RTW Day 13: Devil's Peak

Feeling refreshed, it was time for more hiking. I ate breakfast with Jessie and Yoann, and we made loose plans to hike and then stuff ourselves with cheap, delicious food at the Eastern Bazaar, a place downtown we had all been waiting to try.

 

Jessie wanted to hike Lion's Head, and Yoann and I Devil's Peak, so we parted ways and I headed for the last of the three big mountains in Cape Town with Yoann.

 

 

The hike was supposed to take four hours (2.5 up, 1.5 down), but after all the hiking we've been doing we made it up in less than an hour. Felt good. On the way up we met two women who did not look like hikers, but they were quite a ways up the mountain. They were looking for proteans, those plants that only grow here:

 

At the top we ate a fast lunch of bananas and granola bars, then took in the great views of the city, ocean, and mountains:

 

The way back was steeper than we thought coming up, but we got a break halfway down. The ladies from before we're drinking tea on their way down. Brits! Soon enough we were in the car looking for Jessie, who Yoann conveniently found walking toward the hostel. We picked her up in the middle of the street (my driving by this point had significantly improved) and we were off to lunch.

 

 

We had some trouble finding the Eastern Bazaar, but it was worth it. We bought enough food for four people to get stuffed, paid only $30 for it all, and enjoyed some delicious Indian, Halaal and local-ish cuisine. My favorite was something called Bunny Chow, which is curried chicken in a hollowed out half-loaf of bread. No bunnies, just chicken.

 

We went back to the hostel awaiting more food, in the form of a Braais, which is essentially a South African BBQ. Yoann and I played some pool and drank some beer, then played chess over some beers, then ate the Braais with some more beers.

 

After the dinner everyone wanted to go out for - what else? - more drinks so I decided it was about time for me to go out to Long Street and experience the night life first hand. I'm not a big bars and party scene kind of guy but I had a great time. At some point in the early morning I stumbled into bed and laughed at the prospect of getting up at 8AM for the wine tour I had booked the morning prior. Fat chance.