Hey all.....Sunday 13 July 2008On the Road again…….. We were up bright and early to make our way farther south. We were headed to the Cape of Good Hope. What is a road trip without making some unexpected stops. As we made our way down the Indian Ocean side of tthe Cape, we passed through small hamlets and towns. One of the areas housed an enclave that was populated by penguins. For some reason they had made camp there and have grown in population over the years. We parked and make out way to the shore to find what looked like thousands of small penguins. It was explained that the animals there ranged from the very tiny offspring to teen aged penguins as well as the long in the tooth tuxedo wearing mammals. The terrain was half covered with sage brush and the rest of the area was more a typical seaside environment with rocks, a very stony beach area and of course the ocean. You will see in some of the pictures I send out later that the penguins are not camera shy. It is as if loads of tourists were not even there. The little animals paid no attention to any of us. Our stay in the area lasted all of 30 minutes…more than enough. It was not quite lunch time so we opted to continue our way to the National park that is the home of the Cape of Good Hope. It took less than another 30 minutes to enter the natural preserve. I expected to see land and plants and animals as we passed through the park. I was amazed to see what looked more like a desert. Dry, arid, land with small hills and the anticipation of an ocean view. There was, in fact, an area that looked as if there were recent brush fires. Even as we approached the ocean, not much changed. While not a beautiful area, it had its own charm. Luckily there were not many tourists to mess up our pictures. I am not a fan of having a large number of strangers in my pictures unless I am taking pictures for that reason. We drove farther south to the end of the Cape area. There we had lunch before taking a short hike. I am glad we got some nourishment, however, I should not have had the beer that I had with my meal. Just to let you know. I had a nice local fish with what was described as African Butternut / Banana soup. It was all very good. And Yasu nibbled on some calamari which was THE most tender I have ever had. Back to the point, The destination was the light house at the Point of Diaz. Before making our way up a whole lot of steps, we made our way to an outpost. To find it we walked around in the back of the restrooms, down a path that had a sign warning that it would take an hour and a half return trip to make that part of the hike. I was not thrilled, especially when I saw that much of the area was on the very edge of a sheer cliff that was sure to make anyone with the slightest fear of heights start to cry on the spot. Now, I am not that bad, but I do have an aversion to heights. Yasu was walking down the path like he had a high percentage of Native American blood running through his system. I forged ahead and soon became accustomed to the path and stayed on the mountain side of it just to make sure I would not fall to my death, never to be heard from again. The walk took only about 10 minutes, most of it down hill and in some cases, very steep grades. We ended up at a location that I felt of the best we could see. On one side was the Atlantic Ocean, and the other, the Indian Ocean. We looked up and saw the lighthouse jetting out fro the top of a mountain. I hope the pictures you will see will give the view justice. Walking down hill is not too hard. It is not easy on the feet and if your shoes are not tight fitting and your feet slide even the slightest in your shoes, there could be problems with blisters the following day….Did I mention this for a reason?……As we began the return trip up the cliff side, sweat started pouring off my body. I stripped off my jacket and shirt and just kept on my tank top. I also had a towel in my backpack that ended up being soaking wet by the time we reached the lighthouse. Needless to say, the beer at lunch was sweated out and it did not do much at all to provide any proper hydration for the hike up the mountain. I have learned now to ask Yasu very specific questions as we visit places around the Cape Town area. I need to be prepared!!!! If you have seen National Lampoon’s Vacation, you will recall the scene where the family sees the wonders of the Grand Canyon……Shaking there heads with a very UNDER whelmed expression on their faces….That is how I felt once we reached the op of the light house. We lasted maybe 10 minutes before making the walk back to the car park. Moments later we were exiting the park and making our way back to Cape Town via yet another route. Five minutes after driving I noticed an animal moving along the road and an even larger one roaming in the field as we whizzed by. I kind of yelled for Yasu to stop…I think I did scare him a bit. It turned out that the animal on the roadside was another baboon. I am sure you are sick of seeing pictures of them. To my right, however, was an ostrich farm. At least a hundred of them were roaming the field, eating or sticking their heads in the ground, or whatever they do. No wait…what animal sticks it head in the sand? It will come to me. Shortly after making a very short subject movie and snapping a few pics, we moved on and made our way up the coast and back home. It was a long day on the road but a fun time. Time to let you folks in on what is happening. I have not forgotten you all. I am making notes everyday and you will get it all in time. Sooner rather than later because I am leaving soon.
Until the next time…….
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