Monday, July 12, 2010

Odds and Ends


These first couple of pictures are of the Golden Orb spider. My mom sent me a little slip of paper she has found about these spiders in South Africa, and then, lo and behold we saw one. They spin a golden web which is difficult to catch with a camera, but you can kind of get the gist of it. They are huge too and the markings on their abdomen are really cool.

Next up is a hike I did on Table Mountain. That mountain has neverending opportunities for beautiful hikes. This was through an area called Silvermine and you can see that there is a fog over the city and we are up above it. Kind of similar to the hospital in Portland. The next picture is of Table Mountain/Devil's Peak from our balcony at sunset. Gees, we get some nice sunsets. And last is a picture of Hout Bay which is a suburb of Cape Town on the other end of the mountain. We went there for the only good, yet still subpar ice cream in town, but when we got there it was closed, and possibly permanently. I'd give just about anything for some cookies and cream right now.







World Cup 2010 is over. South Africa did a really amazing job hosting it. I have to be honest, I had my doubts, but they pulled it off without a hitch.

We went to see Holland vs Cameroon at the brand new Cape Town Stadium. We went well in advance to take in the atmosphere, and it was so much fun. The city was covered from head to toe in orange. Everyone was a Holland fan on that day. It was an amazing experience and the downtown fan walk was so festive. the entire event downtown was very well organized, safe, and everyone was in good spirits.

If only Holland could have continued their good fortune all way way to the end.