November 25th

Yesterday we awoke and decided to go on the Atlantic side of the Cape Point peninsula. So after breakfast we went out. The route we took started Scarborough Beach. We then traveled along the dramatic western coast. We did get out a some pull-offs and worked our way north to the Slangkop Lighthouse. The lighthouse is being renovated and was closed, but you could see the huge Fresnel lens in it. It was opened in 1919. It is tall and all white.

Next we drove through the town of Kommetjie. Here the road only goes inland (away from the coast for a small bit) then back to the coast at Chapman's Peak. This stretch of road is toll road, and good reason. To build this part there has been extensive work to curtail rock slides. We drive right on the edge some of the way. But of course stunning views…  Anyway, we next went to Hout Bay. From here we had to do a big cut away from the coast because there is no road! We went up to Llandudno and walked a bit to their beach. But not on it (we did not feel the 'vibe' of walking on the beaches today). Next, we drove on up to Bakoven Beach in Camps Bay. Again we parked and got out to look at the beach but did not go onto it. Just to see the waves of the Atlantic Ocean crashing the shore was enough. The waves are pretty large.

Lastly, we drove up to Seapoint. Here is the long beach along a water break and a nice “boardwalk”. It was here we saw our second and last lighthouse, Green Point Lighthouse. This lighthouse was opened in 1824. It is red and white striped. There is a nice grassy/treeless area here as well. From here we went on into CapeTown and through the Bo-Kaap neighborhood. It is known for its colorful houses. It used to be called the Malay area of town. There are bunches of tourists meandering about. We decided to head back. Traffic was quite heavy and congested. We had many places were it was stop and go traffic.

Arrived back to our place in the Strand, and we bought carry out fish and chips, and sushi at Ocean Basket. We took it home and had a Chenin Blanc with it. It was better than the other local place (no bones in the fish). It was a great day for a great drive.

Today, was our big day. The minister of the south church met us in Cape Town this morning. He will be our guide. We met at a parking area. He brought his two daughters and the family dog, Marley. We set out for a trek. It was in Table Mountain Park, along a trail, with viewing of the 'Twelve Apostles' peaks. It was a lovely morning and beautiful day for a hike. We did about an hour and a half in then looped back along a dirt road/trail to the main road. We walked and talked, just soaking in nature. So many blooming pincushion flowers, a type of gladiola-like purple-pink flowers, and the low ground cover vibrant purple flowers I love so much. There was also an evergreen-type bush that was putting out what seemed to balls of cotton, but were a sap or white resin, interesting. There were several black lizards; a very small field mouse; and a brilliant Red Locust, which is poisonous and HUGE, like 3 inches long. Crazy, insect! I could not image a plague of these! …not saying this is was the locusts of the Bible… but, EWW!! 

We finished our trek, it was good, but we did not go up Table Mountain. We still want to do this climb, so we'll have to do it in these next few days, because the first we leave and head to do some of the Garden Route, which is the southern portion of South Africa. Anyway, we went out with our friends to a lunch of takeaways: our guide & friend had chicken Biryani, and we had steak Shawarma. It was a nice ending of the trek. We ate it at the Green Point Lighthouse park area. There were a lot more people, because well, it's Saturday!!

Finished, we parted ways, and headed back home… to scheduled blackout! Today there are four – two and a half hour schedulings throughout the day!! That a total of potential ten hours of no scheduled electricity!!! This actually came out during our hike. One of those on our hike said there is talk of a full 24 hr outage this summer!?! This still just astounds me!  Anyway, so at our place we did the 12 stories of steps up to our apartment, and unloaded and Siesta-time!! It was just after 200pm.

At 615ish our power was restored, as we were getting a french dinner together. Hope for a nice sunset to end the day! God bless to all!!!