Our flight from Doha to Johannesburg was on time and comfortable. Joburg airport is congested and a tad disorganized, forcing everyone to claim luggage and go through immigration and security and then go through security yet again after transferring to the domestic terminal. We had plenty of time but it felt rather fragmented after the first part of the travel. Our flight to Cape Town was about two hours and the two flight attendants in our cabin were simply wonderful. Both were so proud of their country and especially the wines, which flowed liberally since they wanted everyone to have a wine tasting experience. Lots of fun and we were soon in Cape Town. It was dark when we arrived and the drive from the airport didn't give us much to go on in terms of where we were and where we were going.
In the morning as we opened the windows in our room at the Westin, we were - as the Aussies say - gobsmacked. On one side was the lovely harbor and on the other was Table Mountain with clouds flowing over the mountain like water over Victoria Falls. I was out of the building in a flash and walking around the harbor craning my neck to take in all of the views, which were spectacular. We took the hop-on/hop-off bus and got a great overview of the city, which is as complex as it is beautiful. We got to the top of Table Mountain where you can climb up the mountain or take the cable car, however it was very windy and the mountain was completely covered with clouds so they had closed the cable car. It didn't matter to us since the views from the base of the mountain were glorious. The city sits in a bowl with mountains on three sides and it seems to flow right into the South Atlantic. Imagine our surprise though when we looked at a map and realized that our view of the Atlantic was to the north! Cape Town sits on a peninsula that juts west into the ocean and the city actually faces north; we thought we were looking toward Antarctica.
Our hotel offers spectacular views from the club lounge, which also serves as their top restaurant at night. There is always something new to see since the city is always changing, and the cloud cover is particularly amazing the way it swirls over the mountain and around the town and then gives way to absolutely clear skies. The harbor traffic is fun to watch and the sunsets are energizing.
We're on our way to a "wine farm" aka vineyard in Stellenbosch for a few days - more soon.
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