Cape Town

Cape Town is better than I remember it. The air still smells like cold Atlantic seaweed, the food is sill fantastic, and Table Mountain still glows in the rays of the setting sun. What makes this trip so much better than my last is that I am smelling, eating, and gazing with Diede and Nell. We also have a hotel room at the Sheraton on the 17th floor with free access to a health club, spa, and swanky lounge, which doesn't hurt... yeah, it's nice - a step up from a hostel.

This afternoon, we watched some World Cup, caught up, ate dinner on the waterfront, and listened to a South AFrican xylophone band cover Santana's "Soul Sacrifice." Tomorrow morning we catch a bus at 10am bound for Windhoek. It's a beautiful ride that only takes 19 hours. Yikes! That makes 38 hours for me in 3 days. It should be worth it, though, as the payoff is 2 weeks of roadtripping and camping in Namibia.

A brief look at the itenerary shows:
Days 1,2: the burnt red dunes of the Namib and hiking through the desert peaks of Naukluft Park
Day 3: Driving to the coast to see what the coastal resort of Swakopmund has to offer. Sandboarding? Quad-biking? Skydiving??
Day 4: The Skeleton Coast
Days 5,6: "The Matterhorn of Namibia," Spitzkoppe. A little bouldering, a little hiking, some rock art viewing, and perhaps a ride in a donkey car.
Day 7: Chill at Treesleeper: give Diede and Nell the insiders' tour of Tsintsabis
Day 8: Drive to Caprivi
Day 9, 10: Meet Diede's friend Frederick (a park ranger) and get a tour of a new National Park in Caprivi.
Day 11: kayak at Vic Falls?
Day 12: Back to Tsintsabis.


Stay tuned for details.