What makes Cape Town so appealing to the eye is Table Mountain sitting regally above the city. The city and it suburbs wrap around the base of this soaring, flat-topped almost 2 mile (3 kilometers) long mountain. Its lower portion is made of granite and its upper portion made of sandstone and some limestone. It "dresses" for every occasion: Sometimes it is clear as a bell and stands tall and proud over the city at its base:
Rarely, it is seen wearing its "petticoat" as it is below - a band of clouds right at the transition from the granite base to the steep sandstone face of the mountain. I took these pictures on my daily walks. Peter Manuel said it isn't often that he's seen it with the "petticoat" on and he's in his early 80s.
For "special guests" (which is anybody if you are here during the transition to the rainy season), the mountain will also puts on its finest "tablecloth," The weather from the eastern side of the mountain stacks up against the easter face and, coming across its flat top begins to spill down over its western face.
The fact is that the mountain NEVER loses its awe-inspiring grandeur. Every day it looks different -- its color changing due to the mixture of sun, clouds, time of day and season and the weather at any one time.
Also, as one goes from the western suburbs through the city to the eastern suburbs the mountain also changes in appearance. The picture below is from "the Waterfront" a shopping mall right in Cape Town. It sits on what was one of the older wharfs along the harbor. It gives you a sense of the size and type of city Cape Town is. It is largest port in Africa. It is a "first world" city (with 2nd world wi-fi service unfortunately).
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