Breathtakingly Beautiful!

We forgot to close our black out curtains last night. Thank goodness! I awoke to a gorgeous sunrise over Walker Bay. 

I threw on some clothes and headed out to take the cliff walk in the direction of the new harbor. 

All the flora and fauna smelled so fresh and beautiful from the bath it got from the rain yesterday.

The dassies were out in full force. The front desk attendant at our hotel informed us that dassies aren’t from the rat family but the elephant family. 

The beauty was around me in every direction. So I took two 180 degree panoramic photos so I could remember how I was encircled in beauty.

I thought I saw a whale in the distance but I couldn't be sure. When I got to the new harbor I saw a whale watching boat leaving. They went out into the Bay and stopped at the exact location I had seen what I thought was a whale. 

A pod of dolphins swam by. Then I got to the end of the path. 

I looked at my watch and realized I had been gone for an hour and a half. I decided to go back using the street so I didn't stop every few feet and take another photo.  My plan didn’t work because the flora and fauna here is as beautiful as the view.

By the time I returned to our room to shower I had already gone 8,000 steps. While Gayle and I were getting ready we heard someone sorrowfully calling out in the distance. After breakfast we noticed that part of the cliff walk was closed with yellow caution tape with the police standing nearby. I asked the porter about it as he loaded our bags into the car. He said a woman had jumped off the cliffs and committed suicide this morning. While I was feeling embraced in beauty, she felt hopeless. The porter then told me his own  father committed suicide when he was ten years old. Life is filled with beauty and trauma, joy and sorrow, success and disappointment. I was once again reminded of the preciousness of life.

Our flight leaves out of Cape Town at 7:30 pm. We have lunch reservations for La Petite Ferme restaurant in Franschoek on the way. The woman at the front desk said we should take the Franschoek Pass and drive slowly through the multiple hairpin curves. She said it was worth it because it is breathtakingly beautiful. We stopped many times to try to capture the view in a photo,

Franschoek is known for its wine and amazing cuisine. We skipped the wine but we each ordered a couple plates to share.

But the crowning dish was a pomegranate and hibiscus mat with a honey and lemon ricotta mousse served on an upside down bowl.

After lunch we walked down to their vineyards.

We reluctantly got in the car and drove to the airport to begin the long flight home. This has been a once in a lifetime journey. I am so glad we did it. I hate to leave and, at the same time, I can't wait to get home.