Boulders Beach, South Africa - Penguins!!

We went to Boulder's Beach, just southeast of Cape Town, to see the Penguins!!!  Here is a link that jumps to info about the Boulder's Beach Colony, scroll up or down for more info on the African Penguin.  This is going to be mostly pictures with a little commentary, enjoy!


I see PENGUINS!!



 These are nesting penguins, they looked very strange with their mouths open. Upon further research, we learned that they were panting like a dog. It was quite hot that day and since they cannot leave the nest to go into the shade, this is how they cooled off. File that under learn something new everyday.

Here you can see some adolescent penguins, in various states of molting.

 Here you can see a baby penguin under the mother, front, center as she stands up to adjust the nest. And no Mom, those aren't snakes, but dried seaweed, I promise.

Just hanging on the beach, about to go for a dip.

 This guy was seriously cute and very friendly.

More penguins :)


Swimming penguins! We did not see nearly as many as we expected as hot as it was. Did you know that penguins can go months without touching land?

Top down view, this guy was up by the boardwalk enjoying the shade. He had no fear of us pesky tourists, in fact...

I am pretty sure he decided to plank for me :)
 

Penguins on Rocks!!
 

Dueling Penguins? About to take 10 paces?

Wait, no pacing, seem to be taking a different approach to this standoff..

Okay, well I guess it's pretty clear who won this one....

I don't think this penguin is hiding nearly as well as he seems to believe.

 Lone penguin, staring out at sea, surrounding by protective penguin housing, made by man.

Penguin Watch party? Must stay vigilant against Seal Attacks.

Cape Town, South Africa Day One

We loved Cape Town, and we will definitely return.  Upon our red-eye arrival the first morning, we arrived at the Westin Cape Town and were greeted with this.

We started our local sightseeing at the Castle of Good Hope, a pentagon shaped military installment that is the oldest surviving colonial building in South Africa.   The entrance includes a lion, a cannon and a palm tree.



And of course, a moat, I mean what is a castle without a moat.



 And now you may enter the castle...

This is a more modern, friendly entrance to what was the Governor's house within the complex.

A lovely facade within the complex, you can see Table Mountain in the background. Speaking of Table Mountain, we were not able to visit it due to winds and storms that were blowing through while we were there. Just another reason to return.

Here is a little photo I took on the Castle grounds that I just love.

 Across the street is City Hall, lovely Italian inspired building from the early 1900s.

 I do not have any pictures of the District Six Museum but it was a really moving experience. District Six was a multiracial, lively community before people were forcibly removed based on their race. This museum honors the people and the community of District Six. Here is a picture from Trip Advisor.
 
This photo of District Six Museum is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Dinner that evening was most definitely one of the top five meals of my life.  On the recommendation of Wilma Gerber, we made reservations months in advance to visit The Test Kitchen, check out the link, it tells a lot about the concept.  The entire kitchen staff operate out in the open.



I loved the library-esque ladder and storage for their pantry.

The ambiance was fantastic.

And here is a picture of the menu, the 8 course tasting menu with recommended wine pairings was AMAZING. Hope you can read it.

Rio de Janeiro's Centro

We spent our last full day in Rio exploring the Centro or downtown area. Our first stop was the Rio de Janeiro Cathedral, which is an great example of modern architecture, which we love.
Here is the amazing cross outside the cathedral.





Here we are walking up to the main entrance to the cathedral.



Looking up from the center of the interior. There are 4 beautiful stain glass panels.









Here is a great modern building across the street we really enjoyed.



The National Theater



National Library



Shots from Praca XV, a square with the Imperial Palace and other interesting builds.





We walked by the Saara Market which is a HUGE, crazy local market in downtown.

Casa Cool Beans aka Best Place to stay in Rio

We stayed at Casa Cool Beans, an amazing little B&B run by two former New Yorkers, Lance and David.  We loved everything about it from the decor, the pool, the location and the people we met staying there.  We wanted to share some pictures so you can see just how "cool" the casa really was.

This is the courtyard and you enter from the street from a door in the wooden gate.



This is the view coming in from the door, note Jacob enjoying the view.



Here are some great closeups of the great graffiti art around the courtyard.







Lance and David gave great feedback on our initial itinerary, hooked us up with Dolores as a tour guide (see previous post), set up reservations, etc and gave us details to make the visit the best it could be. We can't say enough great things. If you are heading to Rio and want to stay in the city, you MUST stay here.

On the second floor is their office, a lovely living room and a little garden.





We loved this piece of art in the living room, it's all cloth and hand stitched. We met the artist,she is awesome. You can see Sugarloaf Mtn, the beaches, the people, the boats in the harbor.



Up on the top floor, we had breakfast each morning enjoying the views of the city.



The pool was also located here, we loved sitting by the pool in the afternoon after a day of exploring.









We also hung out with Mousse, resident dog, at breakfast in the morning and by the pool in the afternoon. Great dog!