Swaziland Chronicles: CAPE TOWN -- part two

Two days of travel; two days of racing; now we move to downtown Cape Town and eventually we meet up with Fred and Florence who fly down to join us. The first picture is from near our hotel.
Hope you can see it is a clean, international, first-world city that looks nothing like Swaziland.
(Click to enlarge)

After moving from Newland, this is our welcoming committee to downtown Cape Town, about a block from our new hotel. A reminder that we're still in Africa: The dress of the girls is traditional African (bare breasts here are not sexual), but the city is definitely not Swazi.

This is Cape Town, beneath and surrounding Table Mountain. The Table rises slightly more than 3000 ft. The Town not only surrounds the Table, but we could see skyscrapers surrounding Table Bay.

A view of Cape Town from Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated. We toured here after my race, beginning with about an half-hour catamaran ride. Fortunately, the tour around the island was by bus. We had two good docents (successively), one of them a former prisoner on the island. Returning at dusk, we were well positioned for another good meal on the waterfront. (Runners need to replace calories.)

The limestone mine where Nelson Mandela worked. All suffered problems with sight because of the bright light reflected off the limestone, some even going blind. Being political prisoners, some were well-educated and taught those less educated--even to advanced degrees. The prison became known as the University of Robben Island.
We learned here of the three Ms: Mahatma Ghandi, Mandela, and Martin Luther King, representing non-violent revolution and reconciliation.

Company's Gardens, in downtown Cape Town, about three blocks from our hotel, from the original settlement where fruits and vegetables were grown for the ships to replenish their supply in order to prevent scurvey.

Camphor Avenue in Kirstenbosch Gardens. The four of us hired a taxi for the day. We started our tour here and could have spent all day in this garden at the foot of Table Mountain on the sunrise side. We all commented that this is as beautiful as any garden we have visited anywhere. Leonard: We were thinking you would have enjoyed this. The weather was a little threatening but pleasant and improving.

Erica Garden in Kirstenbosch. Photos didn't do it justice and I had a 'low battery' indicator. The three birders with me added to their life-lists.

African "Jackass" penguins--named for the noise they make. Originally from Antartica, a couple of pair lost their way and have multiplied into thousands on nearby islands. Debbie thought, they sure are cute!

Cape of Good Hope. You see the Atlantic Ocean--behind and to the left of the rock is the Indian Ocean.

Cape Hope 'scenic walk'. We had our driver drop us off here and then we hiked up this trail (see the people on top?) back to the vista point--about an hour.

Florence took this to prove that I was along, also.