Day 3 South Africa - Cape Town Table Mountain

We arrived at the Cape Town International at noon instead of 10 AM, and happily, so did our luggage. What a wonderful welcome at the Customs desk. As we approached the lovely female agent, she greeted us with “Welcome, beautiful ladies!” Our transfer ride to our hotel was a no-show, perhaps due to the flight being late so we took a taxi. We have a lovely hotel right downtown and the weather was beautiful, so we decided to visit Table Mountain. Apparently, it was rare to have warm, sunny, calm weather so we decided to take advantage of it.

The hotel got us a cab which we shared with a young man from Brazil who just happened to be going there too. There wasn’t much of a line-up and we boarded the huge cable car fairly quickly. When we got in, the operator told us to mind our feet and the floor began to slowly rotate! That way, everyone had a different view on the ascent. Table Mountain is a National Park as well as a World Heritage Site and there were many visitors that day. It didn’t feel crowded though, and I had a ball with my camera!

The views were stunningly beautiful and many of the rocks were quite smooth. We saw cool furry animals called dassies. They reminded me of pikas back home and they were quite photogenic.

We walked along well-designed paths and admired the flora and fauna as well as the incredible scenery below.

I was feeling hungry and Donna wanted a coffee so we went to the restaurant. I chose an ostrich pie which was served with a delicious sauce, some fries, and a nice salad. Again, my server was a warm friendly woman who didn’t mind me taking her photo.

We had to meet with our group and group leader at 6 so we made our way back to the hotel. Our leader is Jacques and there are 7 women of various ages in the group – all single! After a short meeting we went to a nearby restaurant that Jacques recommended. Unfortunately, I wasn’t all that hungry so I ordered a small meal. One of the gals ordered some mopane worms, (actually they are caterpillars), and she shared them. They were quite salty and crunchy. I think they are an acquired taste.

It’s been a very long day for some of us so we called it a day and headed back to the hotel early.

Day 2 South Africa - London to Cape Town

We arrived at Heathrow, found where to buy hotel shuttle tickets and went to a nearby hotel with ‘day rooms’ to eat, sleep and freshen up. We didn’t sleep long but still, it was better than spending all those hours in the airport on uncomfortable chairs.

I had the luxury of a shower as well and that really perked me up! Had we known that our second flight would also be delayed, we could have got 2 extra hours of sleep.

Our London to Cape Town plane was quite huge (a double decker) and we were the last aircraft to leave from Heathrow’s Terminal 5 that day – at midnight instead of 9:30 PM. The meals were good, and this time I was able to have a better sleep despite my restless leg syndrome. 

Day 1 South Africa - Edmonton to London

Finally, after a year of planning, Thursday, August 14^th, 2014 arrived! The grass was cut, the cats were fed, the clothing was carefully chosen, and the bags were packed. I left in good time and got to Edmonton to my room-mate’s place where I parked my car for the next 25 days. Donna’s daughter took us to the Edmonton International, and if we weren’t already early enough, our plane was delayed by an hour.

At 9 PM we headed east, direct to London, England. The plane was smaller than others I have taken overseas which was nice. Our seats were good, as was the food and the service. I was able to sleep a bit but not quite as much as I had hoped.