Mel and I have done lots of things in the last couple of days. We did end up paddling out to Robbin Island from Cape Town. We were in a tandem kayak and there were probably 15 other kayaks going out there with us. Mel knows the owners of the company from his river guiding days. We started in a little cove right at the base of the city and the water was pretty calm there. We paddle out of the marina and the group leader said to head out to the container ship then we will turn right to head out to the Island. Do you know how big a container ship is when sitting in a kayak? It must be 30 stories high. After turning right we could barely see the island but the waters were still calm and there was relatively no wind. We saw seals and dolphins all the way out. Pretty cool. The Island itself was... interesting. We were not allowed to land on the island, that is reserved for ferry boats, so we just floated off the coast about 100meters. The island must have looked like death to the prisoners that were transported there. So distant but so near. I heard that the prisoners could sometimes hear people in Cape Town talking and smell food on a calm day. When we turned around, table mountain looms over the city, its breathtaking. And to think that I climbed it yesterday, I could not even find the route up or where it could even be from this vantage. As it turns out, the wind kicked up, headwind, and the surf rose. The trip back was hard, my shoulders burned and I had to keep looking forward or I would get dizzy. Mel and I had a great talk though to pass the time.
After making it to shore and getting a bite to eat we went for a ride in Tokai. That may be spelled wrong. This MTB park is an old tree plantation on the side of the mountain. Trails are everywhere, and so are baboons. The baboons were down at the bottom and I did not have my camera ready so no pictures. Pretty funny though. The climb was steep and the views are spectacular.
The picture above, we are climbing into the clouds, the clouds drift across from left to right with the sun shining through. Its very dramatic and a bit mesmerizing. We got into the clouds and the view was completely obscured. I felt good on the bike however, except my shoulders were tired. We descended fast and Mel hit the ground twice, but did not get hurt. Trails range from baseball rocks to ashtray sand. I can get sucked into looking at the scenery too long or I may fall too. I have some video of us headed to the clouds that I will post later.
We were running late to our next stop which was another friend of Mels from boating. Ross was our host this night, he lives right on the coast. Ross had to get to a party this night so Mel and I were on our own. We went into town, Kommitjie, and got supper. I had shark and tomato pizza which was good, but I dont think there was shark on it. Oh well. We woke up and this was the view off of Ross's deck, and where I drank coffee.
How beautiful is that? Ross guides trips off of Madigascar, boating,surfing camping and such. After leaving Ross's we went to cape point and Simons town to eat and look at penguins. It was noon when we got there so the penguins were not moving much, but cool. We decided not to ride today so Mel could get his neck worked on, it has been stiff for several days, weeks even. Driving back to Gordons Bay, we drove past some shanty's. This county is a bit strange this USA citizen because it is a first world nation but you can turn a corner here and BAM, there is a 3rd world nation, for miles and miles.
I suppose Apartheid has not been gone for too long, relatively, and lots of work still needs to be done. Monday when I got in, I read the paper about Blacks and Coloureds rioting with each other because of school access. Very complex social dynamics here.
What does this have to do with mountain biking? If I did not MTB then I probably would not be seeing this country now. When I bought my first MTB, a GT timberline, did I think that this path led to Africa? No. But the trail has been good for me. Accept peoples milkshakes, buy the piano, whatever you do, do it with passion. Be good, and thanks for reading. Its Lekker.
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