April 15

Today was set aside for one of our must sees in Cape Town, Cape Point, but before heading out, Gila had to have her coffee infusion. I have always called it the Cape of Good Hope and when Shelley kept asking us about going to Cape Point, I didn't really understand what she was talking about.

As soon as we arrived we saw baboons. I was initially upset that one had moved before I caught it on my camera, but I should have had no worries. There were many baboons around. The first one was sitting, back to me, on the ledge above the gift shop. Later, one sauntered across in front of the shop as if it owned the world. In the parking lot, there were baboons sitting on car roofs or hanging from the car windows. They have learned that where there are people, there is food and were hoping that a window was left open. They are totally used to people, but there are signs everywhere indicating that baboons are dangerous wild animals.

There was a good view of the mountains from the cafe's terrace but the main attraction was going to the top where the lighthouse stood. There was a beautiful gently sloped pathway with stairs to go by foot, but we chose to go on the funicular. The top had magnificent vista points and steep stairs to climb to the lighthouse, too steep for me to try. We did take a short hike around to the other side of the mountain to look at everything from yet another perspective. The paths are beautifully constructed with stone and lined with numerous native shrubs and flowers. There was a lot of aloe vera that was in bloom as well.

We browsed the gift shop and then came down the funicular again, this time to look for other animals. In the fields in the distance we could see some animals grazing. Because we had been to the Natural History museum and had seen the full array of antelopes, we were able to surmise that we were looking at elands (pronounced earlant) The weather was quite changeable but when the sun did emerge, it was pleasant though windy. Unfortunately Gila was using her cellphone without the protective case. She dropped it and the entire screen shattered. I guess someone I know will be getting a new 6 iPhone.

We opted to go to the local scratch patch in Simon's Town next. What a fascinating place. We able to pick a bagful of tumbled gemstones from an area that was filled with the stones. Shelley bought us each a guide to figure out which stones we had and then we all moved to the Rock Shop and the Gift Shop. You could buy the stones displayed there on a per kilo basis. Shelley got some stones that will work perfectly with her jewelry designs. I picked some black and clear beads, already with holes to make my own necklace. We couldn't resist the gift shop either. Our visit was scheduled to be thirty minutes in total. Because we were so taken by the stones, we long overstayed the thirty minutes we had allotted. Our plan had been to visit the cheetah outreach, but because of how late in the afternoon it was, it was unlikely to still be open so we all agreed to an early dinner and early evening to allow us the time to pack and still have enough sleep for our travel day. We found a local Ocean Basket and had more yummy fish, no alcohol and no dessert. We were home by 8:15 on our last night in Cape Town.