"The Rain in [Cape Town] Stays Mainly in the Plain"

-Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison), My Fair Lady (1964)

               We woke up Tuesday morning to partly cloudy skies. We were unaccustomed to this, but before long the clouds were blown away and the sun was shining upon Camp’s Bay. We decided it was as good of a day as any to head to the beach and enjoy some time walking and sitting in the sand, Grandma Sal loved the beach and can often be found on the beach in Bay Head, with her toes in the sand listening to the afternoon Yankees game on a transistor radio. So we went down the hill to Camp’s Bay beach to enjoy the sun and also to settle a wager between Peter and I about the water temperature of the ocean. He did not believe that the water was as cold as I said it was, but he was proven wrong. Cold water currents bring freezing cold water right into Camp’s Bay. It does look like a tropical paradise with warm water and perfect conditions, but it is hard to spend more than 3 or 4 minutes in the water before you start to feel your core body temperature drop. Sally likes to stand with her feet in the water and enjoy the breeze, but the Camp’s Bay water was too cold to spend more than a moment in. Peter also decided that it was a cloudy enough day to go out without sun block, despite the fact he has been in an office in Boston for the last 5 months. Needless to say by noontime he was lobster red and it was time we left the beach before the South African sun reached its peak in the early afternoon.

A soon to be toasted Pedro, newly discovered beach cover up on Sally and Sarah 

So we headed to the waterfront to enjoy a nice lunch before we planned to do an unorthodox tour of the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Peninsula.  Peter had not yet seen the waterfront, so we got a table at Harbour House right on the water, with an umbrella to keep him out of the sun. After lunch we headed over to the Helicopter pad to take off for a tour of the Cape down to the Cape of Good Hope. Grandma Sal told us about the last time she’d been on a helicopter (in the 1970’s) and also about how she was supposed to take a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon with Pop during a General Counsel meeting in the early 1980s, but the weather was subpar so it had to be cancelled.
    

Peter, Sarah and my first trip on a Helicopter

              

So we headed to the helicopter pad and they told us the weather was clear and we were good to go. However, once we got into the air, some clouds moved in and blocked our course down to the Cape of Good Hope. It was clear that we would not be able to make it, so we went back down and had to reschedule our tour of the Cape of Good Hope. This was disappointing, but lessons had been learned today. The weather was not ideal and Peter learned how strong the sun in South Africa is. And after we landed and got off of the helicopter, clouds covered up the sky and soon it started to rain. So we headed back to the villa to seek refuge.

It was determined this was the perfect time to catch up on sleep, postcards or reading, while the weather was not perfect for the first time since Sally and Sarah’s arrival. Unfortunately I did not have the luxury of catching up on work, sleep or anything else, I had to fight the elements and go to rugby practice at 5:30. So I headed off to practice while the others stayed behind.

A gloomy day above Cape Town, but still a fantastic view

We had a tough practice that day, but it was a great workout. The 3rds and 4ths played together in the rain, playing tough rugby and other games against each other. We ran, and trained together and the cool weather and rain was actually pleasant considering how hot we usually get in the sun. When practice was over I brought two teammates, Ross and Levi back to the villa with me to go out to dinner with the family. Ross goes to Princeton and plays Rugby there and Levi goes to Tufts and used to play Lacrosse until he had an injury that ended his career. So we all went down to Blues in Camp’s Bay for dinner. Sally, of course, loved talking with Ross about all things Princeton; he is a member of Tiger Inn, which is where Teresa had her wedding reception and where Pop was a member during his time at Princeton. We had a great meal, enjoying some “Blues Burgers” and seafood while my friends and family got to know each other. Although the weather had not been great today, many lessons about the fickle nature of Cape Town’s weather and the strength of the sun had been learned. Ross and Levi enjoyed the meal and meeting my family. We headed back to the villa, with Aloe in hand for Peter and rest needed for our busy day ahead, where we planned to venture outside of Cape Town for the first time since their arrival.

"The Rain in [Cape Town] Stays Manly in the Plain"