My new Facebook timeline photo. This was the day I conquered Table Mountain in Johannesburg (or as what locals call it, Joburg) South Africa. South Africa remains my choice of the most beautiful country in the world. Why does it have to be the world’s rape capital too? We really cannot have the best of both worlds, can we?
Taken on the same day.
January 14, 2012
Table Mountain, South Africa
This was just one of those days when I feel so blessed to have a job that rewards me to do something fun and exciting every time I sign off from work. I get to do many things for the first time. Not only that, I also get to do them at different places all around the world…for free! Or sometimes for a puny amount. With the whole world as my playground, the ideas are without limit.
Today was the day that I get to conquer the fabled Table Mountain. It took me four years and a half to finally do this. A trek to the top of the Table Mountain is a must-do when you go on a trip to South Africa, but with a country this beautiful, you cannot help to have pit stops along the way.
But before all that, I had to have a taste of Capetown, literally.
One beautiful afternoon with the Lion’s Head Mountain in the distance.
Getting ready for my dinner date. False lashes never run out of style.
Went out with a girl friend for dinner and had the best tasting seafood in my life. They had wide selection of seafood in a platter with a special Robata sauce which my Japanese girl friends don’t even know how to make. It tasted like a specially marinated soy sauce with honey and something else. The wine tasted like water but it didn’t matter. We left the restaurant very satisfied with cheeks more flushed than normal. And that is usually a good thing. 😀
Early birds catch the worm so we started early to do as much things as possible.
This was only a sneak peek of what to come.
Visitors can have the option of taking this long trek to the top of the mountain…
Or do what we did which was to take the cable ride both ways.
This rocky cliff gives the visitors a very solid welcome.
Adventure starts here.
These early birds were not early enough for the juciest worm–which was to have a hot breakfast and freshly-brewed coffee while waiting for the first rays of the sun to break out from behind the sweeping mountainous heights in the distance. If we came two hours earlier, we could have enjoyed an outdoor breakfast from this cozy, little hut.
As you get closer to the edge of these safety barricades from the rocky plunge below, the wonders of nature will make your heart stop for a moment.
Behold the new member of the 7 Wonders of the World–the Table Mountain in Capetown, South Africa. And no, Paris Hilton. South Africa is not a continent. That is the country’s name.
Table Mountain is a soaring plateau that overlooks the entire city of Capetown. The rugged feature of its beauty is largely contributed by the sharp-edged cliffs that are as perilous as they are beautiful. Seated on the west side is the Lion’s Head and resting on the east side is the Devil’s Peak.
By the way, Table Mountain, is also the only landmark to give its name to a constellation in the sky, the Mensa or the Table. These group of stars are found below Orion.
The treacherous edges of Table Mountain which have claimed a few lives of the unwary.
Click on the photo to see bigger size.
This is a wonderful spot to view the city.
The Lion’s Head
The Devil’s Peak
The Signal Hill, the Olympic Stadium and the city of Cape town 3, 000 feet below.
Say a little prayer to the not so lucky adventurers.
Up ahead…
A trailer’s trail…
The best part of the trip–heaven in my fingertips, I could almost taste it!
While taking my photos over here, the wind suddenly snatched away my return trip ticket. If you wanted me to stay, you did not have to make me lose my ticket. You only have to say the word. 🙂
PS: Thank you to my lovely French girl for taking this picture-perfect snaps.
From this viewing post…
This is probably the best spot to view Capetown.
You can see this.
Those are the Lion’s Head, The Stone Hill, The Olympic Stadium, The City Bowl and the Devil’s Peak from left to right.
*Click on the photo to see larger size.
My favorite photo of this trip. The hardly visible mountains from afar and the varying hues of blues in the background made this photo almost magical. It could be from the pages of Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter or some Chinese mythical story. Anywhere but the real world.
The rest of the photos.
So we said goodbye.
But not without doing this. 🙂 Smile!
Capetown, thank you for the hospitality. We really appreciate it.
P. S. If you think Table Mountain is stunning during a fine day, wait until the clouds roll over it. A cloudy day could not get any better than this.
*I stole the photo from thestar.com
Not unless you have conquered the greatness of Mt. Pulag in the Philippines. It would not be beautiful. It would not be mind-blowing. It would be out of this world.
Mt. Pulag, Philippines
*I stole the photo from youtube
*Photo stolen from camzandthecity.com
And that would be another fantastic album in my travel tales.
“Today is the 29th of February. On this “extra day” of the year, do something EXTRA. Share an EXTRA WARM smile. Spend an EXTRA JOYFUL time with friends. Give an EXTRA hug to your special someone. Whatever it is that you do EXTRA today, make sure it’s done with the RIGHT AMOUNT OF LOVE and CARE… ♥♥♥”
My train case and I reaching for the skies in Capetown, South Africa.
I had a recent trip to Lagos$$$$, Nigeria. I put the dollar sign because of its hefty hotel allowance because food there is expensive. We get almost the same amount for a day in Lagos as with two days in Los Angeles. But that is not my story for today. It is even better. 🙂
I walked into the hotel lobby and I found myself face to face with this:
Two columns of bookshelves from the floor to the ceiling! Isn’t it the cutest thing in the world? I love books! It’s better if I don’t explain how I love them because I would run out of words. I love books even more when they are stacked up on a bookshelf. And bookshelves, especially the vintage style, have this very dated feel in a really nice way. They make me feel like I am surrounded with these secret treasures and secrets just waiting for me to find them. I doubt there is a hotel lobby out there with as much books as this one has.
This was not where the excitement stopped. When I went up to my room in the second floor, my door revealed a very cozy corner that reminded me of the smell of the earth after the rain.
This wall divider of unique graphite layers added a rustic and homely touch to an otherwise impersonal hotel room.
What kind of woman would not love vintage bath tubs? This bathtub placed against an unpolished stone wall took me to a log cabin in faraway where the air outside was very cold and the water in the tub was too cozy to get over with.
Almost each of us in the crew ordered the same dinner–the King Prawns that came with three different sauces. It lived up to its reputation, my tummy was glad.
My chocolate-flavored friend is Willis from Kenya.
I downed my seafood dinner with a bottle of the local beer, Star beer. Nigerians have this saying “.. drink one bottle of Star and you’ll see a star. Drink two bottles and you’ll see a galaxy.” I saw only one star that night. 🙂 I was a good girl that evening.
——–
Now let me take you to another beautiful country with a very beautiful hotel room–Johannesburg, South Africa. Yes, South Africa is a country, not a continent. Sorry Paris Hilton. 😉
This room was fabulous. It was too small for me, though. But thank you for making me feel like a movie star even just for a day.
A splash of romance on my carpet.
🙂
Now that I have done my job for today, it is time to do my other job. Flying to Medina in a few hours.
TraveLing sets me FRee!!! 