Checklist for Cape Town, first: climb Table Mountain, second: Get a coat, boots, and sweatshirts. Since the day is slightly warmer than night we are fooled into believing that it is a good idea to do Table Mountain first. Something we will soon regret. We head for the hills, which inn Cape Town in a 10-minuet drive from the ocean and a 5-minuet drive form the city. Another reason why I will soon discover this place is paradise.
Table Mountain is one of two major mountains to climb here in Cape Town. It gets its name from the fact that it is totally flat on top like a table, after one hell of a climb of course. It is tall and rigid. It is an overwhelming display of jagged rocks and steep mountain slopes. The sound of a waterfall echoes among the ridges. Drops of perspiration fall down my back in the mere twenty-minuet walk to the base of the mountain. I stand at the bottom, head back and eyes up filled with intimidation. ‘It is just one step after another,’ I tell myself. I turn to the right to find Alex grinning ear to ear. This is just the sort of challenge she was hoping for.
The slope is nothing short of dramatic. I climb as fast as I can, still Alex is always twenty steps ahead of me. She pauses time to time to let me catch up, snatching every photo she can of the torment that constantly fills my face.
We finally reach the waterfall and neither of us pauses to drench ourselves in the freezing winter water. It was a good thing we did too because the hill above us is at least three times as steep as before. It is a dirt rock path lined with a rock wall held together with twisted wire. This is probably for safety so that people don’t fall down the hill, but I find that it is much easier to walk on top of the wall.
The estimated time to climb the mountain is two hours. Already Alex and I are running behind, nothing short of being my fault. The climb thickens and the sun is at its highest for the day. I reach my hand high over my head and find a steady place to plant my foot to push me up the rock walls. My breath is shallow and I am nothing short of exhausted. I make it up the nearest wall and fall to the ground to take a break. All I can hear in the background is Alex screaming words of encouragement like an obnoxious cheerleader. She is full of endless promises that there is ice cream at the top of the hill. Somehow it works. I climb and climb. Stopping at every moment I can to look back at the view of the whole city and my accomplishment.
A large propeller sound echoes in the valleys of the hillside. I look up to find a rescue helicopter and for one split second I actually think of flagging them down. Then reality hits me and I realize that would cost me like $10,000. So I climb some more.
Just shy of three hours I finally make it to the top. I have little to no energy left even to celebrate. Somehow I find it in me to run up the last flight of stairs to the view and you will never believe what I see, an Ice Cream store.
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