Penguins- then point me back home

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Tuesday Liz, Steph and I rented a car and drove up to Cape Point and Simmons town. Thank goodness that Steph drove! Number one the cars drive on the wrong side of the road from home, the driver’s seat is on the wrong side of the car and it is standard… try thinking about shifting with your wrong hand??!!! All of this was normal to Liz and Steph seeing as they are from Ireland and that is how they roll back home. We arrived at Cape Point and took the tram up the cliff to the lookout. We could have walked to the top, but man was it ever windy!!! I seriously think there may be days that you could get blown off that point! From the top we grabbed a couple photos of the view and us being tossed about in the wind and then headed back to the car to drive to Simmons Town to see the penguins.
Talk about Penguins on Parade!!! They were everywhere! So cute! But talk about stinky! One would think it would be great to own a penguin- until one smells a penguin.  We came at the perfect time when the baby penguins are losing their coats of gray fuzz and starting to look like their parents. There were penguins hiding in rocks, in bushes, beneath trees and under the walk way. They really do waddle like they show in movies and follow each other into the surf in lines…. Definitely one cool sight to remember in South Africa!
Wednesday was spent finishing up packing, grabbing last minute items and making sure that my plans and place to stay were set in London. One my way to the internet café to confirm things with my friend Ross in London I ran into Katie a girl from our tour and invited her to join Liz, Steph and I for our “Farewell Africa” dinner. After leaving the internet café I ran into Liz and Steph and we all made a pilgrimage to the chocolate factory. This place has handmade chocolate- kind of like Bernard Callebaut- some are even filled with real liquor. Steph bought some whiskey chocolates thinking there would be a cream center flavored with whisky- nope, it was full of actual liquid whisky! I bought a couple of Amarula ones and a ton of other varieties.
For dinner Liz, Steph, Katie and I returned to Mamma Africa’s and enjoyed another round of good food. We did run into one hiccup- the restaurant forgot our reservation… but they managed to squeeze us into a small table in a weird place, but we enjoyed our food, our drinks and our company. After dinner we headed up Long Street to another restaurant to get desert. At this place called Ricky’s they serve delicious ice cream with hot chocolate sauce and red wine raspberry drizzle… talk about delicious! Shortly after dinner we all said our good-byes, we all headed out tomorrow destined for our homes and more adventures. Katie has only just finished the first leg of her adventure, from Africa she is headed to China and SE Asia and then on Australia- what a great time she will have! I wish her all the luck and excitement she is looking for! Liz and Steph head back home to Ireland in time to start University- convincing me to come across the pond to enjoy some paddling and Irish charm.
Thursday morning I wake up, pack the remainders of my trip into my overly heavy and gigantic bags and grab a cab to the airport. Time to say good-bye to Africa, she treated me well and I fell in love with the diversity- I will be returning. Sooner rather than later.
Now it’s off to London for a short but great trip.

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