Our first day waking up in Cape Town! And... drumroll please... it was fellow explorer Sarah Sakaan’s birthday! The staff at the Cape Diamond Hotel all signed a birthday card for her which accompanied a beautiful bunch of flowers we organized for her room. When travelling for so long, it is nice to have little things in a hotel room that make it feel more like home - Jenny and I always had tea and other homemade touches in our room.

We started off the day with a trip to Gary’s Surf School, located in a part of Cape Town called Muizenberg. The drive was through winding mountain roads and with unbelievable city and ocean views. For some, the rollercoaster-like twisting roads will take some adjusting to - some of us had queasy stomachs upon arrival. The sign above the entrance to Gary’s says ‘The Big Blue - It’s a way of life’ and that’s exactly how Gary Kleinhans, the owner, would describe it if you asked. Three of our brave explorers - Christopher, Meredith, and Henry - tried to look like pros while getting their first surfing lesson. Funny enough, they were naturals: they all got up on their boards within the first 3 tries. The occasional, glorious wipe-out was great fun for those of us watching and filming them from the beach, though! 

It was after the lesson that Gary pointed out a tower that keeps a watchful eye out for sharks. Had he pointed this out before the lesson, I don’t think Christopher would have gotten near the water! Fortunately, there were no shark encounters.

For dinner, we headed to a section of Cape Town known as the ‘Waterfront’. For tourists, especially, this is pretty much the place to be - with dozens of restaurants, bistros, and shops lining the water. The buildings all have a very Dutch-Colonial feel, and there are gorgeous views of Table Mountain.

Surf’s up, dude,

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