Friday, September 15, 2006
Sept. 6
We woke up early and took the train to the airport. Luckily, we changed our seats when we had arrived in Amsterdam. This gave us exit row seats for the 11.5 hour flight to Cape Town. It was not a bad flight because of the seats and the personal entertainment system each seat had. I was able to watch TV shows and movies in between naps. Upon arrival in Cape Town we got a cab and headed to Greenmarket Square to find a place to stay. The square was dark and deserted (not exactly the friendliest way to introduce yourself to urban Africa), but the hotel had a room. We were located just a block off the main street of bars in Cape Town, so we headed out for a couple of drinks. We landed at Stones, a bar/pool hall. Beers were $1.50 and it was a fairly nice place. After a few beers and a game of pool (I maybe the worst pool player in the world), we returned to the hotel.
Sept. 7
On our first full day in Cape Town, we first explored Greenmarket Square and its many craft stands. Then we went to the tourist center and booked a dive with Great White Sharks for the next day. After that we headed to the waterfront and got tickets to Robben's Island. The Robben's Island tours was booked for the next couple of days, so we got tickets for Sunday (9th). It was 2 in the afternoon and, upon seeing Table Mtn. in the distance, we decided to walk to the top from the waterfront. Two hours later, we were at the base. We chose a trail that when along the Camp's Bay side (west) and then cut up to the top. Little did we know it was a much longer hike than some of the others. At 6:15 we made it to the top...but the tram had stopped running at 6 (there was an ominous horn at about 5:50 indicating this fact). It was getting dark and our only way down was to hike. Luckily we ran into 2 Slovakian ski instructors who had been working in South Africa. They led us down a steep rocky trail. By 7:45 we were down. Luckily they had a car too. We shared two beers in the car as we sped back to the city. Once at the hotel we showered and treated ourselves to a steak dinner and a bottle of South Africa wine ($35 American total!).
We woke up early and took the train to the airport. Luckily, we changed our seats when we had arrived in Amsterdam. This gave us exit row seats for the 11.5 hour flight to Cape Town. It was not a bad flight because of the seats and the personal entertainment system each seat had. I was able to watch TV shows and movies in between naps. Upon arrival in Cape Town we got a cab and headed to Greenmarket Square to find a place to stay. The square was dark and deserted (not exactly the friendliest way to introduce yourself to urban Africa), but the hotel had a room. We were located just a block off the main street of bars in Cape Town, so we headed out for a couple of drinks. We landed at Stones, a bar/pool hall. Beers were $1.50 and it was a fairly nice place. After a few beers and a game of pool (I maybe the worst pool player in the world), we returned to the hotel.
Sept. 7
On our first full day in Cape Town, we first explored Greenmarket Square and its many craft stands. Then we went to the tourist center and booked a dive with Great White Sharks for the next day. After that we headed to the waterfront and got tickets to Robben's Island. The Robben's Island tours was booked for the next couple of days, so we got tickets for Sunday (9th). It was 2 in the afternoon and, upon seeing Table Mtn. in the distance, we decided to walk to the top from the waterfront. Two hours later, we were at the base. We chose a trail that when along the Camp's Bay side (west) and then cut up to the top. Little did we know it was a much longer hike than some of the others. At 6:15 we made it to the top...but the tram had stopped running at 6 (there was an ominous horn at about 5:50 indicating this fact). It was getting dark and our only way down was to hike. Luckily we ran into 2 Slovakian ski instructors who had been working in South Africa. They led us down a steep rocky trail. By 7:45 we were down. Luckily they had a car too. We shared two beers in the car as we sped back to the city. Once at the hotel we showered and treated ourselves to a steak dinner and a bottle of South Africa wine ($35 American total!).
# posted by Adam @ 10:34 AM 
