were black beetles and butterflies sometimes camouflaged by the shrubbery. Every so often we would take a rest and glance at the scenery in amazement.
Waterfall
Another waterfall
Black beetle
We knew we were close to the top as the temperature started to drop and the air began to feel cooler and cooler. When we finally arrived at the top of the mountain, we felt like we had conquered the world. As the feeling of accomplishment seeped in, we took in the majestic view as we stood over 1000 meters above sea level. It was a blessing that we met each other, because after seeing how steep of a climb we had to make, I doubt I would have climbed the mountain otherwise.
Ben was still ready to find another trail to continue our hike over the top of the mountain, but Jack and I had had enough. In every picture we took of Ben, he constantly requested that we get his good side (he had a beautiful spirit and sense of humor). We decided to tuck their wife/daugrhter's other memorial card underneath a large map depicting the landscape of the mountain. We decided to take the cable car back down to the bottom of the mountain. I drove the men back to their hotels and headed back to the flat after a very long and tiring day. They stayed in a hotel in Camp's Bay with a beautiful view of th ocean. On may way home, I noticed that there was a rainbow piercing through the sky
Jack and Ben
Jack and Ben arrived in South Africa from Ireland a week before I meth them. They were a part of a group raising money for the blind by hiking various mountains throughout the country. Jack, who is 51 years old is the soin n-in-law of Ben, who is 73 year young! Ben was insistent on getting to the top of the mountain and was more game than Jack was. Jack, was mainly worried that another three and a half hours of hiking would be too much for Ben. But with Ben's determination, the three of us started to climb.
Jack and I took turns leading the way while Ben took his time hiking up the steep trail. I prayed for the mountain to level out, but to my dismay, it appeared to be going up on a 90 degree vertical angle. Despite all the running and yoga I have been doing, my heart felt as if it wanted to jump out of my chest on every step. However, Ben remained my motivation. At 73 years-old, he climbed that mountain better than some 30-year-olds who I know. I asked Jack if his wife was on the trip, and he proceeded to tell me that his wife was ill and passed away in 2006. However, she is with him whereever he goes. He always carries around her memorial cards and leaves them in special locations which he visits. Thus, on our way up the hill, he tucked one of the two cards he had in to a hole in a rock, and filled the hole with other rocks. It was heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. We made it our goal to find a good place to leave the other card.
The view of the mountains as were picturesque as we climbed. There were tiny streams which turned into waterfalls that cascaded over the mountains. There were black beetles and butterflies sometimes camouflaged by the shrubbery. Every so often we would take a rest and glance at the scenery in amazement.
Waterfall
Another waterfall
Black beetle
Ben was still ready to find another trail to continue our hike over the top of the mountain, but Jack and I had had enough. In every picture we took of Ben, he constantly requested that we get his good side (he had a beautiful spirit and sense of humor). We decided to tuck their wife/daugrhter's other memorial card underneath a large map depicting the landscape of the mountain. We decided to take the cable car back down to the bottom of the mountain. I drove the men back to their hotels and headed back to the flat after a very long and tiring day. They stayed in a hotel in Camp's Bay with a beautiful view of th ocean. On may way home, I noticed that there was a rainbow piercing through the skyAfter returning to my flat, I decided to have dinner with a friend who is living in Cape Town for the summer. He took me to the waterfront area which was amazing at night (though very cold because the temperature had dropped tremendously). After dinner, we headed to the nightlife on Long Street and ended up in a bar that played old and new school hip hop music. We danced, and chatted until we closed the bar down. I'm still not sure how I was able to even keep my eyes open after such a tiring day, but Day 2 turned out to be my best day and evening in Cape Town.
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