Cape Town, South Africa

In what seems to be somewhat of a trend, I have very limited time to use the internet, and the connection is sporadic at best, so my posts are going to be a little short and limited to a couple of interesting parts of the two places I have been since last posting.

I was in Cape Town for only 2 and a half days, which is not nearly enough time for that city, one of the prettiest places I have been. On the first full day there, Alex, Liz, Koushik, and I set off early in our rental car for Cape Point. Jake told us that if we were to head down the east coast of of the country we could check out Boulder Beach, where there are hundreds of African Penguins hanging out in a reserve. This was a good call. The reserve is set up such that you can pay a small amount of money and get onto the beach, where the penguins are running around, jumping from boulder to boulder, swimming, etc. It was a good time, and we were there for almost two hours I expect.



Afterwards we drove down to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Cape Point is a very scenic landform that runs north-south for about thirty kilometres at the extreme southwestern tip of the continent. Standing at the lighthouse there made me feel like I was literally at the end of the world, and made me consider all the places I've been in my travels. It was pretty intense. There is a ton of history here with regards to the explorers who first came to South Africa, but I won't get all pedagogical on you with that. Instead, here are some pics:



After the Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, Jake had another stellar suggestion: drive back up to Cape Town on the mountainous highway on the west coast of the country. It was another great idea, as this road has some incredible views, winding its way along a mountain pass on a narrow road that passes multiple bays. We were all pretty freaked out, as Alex tried to navigate such a treacherous pass in a rental car, driving on the "wrong" (read: left) side of the road, but we made it through just fine, and with some memorable sights seen.

The second full day in Cape Town was spent in the wine country, at a couple of wine farms and a couple of great restaurants. The second restaurant, which we visited for dinner, was one of the best restaurants I have ever been to. That story will have to come another day, though.