A few days into my REI Ultimate South Africa adventure and the most articulate thing I can say is, “Wow.”
We ventured to Cape Point, the most South Westerly tip of Africa. The drive to this national park winds along the coastline, resembling the Amalfi coast of Italy (and in fact many commercials are shot here instead because it’s cheaper). 
The wind whipped around as we hiked up to the oldest lighthouse on the point, which has been guiding ships off the dangerous rocks for 400 years. More than 600 shipwrecks are recorded on this stretch of the African coast, especially because there is a bay south of Cape Town that lured travelers in only to crush them against the treacherous rocks— earning the name False Bay. 
We also got to see a penguin colony which was cool but I missed most of the info on the penguins because the wind was whipping sand at us so hard I was distracted. I’ll have to learn more about that later. 
The following day we took on the Table Mountain hike which is no small feat. Towering 1300 meters above sea level, more people die on Table Mountain than on Mt Everest every year, mostly because they are ill prepared to rapidly changing weather patterns. As always when faced with a huge athletic challenge, I doubted whether I could do it and because REI always gives you options, I considered going the first third with the group and then taking a horizontal contour route and then back down.
I volleyed that decision back and forth before deciding to go up. My main concern was that they close the cable car in high winds and then hikers have to hike back down. Up is all quads and heavy breathing; down is the knee crusher, I was thinking. But the day was perfect and my spirits were high. Every review of the this hike says it is up, up and up. And they were right.
The quality of my hike can best be summarized by the great saying, “You can’t save your face and save your ass!”
So I choose to save my ass and stay on the Mountain. It was mostly steep, uneven stone steps in switch backs but many times it was a two-handed, two footed scramble. I was coached upward by my delighted South African guide Gavin who encouraged me onward with cheering reminders “Just look how far you’ve come.” It was like having a personal trainer on the mountain.
Toward the end, he said, “You are almost there. It’s only 100 meters more. But that’s all vertical.” The other guide had already led the rest of my fun and supportive group up.
End of the day, slow and steady wins the race and our heroine overcomes another enormous challenge. That’s done. Check. Actually, when Gavin asked how my mind was about half way up, I realized how zen and meditative that kind of hard activity is. I was 100% focused on where my next step or handhold would be. No time to ponder the bigger questions of life. Bliss. It took about three hours but I did it.
The view from the top really was sweeter than the day I rode the cable car up. I felt surprising lighthearted after all that exertion. If anything, it reaffirmed the fact that my body can do it. My mind’s the problem.
That afternoon, we toured a black township which is worthy of a post of its own. So I’ll sign off now and catch you later.
Boonedoggler 