Trekking the Annapurna Circuit

The bulk of our time in Nepal will be spent hiking half of the Annapurna Circuit, said to be one of the best treks in the world. We will be completing the eastern half, starting in Beshi Sahar (lower right) and ending in Jomsom (upper left). Sorry this picture is so grainy, but at least it gives a sense of things.

Our directions are northwest and up. We start at about 790m (2600ft), going through the Thorang La Pass toward the end of our trek which is 5416m high (17, 769ft). Don't worry- we have altitude sickness pills packed (as well as two tubs of peanut butter, crackers, peanuts & raisins, Milo- a chocolate drink powder- to add to our yak milk tea in case it tastes horrific, dried guava and peach rolls, and a bar of Green&Black's organic dark chocolate). The days will take us through various Buddhist and Hindu holy sites, and see a transition from tropical forest in Beshi Sahar, terminal moraine (rocks deposited at the furthest point of a glacier) in Manang, and the snow line in Thorang La. When we end in Jomsom (2713m/8900ft) we will rest for the afternoon and book a small puddle-jumper flight for the next morning to take us to Pokhara (lower center) for a few days of R&R and hopefully a massage or seven. The trek should take between 10-14 days, and during this time we will cover more than 120km/75 miles. Yikes, that is actually the first time I calculated the total distance. What have we gotten ourselves into?!

It is going to be a trip of a lifetime and we cannot wait. So please excuse our month of blog silence and get excited for pictures and stories when we return!

weekend recap

We had one seriously great weekend. Friday evening we met at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens for a evening picnic supper. I packed wine, peartiser (a fizzy pear juice drink), fresh bread, cheese studded with almonds and apricots, homemade peanut noodles, and guavas. It was lovely to be there so late in the day because hardly anyone was around- it really felt like we had the place to ourselves. Well, not quite to ourselves as there were a few avian friends hanging about.

We went for a hike on Saturday morning to the Tartarus Cave off Boyes Drive above St. James beach. It was incredibly foggy and pretty stinkin chilly, but there were lovely flowers out in abundance which can make even the drabbest of days feel special.

And to cap it off, yesterday we got to watch our wonderful friends Ariane and Mdu get married. The day was perfect, the venue (Groot Constantia wine farm) was stunning, the bride and groom looked smashing, and the party was incredibly fun. I might have even played the tambourine with the band at some point :)

Here's hoping this coming weekend is just as delightful!

skeleton gorge & nursery ravine

Two weekends ago we decided to kick our hiking up a notch and tackle Table Mountain. We were looking for a leg intensive route, so we arrived at Kirstenbosch Botantical Gardens (the starting point) in the early morning hours and went up Skeleton Gorge and down Nursery Ravine. I think my knees have almost forgiven me...almost.

The dotted line traces our route.

This hike was really intense- a very steep ascent over rocks and using ladders. And steps. Lots and lots of steps.

Becky going up.

Brendan down below.

A stop for water (don't worry, it isn't horribly dirty water, just brown from the tannins in the fynbos).

Nearly at the summit.

Once we reached the top, we lengthened our time on a flat contour by walking to one of the reservoirs on the top of Table Mountain. It is incredibly surreal to climb a mountain and then cross a sand dune and arrive at a small beach.

The rocks are a stark gray-white and very pitted giving everything a distinctly lunar feel.

Then we looped back around, went down Nursery Ravine, and I whimpered back to the car. I think I might only be tempted to do this walk again sometime between January and March when the king proteas are out in full force on Nursery Ravine. But then again, maybe I'll just enjoy the proteas in the botanical garden and call it a day!

Lion's Head

In keeping with our training for Nepal, Brendan and I climbed Lion's Head yesterday, and lucky for us Dave (poppa MB) joined us. Lion's Head is a mountain between Table Mountain and Signal Hill here in Cape Town, and is part of the stunning skyline we enjoy daily. The peak is 669 meters (2,195 feet) above sea level, which means it gives us zero elevation training for Nepal where our starting altitude is just shy of 3,000 ft and our highest height is something obscene like 17,000 ft. I'm trying not to think about that too much. Anyway, this mountain got its name because its profile sort of looks like a seated lion.

We started our ascent around 4:30pm (after a heavenly lunch out at the Morgenhof wine estate...life here is very hard). We got to the top by about 5:45 after a number of stops to enjoy the scenery. One of the lovely things about this walk is that you walk in a spiral to get to the very top, so you slowly enjoy a 360 degree view of the city and ocean. And while there are some very steep sections and a few rock scrambles, the sweat and occasional banged knee is worth it to see these views.

When a thin layer of cloud covers Table Mountain it is called the table cloth (cute, no?). You can just see it forming here. Also, note that grey building at the base of the mountain and the little nubbin on the edge of the mountain on top. That is where the Table Mountain cableway runs. Hope that doesn't scare my fam too much because we are riding that when you visit in December!

That's me in the lower right, adding a bit of perspective. This city is so full of beauty and grandeur. I feel continually fortunate to be here.

With much love from the Mother City

xx b&b

one walk, two ways

In anticipation of our tea house trek along part of the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal next year (woohoo!), we have put ourselves on a walking/hiking regimen to start training our bodies. We bought a book of the best walks in the Cape Peninsula, and two weekends ago we began with the Silvermine Trail/Elephant's Eye Cave walk. It was a beautiful morning, and we were feeling jittery and excited because the view from the top of this walk was said to be, quite possibly, the best vista in the Cape Peninsula.

But as we kept walking, the sky started looking like this:

As we approached the summit, we experienced this:

It was all very "Gorillas in the Mist", without the gorillas of course. It also started raining and was incredibly cold and windy.

When we got to the top we couldn't see a dadgum thing and decided that we might as well start walking back down. It was a bit of a let down and we vowed to repeat this walk, lest Mother Nature get the better of us. And we did repeat it...last weekend. What a difference. 

It was a bright, hot, sunny morning. 

We went with Lucy and Annabelle, two of Brendan's very best friends and former roommates. I am lucky enough to be working with Annabelle at the University of Cape Town. 

And this time at the top we saw this:

and this:

and this:

It was a glorious day. We were sweaty and happy after three hours in nature.

And certainly made happier by following this up with fish and chips at Kalky's in Kalk Bay and a visit to the Olympia Cafe bakery for a sweet treat.