Last updated by at .

Cape Town: Kissing Table Mountain

Ian was right. Under a dazzling sunshine and with hardly a cloud in the sky when we arrived, Table Mountain was spectacularly alluring.

It seemed to rise straight up out of the ground, then stop abruptly as if something, or someone, had blunted its ascent.

We got our tickets and boarded the funicular that would take us the nearly 3,600 feet to the top of the mountain. Watching the buildings and cars below as they got smaller and smaller, I felt my ears pop in reaction to the change in altitude.

Climbing the mountain
Cable car
Table Mountain welcome
Mapping the mountain
View from the Table
We’re far from home!
Table Mountain flower
More Table Mountain flowers
City view
Mountain view
More views
More mountain views
Cape coastline
Robben Island seen from Table Mountain
Cape Town Stadium seen from the Mountain
Mountain dassie (rodent)
Enjoying the mountain
About the table cloth
Stone monument
Kissing the mountain

I spoke with my Aunt Connie, before I left for South Africa. It had been her dream, she told me, to visit Table Mountain. She was so thrilled I was going, she asked that I kiss it for her. After I laid this stone, I remembered the promise I made Aunt Connie. I’m glad I was able to “kiss the mountain” for her. It was a great way to end our first day in Cape Town.