In need of sleep

---

Cape Town

I arrived in Cape Town in the morning. The sky was blue and bright. Table Mountain was beautiful in the morning sun. I was told that I was quite lucky to have such a nice weather as it had been raining the day before.

The international flight arrival area was filled with young white families happily meeting each other. Children with signs made to welcome parents home from vacation or business. They all looked so happy, it made you feel like you where really missing out not being part of their world.

I met a very interesting man on my hotel limo service ride. He was in Cape Town for a few days on business. He sold safety equipment to African ferry companies. He had been a merchant mariner of several years. He told me this great story of how he had been on a ships bow when it collided with another ship at 18 kts. He was 25 years old at the time. Both ships had been under pilotage at the time and both pilots lost their licenses in the following investigation. It was an amazing story. I would have liked to have had drinks with this man as he offered as I think he had lived a very interesting life but I had my group meeting to attend. I hope the people in my group are as interesting as the few people I have met so far.

We drove past the waterfront to get to my hotel. Cape Town was clearly a modern city with a lot of money. It had a lovely new waterfront area that reminded me of Baltimore's Inter- Harbor only smaller, newer, and nicer.

I arrived at the Breakwater Lodge tired and dirty. I was relieved to find my room available as it was only 10 am. Cape Town called a beautiful sunny day outside my window but I was so tired I was almost physically sick. So, I showered first. It felt so good to be clean! I then crawled into bed with the towel still on my head and slept for 7 hours. I only got up for the tour group meeting I was required to attend that evening.

When I awoke I felt much better but still disoriented. I met the group and was relieved to find that they where not all really athletic. There was a good mix of ages and nationalities. I was the only person from the US. They all seamed nice and the guide was cute....again a good sign.

After the short meeting we had the evening free to enjoy Cape Town. I set out for the waterfront. It was only 7 PM but very dark already, reminding me of how far south I really was. It was a beautiful night, crisp and clear but not too cold. I stopped at a few expensive souvenir shops to look at postcards. I didn't buy anything. I came across a great outdoor gear store, Cape Mart, a South African version of REI. After being warned by several people about how cold African winter nights could be I decided to stock up on a few extra items like a new polar fleece pullover (that would be my best item of the trip) and some pants. I then headed to a busy seafood restaurant for a quick dinner then back to the hotel to pack and get ready for the next morning.

---

Photos

Cape Town
At night