Monday, July 18, 2005
5 minutes to midnight...
Okay folks, I don't really want to stop the show, but the singer says it's time to go.
The bags are packed, the airport taxi booked. Viva London.
Tune in next week for a special summer holiday bumper edition of RGJOM, including news from our final day awards ceremony, the all-important backgammon result, and details of our fun packed new successor website.
The bags are packed, the airport taxi booked. Viva London.
Tune in next week for a special summer holiday bumper edition of RGJOM, including news from our final day awards ceremony, the all-important backgammon result, and details of our fun packed new successor website.
cape apples
First guys, it looks like we may be doing some sort of diplomatic joint finish on the backgammon... nevermind... afterall, I can console myself that the last time Mr. Wylie was in the lead was somewhere in Indonesia, as was apparent by the fuss he made when he finally equalised (reminiscent of the end to the football season...'we might have lasted another 8 minutes!', 'yes, but you are still relegated').
Anyway, there are other things to entertain ourselves with in and around Cape Town and on to those...
First, Table Mountain. There is an historic cable car up the 1086 metre mountain or there is a steep 3hr uphill hike. One guess which option Pete wanted (and one guess which one I was wishing for!). So off we hiked... The last time either of us hiked anywhere was possibly right around the last time Pete was in the lead in backgammon, so you can imagine how tough it was... I am not ashamed to say that I cried 3/4 of the way up.
There are also 2 possible ways down the mountain - and I felt sure that I had earned the cable car by that point... Pete had other ideas. Down was murder, this time there were tears, curses, and collapses.
Pete marched sternly downwards and I stumbled behind, joined by about 18 middle-aged chain-smoking Egyptian men in their nighties (lost, their tour guide had instructed them to follow us). Everytime I shouted "I'm resting" and sat down I could hear their collective sigh of gratitude behind me. By the bottom we were best friends (albeit with no shared language). I appreciated their cheer (at least more that Pete's "stop making a fuss") when my legs buckled beneath me as I reached level ground. 4 days later my legs have still not stopped aching.
The next 2 days were something much more my style. The Wine Route. Wine tasting, eating lovely food, wandering around old Cape Dutch style buildings. As Pete was driving I had to take on the lion's share of the tasting (and I think I handled the responsibility well... we only bought 12 bottles). We managed to squeeze in lunch at 'The best restaurant in Africa' (Restaurant Magazine 2004 - who?) - excellent and very resonable (we still came in on budget!).
The last stop on our drive around the environs of Cape Town was Hermanus, a town on the coast, to try to spot some whales. They refused to show - but we did see some small rabbit-like creatures called dassies crawling about the rocky shore... not quite Southern Right Whales, but I tried to console myself with the thought that they are related to elephants (according to the LP anyway). Unfortunately Hermanus ened up being more noteworthy for the rather roudy Afrikaner teens that kept our entire hostel awake singing in the bar downstairs until 3am. Pete was first pissed off - then overjoyed when he asked for, and actually got our money back (plus and extra 10 rand thanks to the flustered lady at reception).
Finally back in Cape Town yesterday, we met up with some old friends of Pete's, Grant and Marnie. They had completed a similar round the world trip 18 months ago so we found lots of stories to compare over lunch. We had planned another hike after lunch(Lion's Head - the 'other' mountain in Cape Town, 672m). I was gamely keeping my mouth shut about the stiff legs and planning to at least give it a go when, joy of joys, a baby Southern Right Whale started leaping around in the water of the bay! It put on a show for us for about 30 minutes, by which time it was getting a little late... Perfect excuse NOT to climb another moutain! And I got to see my whale afterall.
Anyway, there are other things to entertain ourselves with in and around Cape Town and on to those...
First, Table Mountain. There is an historic cable car up the 1086 metre mountain or there is a steep 3hr uphill hike. One guess which option Pete wanted (and one guess which one I was wishing for!). So off we hiked... The last time either of us hiked anywhere was possibly right around the last time Pete was in the lead in backgammon, so you can imagine how tough it was... I am not ashamed to say that I cried 3/4 of the way up.
There are also 2 possible ways down the mountain - and I felt sure that I had earned the cable car by that point... Pete had other ideas. Down was murder, this time there were tears, curses, and collapses.
Pete marched sternly downwards and I stumbled behind, joined by about 18 middle-aged chain-smoking Egyptian men in their nighties (lost, their tour guide had instructed them to follow us). Everytime I shouted "I'm resting" and sat down I could hear their collective sigh of gratitude behind me. By the bottom we were best friends (albeit with no shared language). I appreciated their cheer (at least more that Pete's "stop making a fuss") when my legs buckled beneath me as I reached level ground. 4 days later my legs have still not stopped aching.
The next 2 days were something much more my style. The Wine Route. Wine tasting, eating lovely food, wandering around old Cape Dutch style buildings. As Pete was driving I had to take on the lion's share of the tasting (and I think I handled the responsibility well... we only bought 12 bottles). We managed to squeeze in lunch at 'The best restaurant in Africa' (Restaurant Magazine 2004 - who?) - excellent and very resonable (we still came in on budget!).
The last stop on our drive around the environs of Cape Town was Hermanus, a town on the coast, to try to spot some whales. They refused to show - but we did see some small rabbit-like creatures called dassies crawling about the rocky shore... not quite Southern Right Whales, but I tried to console myself with the thought that they are related to elephants (according to the LP anyway). Unfortunately Hermanus ened up being more noteworthy for the rather roudy Afrikaner teens that kept our entire hostel awake singing in the bar downstairs until 3am. Pete was first pissed off - then overjoyed when he asked for, and actually got our money back (plus and extra 10 rand thanks to the flustered lady at reception).
Finally back in Cape Town yesterday, we met up with some old friends of Pete's, Grant and Marnie. They had completed a similar round the world trip 18 months ago so we found lots of stories to compare over lunch. We had planned another hike after lunch(Lion's Head - the 'other' mountain in Cape Town, 672m). I was gamely keeping my mouth shut about the stiff legs and planning to at least give it a go when, joy of joys, a baby Southern Right Whale started leaping around in the water of the bay! It put on a show for us for about 30 minutes, by which time it was getting a little late... Perfect excuse NOT to climb another moutain! And I got to see my whale afterall.
