Friday, March 9, 2012

Sam enjoying a special day



Yesterday was Ryan’s 21st birthday so we all decided to hike Lion’s Head since it was conveniently a full moon. Hiking Lion’s head at the full moon is a Cape Town tradition that many people partake in during their time here. It was a fairly easy hike but the views all the way up are so beautiful its unbelievable. You can see the ocean surrounded by all the mountains with the whole city in between. There were so many people hiking up at the same time and we met so many new people from all over. Once we were on top of the mountain, it was crowded but we found a spot to sit and watch the sunset. I have never watched the sunset from the top of a mountain and it was so beautiful. As soon as the sunset, we moved to the other side of the mountain and waited for the full moon to light up the sky. We were also looking over the city and as it got darker out the city lights started to come on. We just sat on the top of a mountain and enjoyed everything around us. We could see everything and I liked the atmosphere with so many people there too. At one point we decided to sing Happy Birthday to Ryan and everyone around us joined in and for the rest of the night people would come up to him and wish him a happy birthday.

We just hung out on top of the mountain for a couple hours and took time to appreciate the beauty of the city we have been living in. We brought food so we could eat dinner at the top. There were also a few astronomers at the top who brought telescopes out for anyone to look at. One of them was focused on the full moon, which looks really cool but it so bright it hurts your eyes a little. The second telescope was aimed at Venus and Jupiter. Jupiter was much brighter and if you looked closely you could see four little dots around it that we learned were the moons of Jupiter. Space has always fascinated me so I particularly liked that part. I love being on top of mountains because it is so peaceful and you can see everything around you. We also got a cool view of Table Mountain that had clouds spilling over the edges. I can’t even properly describe how the city looks from the top or how the sunset looked as it slowly descended over the ocean. There aren’t words to describe it and I wish everyone could be there and see it for themselves because it was one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen. Hiking back down in the dark was also quite the adventure because you can’t always see where you’re going but it was still a good time.

After we got back home, we all came together and sang to Ryan one more time and got to enjoy one of Marita’s incredibly delicious cakes. It was a nice way to spend his birthday and we had almost everyone on the trip together for the majority of the day, which was also really nice. I hope we get to hike it again soon. We still have one more full moon before we leave!  

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