WHAT'S GOING DOWN IN CAPE TOWN

I organized my first big event the beginning of the month- FTTSA's first annual stakeholders meeting: one in Joburg and one in Cape Town. It was so hectic trying to get in-kind donations, finding an international guest speaker, doing invites and logistics. But at the end it all worked out, cuz the second presentation was in Cape Town and I took a few extra days off to explore this happening city for the first time!

Watch out. . .they bite

Who knew there would be penguin colonies nearby a hot city with bright clear skies (Boulder's Beach)? I haven't been bitten but if you try petting them, they snap sharp beaks at you. These penguins were originally called Jackass Penguins because of the braying donkey calls they make. But then they realised that other penguins make similar sounds and changed the name to African Penguins as they are the only ones to breed in Africa.

The Vancouver connection

Cape Town is an entirely different place from Pretoria and I'm surprised that it's part of South Africa! The Atlantic Ocean and the mountain backdrop including Table Mountain remind me of home. They say that Cape Town is the Vancouver of SA and Joburg is the Toronto of the country. Cape Town people are laid-back and the living is easy, while Joburg life is hectic with people relocating there for work and money. Of course while I was in Cape Town, there wasn't even a drop of rain. But then again, June/July is the rainy season there.

Climbing up Table Mountain is reminiscent of the Grouse Grind except this stair-climbing exercise provides no areas shaded by trees. There's also a section where it's flat, when you go from one side of the mountain to another. Many trails can take you to the top, apparently. Unfortunately, being lost confined us to the mainstream and less interesting trail. We took the easy way down though--cable car. Hard-core hiking ex-pats that we are, we went up in the middle of the day, scorching sun beating upon our back, 1 litre water bottle weighing us down. 2.5 hours later, we reach the top and got the best view of the city.

I also went to Cape Point, the southern most tip of Africa (and probably the windiest). People like to think that this is where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet, but this phenomenon actually takes place in Cape Arguilas (?). I also stayed two night in Stellenbosch, the wine region of SA. The wine estate is called Spier and it's one of the tourism establishment with the Fair Trade in Tourism SA Trademark (yay for complimentary bednights).

But now I'm back. Gloria in Pretoria. . .