the glad hours

Apologies for not updating. After this entry, everything will be in order, I promise. So the second day I found myself in beautiful Cape Town, P was kind enough to take me to the edge of the world. I like the sound of that. Ladies and Gents, Dominique was here! At the edge of the world! Oh yes and it’s official: the world is, indeed, round. No map endings or sharp edges to be found here.
 The day was overcast and quite windy but considering the hike we were about to embark on, it was very much welcome. After hearing tales of baboon hoodlums and scalawags and seeing ominous signs warning what seemed to be the imminent threat of these fellows, I was a little disappointed to not have seen a single naughty primate on the way to Cape Point. Apparently, they are picky about their weather and prefer only to pillage on sunny days. I think they probably know that these particular days would be ripe with sunhat wearing, binocular-eyed tourists….just waiting to have their belongings rifled through and eaten. So after getting over the disappointment of having not met my match in baboon form, I suddenly realized we were smack in the middle of one of the most beautiful spots on earth. Cape Point is unlike any other place I have ever been to. It is vast and peaceful and wild and perfect. The terrain is just alight with color and life. Even the rock formations and cliffs seem to sigh and say “aaaahh….im lucky to be here.” 
When we arrived to Cape Point. We had the option to go up to the lighthouse or hike to Dias Beach and the Cape of Good Hope. The lighthouse looked like it would afford you amazing views but it also had a cafe next to it which would seem to distract from the purity of the place….at least in my snotty little mind, it would have. Anyway, we opted to take the trail to the Cape of Good Hope. A wooden planked footpath hugged the edge of the cliffs overlooking Dias Beach, eventually winding up to, quite literally, the edge of the world and a spectacular view of the Cape of Good Hope. The soil was all shades of reds and whites and it alone was something to look at.
When we reached the stairs spiraling down to Dias Beach, I was apprehensive. I have a bit of an issue with heights but particularly with stairs going down cliffs to beaches. There’s something about the sensation of going down stairs like these that makes me feel like I will just get blown away or forget how to bend my knees and somehow manage to just walk straight off the cliff…impossible, I know, but still the thought does float around up here. Of course P had no problem with these stairs and charged ahead of me. I gingerly descended the stairs like it was the first time I’d ever seen such an invention. pathetic. as we made our way down towards the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, little rock dassies bounded about all over the cliffs. Completely un-phased by our presence and comfortably scaling their cliff domain, these rodents put me to shame as i slowly navigated the much traversed staircase. 
One foot on the sugary sand of Dias beach immediately washed away any memory of fear. Well worth any manner of journey for sure. P and I found ourselves on this comically gorgeous stretch of beach all by ourselves. lucky us! the white sand, the wild surf, the chiseled cliffs, even the little rock dassies were all putting on a private show for us! after taking it all in, we ventured back up the stairs and continued on our way to the Cape of Good Hope and the edge of the world. We reached the breathtaking pinnacle and end of our path. The wind was whipping all around us. on the one side of us was Dias Beach already spotted with more tourists and on the other was the gorgeous Cape of Good Hope that stretched into a misty haze. ahead of us…nothing but the ocean  and mist and somewhere out there, i suppose, Antarctica. 

My dear friend Quinoa made an appearance on my first day here at Cafe Roux in the form of a delicious salad with rocket, feta cheese, broccoli, tomatoes and mint dressing. It was delicioso. or que rico! as Ignatius would say. Since I have what can only be described as an obsession with quinoa as of late, i took its cameo on my plate at Cafe Roux as a sign of good things to come both in the culinary sense and general sense. so far, so good.

Arrived to Cape Town on Wednesday morning after a long journey and two plane flights. A partner in crime was waiting to greet me at the airport and the adventure commenced. The sun was bright, the sky was blue and the air was pure…although every fiber in my body was telling me to sleep, the setting was too epic (in the truest sense of the word and I probably don’t even know the half of it) to ignore. We drove along the coast to views unrivaled and had lunch at Cafe Roux near Hout Bay. After a stop at Chapman’s peak, we set off to nap in our apartment in Sea Point. After a much needed restorative nap, we ventured off to Harbor House for a meal that prepared us for a content night’s sleep. I woke up before the light with an appetite in need of some serious quenching and quickly made easy work of the leftover steak from the night before. Eek. When P woke up, we headed to the deli to get some sandwiches for a picnic we would take to Cape Point. The day was overcast and windy but perfect for the hike. We drove through Simon’s Town which was lined with colonial architecture and spotted with a few antique shops. We stopped at Boulders beach where we saw plenty of little penguins waddling, resting and looking generally torpedo-like. After a warning from the parking attendant about marauding baboons, we were off to Cape Point. In case, you should ever come across a baboon in the wild, lock all your doors and shut all windows. P knows from experience that these guys don’t joke around. I’ll have to write about the hike and the Cape of Good Hope in a separate entry…a journey to the end of the world most certainly deserves a tale of its own. Until tomorrow…