Playing in the clouds

After climbing through shadows and the shade of the cliffs, skin moist from the clouds surrounding me, I finally emerged into sunlight. Two and a half hours straight uphill, climbing stone stairs and rocks. The entire way up I was surprised at how little visible damage there was from last week’s fire, however it’s possible there was on other side of the mountain.

Since I got to Cape Town two months ago, I had been itching to see the top of this mountain that is the backdrop to my life here. It is the first thing I see when I walk out of my gate in the morning and it guides me through town as my compass. We climbed for three kilometers through Plattenklip Gorge to the top of Table Mountain, 1050 meters in the air.

Walking around on the tabletop felt like walking on another planet— the rocky surface was filled with craters and little vegetation. The clouds that blew by us created a surreal fog blurring our vision so much that at points we couldn’t see the other side of the mountain.

The view was unbelievable— the city and water below me with clouds rolling in to obscure the scene. My hands were numb and I was shaking from the cold. After warming up inside, we took the cable car down the mountain as the sun set over Cape Town. On our drive home we saw three little lights descending the mountain, probably the irresponsible climbers we had seen on our way up; they decided to walk back down one hour before the sun set. I got home feeling fulfilled, exhilarated and utterly exhausted.

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