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March 14, 2005
An Amazing Weekend
Frances and I had ambitious plans to go hiking this weekend, because we were both fed up with spending so much time in our room and not being able to take ourselves anywhere. However, it was over 80 degrees on Saturday, and Frances didn't feel particularly enthusiastic about hiking in such temperatures. So we decided to walk from Cape Town, where we get dropped off on Adderly Street, over to Camp's Bay, which is a semi-nearby beach.
The tricksy thing was that we had to climb the 'hill' in between Table Mountain and Lion's Head. Since we are both young and lively and the walk looked like it was less than 5 kilometers, we decided that the hill wouldn't pose too much of a problem. So after Frances ate breakfast in Cape Town, we set off down Long Street and made our way to the other side of the peninsula.
The walk wasn't too bad: it took us about an hour and fifteen minutes, and we had fun chatting while we made it. The hill that we had to climb on our way to Camp's Bay reminded me of Marin Avenue in Berkeley - lots and lots of uphill. But once we got to the top, the view was absolutely amazing. We could see Cape Town on one side and Camp's Bay on the other. I can't post pictures at the moment, but you can click here to see someone else's photo of what it looked like.
When we got to Camp's Bay, we spent an hour eating lunch and the most delicious ice cream I've ever had, and then we had about two and a half hours left to spend on the beach before we had to hike back to Cape Town to catch our ride back to UWC. The beach was wonderful, although the water felt like it was about 40 degrees! Frances and I only stuck our feet in, but we felt plenty refreshed. The walk back was somewhat difficult on Frances, as she doesn't work very well in the heat, but we made it back in one piece and are looking forward to the introduction of fall! We're planning on going on lots of hikes in our spare time...
There was also a cycling race going on, which made me want to find a road bike and jump in. Every year there's this race around the peninsula, and Frances and I just missed them at the top of the hill between Cape Town and Camp's Bay. Some day I'm going to find someone who wants to take a trip to South Africa with me to go biking around, because it would be a lot of fun to see the Western Cape from a bike rather than a car window.
Yesterday was very uneventful, but it was nice to spend the day in the room and take time to relax. I walked around campus and took a few pictures, so hopefully I'll find a way to get those online soon. I only have two more weeks until spring break (which is called fall break here...), and then I have less than two months left in South Africa! The time just feels like it's flying by, but I also can't wait to get home and see everyone! I'll have lots of stories to tell.
Posted by rgutwin at March 14, 2005 02:51 AM
Comments
Wow, your weekend sounds so much more eventful than any typical college weekend, even at Saint Mike's (holla)! TWO MONTHS! The time will go by so fast and soon you will be back here in the states. What are you going to do this summer after such an awesome experience? Something cool H.... something cool.
Posted by: Jenna Rose Katz at March 14, 2005 09:42 PM
Well, I'll be hanging out with you for part of it... But it'll be nice to just be at home, and I'll be working at the gym most of the time. I think that some trips to Maine and Lake Dunmore are also on the horizon.
Posted by: Rebecca at March 15, 2005 08:30 AM