Semester in Cape Town -Part 14
This week has been hectic, trying to finish my school work and do many things within the short month that is left in the semester. I realized that while being here I had only climbed one mountain.
There are three big mountains around Cape Town: Table Mountain, Lions Head, and Devil’s Peak. We hiked Table Mountain early on in the semester, Tuesday was Workers Day and we had no classes so we took advantage of the day and hiked Devil’s Peak. The Campus is at the bottom of the mountain.
It was a pretty steep climb and more difficult at the bottom and scarier towards the top. Some parts of the climb we were literally hanging on by long grass. One wrong step, or a slip on the muddy terrain we would fall to a rocky death. It was scary but definitely worth it for the amazing views of the city.
This weekend was a full moon, a special moon as it was the full moon that is closest to the Earth. Lion’s Head Mountain has an incredible view of the sunset and moonrise, so we decided to hike it in the evening to see it. We brought a picnic dinner to enjoy at the top. Lion's Head is more rock-climbing than Table Mountain, but definitely not as treacherous as Devil's Mountain. It took us only about an hour to climb up and even though it was cloudy, it was still very beautiful. On one side the last rays of the sun were shining through a thick layer of clouds, and on the other side the heavy clouds spread on top of the Twelve Disciple Mountains, creating an eerie atmosphere.
We were the only ones up there so we ate quickly and headed down before it started raining. As it got darker the city lights became more vibrant.
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We had a party to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Africans don’t know what it is, so we had to show them. We did it right, but apparently the neighbors didn’t think so as they called the police. Nothing happened though, they left and the party continued.
I have two tests this week , and then the Farewell Dinner for Interstudy. I can’t believe the semester is almost over. Next week is the last week of classes and then finals. I hope to spend some more time exploring after classes end. I am leaving June 1st but I’m not really ready to leave.
I’ll have to come back someday soon.