Table-Topped

A view from the top

A hard to see front ridge forms a gorge between main 'peak'. This is where we ascended.

So we've had a whirlwind of activity since arriving in Cape Town. Our accommodations have been top notch, courtesy of a college friend of mine, Rezaan. He just purchased an apartment in Green Point, a residential leaning downtown area. He has a guest bedroom and prime location for all of our activities.

Fresh off my full day of flying, it was time to get my legs back in gear. We decided to scale the 1050 meter Table Mountain that looms in the backdrop of most Cape Town panoramas. My perception of the hike was that it would be leisurely. With a daily high temperature of 65 or so, this seemed to indicate that jeans and a long sleeve t shirt would be a good choice. It was not. After the first 15 minutes of the upward scramble, I had sweated through the shirt and rolled the jeans to a hipster mid ankle ( thus revealing my Ethiopian socks of course). This garb caught the attention of several better prepared passerbyers who questioned our (but really MY ability to make it to the top). We insisted that we would make it, and eventually we did. But what should have been a comfortable shorts and t shirt (maybe even  broomicorns tank top?) hike, I'm sure appeared like my greatest physical accomplishment to date based on the sweat cascading down my forehead.

The ascent was well worth it. The top of Table Mountain was unsurprisingly a vast flat plateau perfect for picnicking and bird watching. We spotted a wide variety of hummingbirds in particular. When it was time to head back, we opted for the cable car (gondola) and enjoyed the cape-scape as we glided downward.