Disappointed, we turned around, and at 5:30 AM tried to figure out (with our muddled brains) what we wanted to happen. We wanted to reschedule for the next day, of course, hoping it was possible. However, the morning dive was not available (as it was, we had to schedule ours far in advance as the morning has a greater probability of seeing great white sharks breaching the water), but the afternoon was open. We all agreed we would try again tomorrow, and have to cancel other plans for Sunday. We went to our rooms to get some sleep, then met back up for breakfast a couple of hours later. Erik took off jewelry shopping, and agreed to meet us at 11:30 AM at the natural history museum.
The museum was much bigger than we thought, and highlights included exhibits about bushmen (san) and their customs, traditions, and the history of the people who helped preserve those traditions before they died out due to colonialism; mammals and dinosaurs; sharks, whales and dolphins; older exhibits about the different cultures in the surrounding areas, and bones connecting pieces of time in the evolution of human beings.
We finally left, and asked the help of some gentlemen at a hotel to get a cab up to table mountain. The skies were completely clear today, and we wanted to try again. One of them, Edward, spoke to us at length while we waited about Mandela day (today), the politics in South Africa, and explained some tensions and traditions. He was well traveled, and had a lot to say, and to be quite honest, talking to him was one of the most interesting things we had done in Cape Town so far.
When our cab finally arrived, we said goodbye, and the skies were still clear when we got to the cable cars. We bought our tickets online (faster and easier as the line to buy tickets was crazy long), and headed up. Turns out, the floor rotates in the car so that everyone gets a chance at every view.
We ate at the cafe, then took many pictures at the mountain nearby the cafe and shop. We then all started hiking around the long trail around the whole mountain (a plaque said this should take about 45 minutes). As we walked, mist started appearing and by the end, we were surrounded by the tablecloth on table mountain. Pieces of my hair were wet from it. The plant life and experience of walking inside a cloud was fantastic - we got to see every side of table mountain that day, under all conditions. We waited in line to get down, and marveled at the sunset at the bottom, to the point that we soon were worried we would not find a large enough cab left to take us.
We tried eating at the hotel for dinner, which was all right, and went to bed, dreaming shark dreams, hoping for good weather tomorrow.
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