Table Mountain with a little bit of Jazz

Day 2 of South Africa... with only about 4 hours of sleep, I awoke to start my day with one goal in mind. Hike Table Mountain. It is about 3500 ft and flat on the top like a table (hence the name.) Whatever possessed me and the group of friends I went with to hike it is beyond me. it would have been much easier to have ridden the cable car up the mountain, but at the time it seemed necessary we get a taste of Africa's landscape the old fashion way. We wanted to feel it with our hands. Oh, and did we at that... TIA- This Is Africa.

The "hike" took us about 3 hours. Our group had a bit of a rough night before, so we took it at a slow, steady pace. It was hot, and the hike was more of a strugglingly climb/boulder. There had been rocks strategically placed as steps for us to maneuver around, but some of them seemed to grow. They looked normal in size, but when the time came to actually scale them, they were significantly larger than my legs, so I had to use my hands every once in a while to hoist myself up. The heat was pretty strong though. We were informed on our way up that this was the hottest day in multiple weeks... awesome. What a day to pick to hike a mountain exhausted from the day before. It was worth it though. As we neared the top and I was practically crawling on my hands and needs (I got to know Africa quite intimately after that hike) the view from the top was unreal. I could see everything, Cape Town, the valley and the water was gorgeous! I contemplated hiking it again, but next time bringing a tent up to spend the night, but they said it can get windy. I didn't need to be blown off the mountain. We ate a light snack and chose to take the cable car back down the mountain to save our energy for the rest of the day, but I think our whole group would agree that despite the rigor of the climb, it was totally worth it!

Because Table Mountain ended up being a whole day event, we got back into town in the late afternoon where we lazily walked around the wharf. We restaurant hopped, buying appetizers and drinks from each one. Tasting local beers, wines or cheeses while listening to smooth jazz in the background. We were lucky, the jazz festival was going on while we were there and many local and international jazz musicians were in town, playing at restaurants and bars. I had an absolute blast! More and more I want to move to Cape Town for a bit. It seems like a perfect place to live.