I swapped email today with a friend who lives in Cape Town, South Africa. It put me in remembrance of the day I snapped this picture, right below Table Mountain in Cape Town. . .

 

It was a good day.

The shot is of the “12 Apostles”—the series of 12 peaks which stretch southward from Table Mountain toward the tip of African continent. It was late afternoon and I was standing right about here shooting South. (zoom the map out for perspective)

My traveling companion that day was a native South African so he knew the territory. We drove on South along the coast road to a beautiful beach town called Hout Bay. We had a dinner of Ostrich, Springbok, and Kudu—all delicious.

Since I was a kid, I have always loved standing out under a dark sky and watching the stars. I learned the constellations and the planets early on but since I have lived most of my adult life in major cities, the chance to stand under a truly dark sky is a rare treat. And thus I couldn’t resist asking my friend to pull over before we headed back to Cape Town so I could stand under a set of stars I’d never seen before.

As Crosby, Stills and Nash said, “When you see The Southern Cross for the first time. . .”

Well. . .as I said. It was a good day.