WEDNESDAY - APRIL 4, 2018

Wednesday – April 4, 2018

Cape Town day two started with light fog. After breakfast we headed to the shuttle stop for our return to the Hop On. To our surprise the Hop On folks had their own shuttle there. It would take us directly to their office, avoiding the long walk from the ship’s shuttle stop.

We had earned at dinner last night that there was a long line to purchase cable tickets at the base station on the mountain. We were able to circumvent this by purchasing the tickets at the Hop On office. We boarded the red route bus and headed off to the Table Mountain stop.

Disappointment! When we arrived at the base station the fog had burned off slightly, but the view of the city and the ship was, shall I say, foggy. We decided to return to the city in hopes that the fog would burn off some more. We would take the Harbor Tour and return to the mountain after lunch.

The half hour harbor tour was included with the Hop On ticket. This leisurely journey showed off the marina with its motor yachts and beautiful sailboats. Then we passed the tuna fleets and a sea going crane capable of lifting 200 tons. Along the way we were treated to the antics of many harbor seals.

Back at the dock we headed off to lunch. Mitchell’s Scottish Ale is a brew house located at Victoria Wharf. We had a good pizza (we needed a fix) and a very nice ale on the outdoor patio.

The view of Table Mountain had improved considerably, and we headed back to take the red route to the mountain. When we arrived we proceeded directly to the line for people with tickets. We had been told at the Hop On office that the wait was one hour going up and an hour and a half coming down. Surprise! There were only ten people in line in front of us. This line was for the elevator that would take us up to the gondola loading platform. Before we got to the elevator a group of 50 people got in line behind us. At the platform Alice and I were the first to board our gondola for the four minute ride to the top.

As we left the base station we were directed to step back from the windows. The floor began to rotate. It would complete a revolution as we reached the top. At the top there are many paved trails that lead to various overlooks. Views of the city, the harbor, the suburbs and the beaches were beautiful. Yesterday may have been clearer, but today was no disappointment. We walked to every side of the mountaintop.

To the south, clouds were forming and heading toward us at a slow rate. A phenomenon called The Table Cloth occurs when clouds descend to the top of Table Mountain and sometimes roll over the side. When this happens you are to just stay put until the clouds disperse because visibility is zero. We were spared this.

When we completed our walk we joined the queue for the gondola ride down. 45 minutes later we were at the base in line to board the Hop On back to the wharf. This would get us back at about 5:00. The Sunset Tour would start boarding at 5:15. We were not wasting any time today.

Sure enough when we arrived a long line had already formed for the Sunset Tour. There was a lot of angst with people concerned about getting on the bus. An employee assured us that enough buses would be provided. He expected 5 buses for today. We got on number 4. Sunset today was to be at 6:35. The bus slowly wove past beaches and up the winding road to Signal Hill. We arrived at 6:15 with plenty of time to observe the arrival of The Table Cloth on the mountain before we staked out a spot on the hill looking out over the ocean. The clouds were few and pink. Gradually the sun sank into the sea. It got prettier and prettier as it disappeared. The crowd broke into applause. It reminded me of the sunset on Santorini that Sean and I experienced several years ago.

We returned to the ship’s shuttle at 7:30 and were back onboard shorty after 8:00. At 8:15 we were in the dining room with a friend who returned on the same shuttle. Dinner was very good. The wine was refreshing. Afterward we enjoyed local singers and dancers. Sleep came quickly.