Biking tour of the wineries

We planned to do a leisurely bike ride through some wineries on Sunday. The weather was wet, about 60 degrees, so not the most ideal conditions. The rain was off and on though and I had my rain pants and jacket. I however did not need these long :). We got set up, put on our slow moving vehicle signs and did a little practice with the gears. Much nicer bikes than my last bike ride. Didn't help me much though ;). 

We started. I was behind from the get go. My seat slipped and my knees were practically knocking my elbows. The guide fixed it and we were off. We had a good downhill start that I really enjoyed but then we got to a slight incline and the end was in sight. My thighs quickly started to burn, very tired from yesterday's climb. I had to walk the bike the last bit to where the group had stopped and that was the end of my bike riding :). A pitiful showing I know. The van picked me up and I skipped ahead to the next winery. 

The wineries were great. They specialize in Sauvignon blanc and had some really nice whites. One has the best wine in South Africa but was sold out so we couldn't taste. These were smaller farms and much of the process is still done by hand. We definitely enjoyed the wine, had a nice, late lunch and took the scenic drive along the coast back to the hotel. We even passed a beach with a guy whose job is to sight sharks. Crazy! 

It was a great day despite the weather and we called it an early night as we had morning flights. 

Exploring the area where the wine is made. 

The VIP tasting room. Not where we did our tasting :)

Cheers!

Stephanie and Mary riding. Me in the van :)

Climbing a mountain

We left at 7:40am this morning to head to Table Mountain for a morning hike. Basically it's this huge mountain on one side of Cape Town that plateaus at the top, thus looking like a "table". We had a local guide, Pietro. He was in his 50's and going strong, such a great guide. He's Italian but moved to South Africa with his family when he was only ten. He use to work in management and around 54 decided he wanted to do more in his life. He was a joy of a guide and went slow for us (i.e. me). 

The walk was tough for me, I couldn't make it up two escalators in Dulles without breathing heavy ;). But the view from the top was amazing! We did an uphill portion, then one with less steep of a gradient and the last part was flat (the top). We rode a cable car down thankfully because we were all tired. The guide said we hiked six kilometers (felt like more!), around four miles or something. We made it to just over 1,000 meters above sea level (3,000+ feet I think). It was cool and sunny for most of the hike. The clouds thankfully didn't roll in until the very end. It was really beautiful and always nice to get some fresh air and exercise. We took it easy in the afternoon and evening but did manage to find some good (and cheap!) Italian for lunch and South African BBQ for dinner. We are eating well for sure :). 

Fresh in the morning..that's where we were headed. 

There were some ladders involved. 

And some rock climbing. 

But we made it!

That trail is one of the middle sections, we weren't quite at the top yet. 

Now we are :)

A map of the different trails. We went 4, 3, 2. 

The gang at the top: me, Stephanie, Brian, Mary 

Then the clouds rolled in and consumed everyone :)

Cape Town

Friday morning we flew into Cape Town. My flight wasn't too bad. I got a seat up front in the bulkhead row. I slept during the full hour delay on the runway and most of the flight. Then my bag was one of the first off. Too bad the others traveling with me were in the back sitting next to smelly people and the bathroom, they did not sleep during the delay and their bags came a lot later than mine. But, we checked in to the Westin in Cape Town (very nice hotel!) and it was a beautiful sunny afternoon. Turns out the Rand (local currency) has a pretty good exchange rate. We found a place for a late lunch on the waterfront and went shopping at a hiking store. There is a ferris wheel at the waterfront that offered great views of the city. At $8 for 12 minutes, we thought that was pretty good and enjoyed the ride. We grabbed some drinks at a nearby brewery restaurant and played gin for a bit. Tomorrow we start early to climb Table Mountain, so we called it an early night. 

At the waterfront

Having some late lunch. 

The mountain for tomorrow :) we will walk to the top and across to go down the other side via cable car. 

On the Ferris wheel. 

Playing cards.