Rebecca: full moon over Lion's Head

View from Lion's Head at full moon

Last night I got to see all of Cape Town light up in the evening sky.  Around 6 o’clock in the evening almost all of us participating in this program hiked up Lion’s Head, which is a mountain overlooking Cape Town.  It is right in the middle of the city!  The hike took about an hour and certain parts were a little treacherous (at least for someone like me who’s scared of heights).  I felt a huge sense of accomplishment when I reached the top because I couldn’t complete the hike up Table Mountain and I felt like I had something to prove to myself.  About a month before I left for Cape Town I contracted the virus Mono and just haven’t felt like myself (health-wise) since, but I think I got a little bit of myself back when I reached the top of Lion’s Head.

               

Kelsey & Rebecca climbing Lion's Head

Once we reached the top we got a spot on the mountain looking West so we could see the sunset over the ocean.  It was really beautiful.  It was almost as if the sun was melting into the water.  Then I moved to the other side of the mountain to watch the noon rise.  This was probably the best part.  The moon was so big and bright.  The sky was all pretty pastels, and then slowly the lights of Cape Town began to turn on.  It was breathtaking watching all of the flickering lights turn on.  Soon the city was completely lit up and the sky was bright with the full moon.  Table Mountain and the Twelve Apostles (a set of peaks next to Table Mountain) had clouds on them that made the mountains look like waterfalls. 

Clouds ove Twelve Apostles

Unfortunately we had to hike back down with the hundreds of people that had decided to ascend the mountain just like we had.  Early on our hike back down I looked up and all of the people looked as if we were ants on a giant anthill (haha).  It was pretty cool that people from all over had come to do the exact same thing we did.   Then when I got further down the mountain I looked back up and my breath was taken away.  All along the trail you could see just see the glow from flashlights against the outline of the mountain.  It was just so amazing.  Of course I was exhausted and my muscles are pretty sore, but it was totally worth it!