Lion’s head! A massive piece of rock overlooking the city of Cape Town and the vast ocean outstretching beyond the southern coast of Africa.
We started our way early in the afternoon from Green Point, accompanied by a soft drizzle, hoping it will not turn into one of those heavy storms, often occurring in Cape Town. After a short walk through the picturesque neighborhoods of the area, we reached the beginning of our trail, and as if we were concerted, the sun shone above us, offering a spectacular, bright view across the western coast of the city. We started ascending moving along Signal Hill’s west slope and up to the col, between the hill and our peak. There we had a short break to take some breaths and dawdle over the newly appeared view towards the east.
The haughty peak was standing in front of us waiting to get conquered, so without lingering a lot, we started ascending further. Finally, after some hiking and a bit of scrambling towards the end, we reached the top two hours before the sunset. Waiting for the sunset, we spent our time taking some photos, chatting with people around, keeping us warm by keeping in motion and trying to get cover from the wind while it was blowing wild, and of course, admiring the stunning view while contemplating existence. The entire view of Cape Town was laid in front of our sight, and the immense ocean surrounding the city, right at the point where the Atlantic meets the Indian, was forcing you to stare at the blurry horizon, reminding you how big the world is and how small the man. The sun, moving in his ever-same tempo, was steadily submerging into the horizon, playing frolic games with our vision faculties attaching all those millions of tints onto the sea’s surface and the landscapes about, offering one of those moments when the instant is equal to eternity.
When, after all, the sun had completely plunged into the water, marking the end of one day yet, we started on our way back down. On the way, we got to gaze at the now artificially illuminated city, while recollecting the experiences of the day. We descended rapidly in order to exploit the dim, yet aiding, remaining light, and after a while, we reached back down to the city from the east side this time. After a stroll through the vivid city center, and a stop for dinner and a cold beer, we finally reached back after a long, pleasant day of walking.
