The Table Mountain

I didn’t know what to expect weeks before my trip to Cape Town in South Africa.  I had mixed emotions and like what I normally do before traveling, I lower my expectations.

I did my research about South Africa. I looked at pictures, read its history and browsed some personal experiences of people who have been there in the internet.   With only a week to go around Cape Town, I did my usual top 10 list of  where to go, what to do and which ones must see.  Table Mountain ranked number 1 on my itinerary which I based on the many personal accounts of people from travel sites and blogs.  What I read excite me.  The Table Mountain grew on me as the day drew nearer to my trip to Cape Town.

The Table Mountain is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, I have been to the 2 others on the list (Underground River in Puerto Princessa in my country the Philippines and Halong Bay in Vietnam).  The Table Mountain definitely deserved its spot in this prestigious list though (I believe) there are just so many that should have been included or the list does not just consist of 7 (make it 12 or something!).

This captivating mountain which I found absolutely remarkable and nothing like I’ve seen before became the backdrop of my stay in Cape Town.

The Table Mountain as seen from my hotel room made my every morning in Cape Town truly awesome.

The V&A Waterfront is a prime tourist area in Cape Town. The Table Mountain makes the waterfront even more picturesque.

One blogger wrote, “it is a mortal sin to miss the Table Mountain”.. I didn’t want to commit such sin, so off to the top I go.

On top of the world, I mean the Table Mountain overlooking the stunning Cape Town and the Atlantic Ocean.

On top of the Table Mountain overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

The Table Mountain as seen from my seat on board the Emirates Airlines. I surely left my heart in Cape Town.

Cape Town is probably one of the most beautiful cities in the world and South Africa is on my top 7 list of the world’s most picturesque countries.

Africa: The Big Five

One of the highlights of my recent trip in South Africa was a visit to a wild animal reserve about 2-hours away from Cape Town. Africa is known for the Big Five game animals though I always thought that the giraffe should be on this list but the lion, buffalo, leopard, rhinoceros and the elephant completes the list.  And after this ‘wildlife’ tour, I wanted to include even the zebra and the hippos.

The term big 5 was coined by hunters and not because they are all big literally (of course the elephant is huge), but because they are the most difficult animals to hunt and the degree of danger involved.  The big 5 are believed to be among the most dangerous yet very popular for big game hunters. Which I hope is no longer a popular past-time for hunters !

Africa now uses the Big 5 for marketing purposes, thus my collection of key chains and ref magnets after the tour aside from the wonderful photos I took.  The Big five animals can be found in South Africa, Botswana, Congo, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia and Uganda.

These Big 5 however can be found from the Aquila Private Game Reserve, http://www.aquilasafari.com

Dubai, Dubai !

Dubai is probably the city in the world that I’ve seen the most but have never actually been. I took this aerial shot while on board a flight to Cape Town, South Africa. I want to think that I’ve captured it well. I really hope to be able to step foot in the streets of Dubai soon. That would be wonderful.

Travel Theme: Bridges

What better way to get back to blogging after two months of hiatus than to showcase the bridges that I’ve seen and crossed.  Thanks to one of my favorite blog sites, Ailsa’s Where’s my backpack? for a wonderful theme that enticed me to go back to my usual blogging self.

I have always been fascinated with bridges.  I remember back as a kid, I made bridges out of my father’s cassette tapes and let my toy cars pass thru them. He would get mad at me when he hears I drop or crash any of those precious tapes.  Oh, what great memories!

Now, I pass through bridges regardless whether they are narrow or wide, long or short, old or new.  But just like when I was a kid, I am still fascinated.

I have a dozen photos of various bridges but these were the only ones I get to upload.  My humble sharing in this week’s travel theme.

Sydney Australia’s Darling Harbor

At the canals of Amsterdam

Mandaue City Cebu in the Philippines

Harbor Bridge Australia

Alexander Bridge in Paris

Oh what a great feeling to be able to blog again ! Until next time.

 

Wanderfulescapades.com 2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 45,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 10 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

 

Travel Theme: Circles

“Where’s my Backpack?” enticed me (and many others too) to pay homage to all the circles that we see in our travels.  So in response to his call I went in ‘circles’ in search for just a perfect fit.  And here’s my version to this week’s travel theme Circles;

Here are just a few of the many circles I saw from 30,000 feet on board a flight from Chicago to Las Vegas.
Fire dancers in the Island of Boracay create this awesome fire circles.

The circles in the ceiling at the lobby of the Cesar’s Palace Hotel in Las Vegas.

This water fountain at the lobby of the Bellagio is a sphere. Perhaps, a circle?

This art work makes the façade of the Novotel Hotel in Seoul South Korea marvelous.

The Fisherman’s Wharf logo is circle.

I need not travel really far to take this photo.  I use snow globes as centerpiece for my living room.

These weird-looking fruits in the island of Batanes could be circles too.

Have a good one everybody !

Weekly Photo Challenge: Changing Seasons

A tropical country has only two seasons; wet and dry or the summer and rainy days.  We don’t get to see a dramatic transition of these two seasons unlike in places where there are four.  Unless, these seasons bring forth more than what they should deliver.  Like when rains pour than normal, we experience flood and landslides which makes this gloomy season gloomier.  Or when the summer months scourge more than it should, we see drought and devastation of crops. Well, that’s a different kind of drama. Can you picture it? Maybe not at this time where I’m having a grand time enjoying this ‘season’.

So, in this week’s photo challenge I would like to focus on the season that we’ve deliberately added to our lives and everyone hopes it lasts year round.  It’s the season where everybody is joyful and hopeful of the great memories it could bring. It’s the season where families reunite, enemies reconcile and everyone sings a happy tune of lullabies.  The seasons which like tides makes people nicer and kind.  It’s the season that sends people to the malls to buy gifts not for themselves but for people everywhere. It’s the season that makes houses, trees and roads turns colorful and bright.  It’s the season that turns regular breads to fruit cakes and ordinary meals to feasts.   It’s the season of hope, camaraderie and friendship.  The season that brings good cheer to everyone who anticipates it.  It’s the season that we look forward from the moment it ends and rush to it the moment September starts.  The season that we celebrate the grandest and perhaps the longest.  It’s the season that commemorate the birth of the one who saves the people of the earth.  It’s the season that does not only change our surroundings but our hearts as well. It’s the Yuletide Season, our favorite season of all.

Regular trees turned colorful and bright.  This Giant Christmas Tree was lit amidst fanfare and fireworks which signals the start of the Merry Yuletide Season.

From the tropical paradise of the Philippines – I wish all of you to enjoy this wonderful season.