2026 Cape Town, South Africa, Part 3: Paragliding ... Food ... Dogs

July 18: Paragliding and more.

Since shark cage diving didn't kill us, today we took an Uber to Signal Mountain to go tandem paragliding.  Signal Mountain overlooks the oceanfront.  The clouds were low this morning and we were concerned about having to postpone.  As we were going through the orientation, the view we had of the ocean and the neighborhoods below us disappeared.  We joked around with our tandem partners as we waited to see what was going to happen with the weather and, as quick as the clouds came in, it cleared up.

Paragliding over Cape Town, the Atlantic Ocean, and the landing zone below us.

I didn't know what to expect.  It turned out paragliding is more like hot air ballooning than skydiving.  Once you get over the idea of running off of a mountain, the rest is very relaxing.  My tandem partner explained everything to me as he caught thermals to keep us up in the air.  The flight took us around one side of signal mountain, over an oceanfront neighborhood, over the Atlantic before landing in a seaside park.  He did offer to let me 'fly' the paraglider but I decided just to go along with the ride and let the professional do the flying.  The Wife and I really enjoyed the experience.

The park was busy with a 5k being run in the area.  Booths were set up selling running paraphernalia including one called 'Ass Magic'.   We were going to Uber to the hotel but realized the park wasn't that far from the Victoria & Albert (V&A) waterfront so we walked it.  We had some lunch there and did more shopping.

Singers and dancers at the Gold Restaurant.
(Photo taken by the Wife.)

In the evening we went to Gold Restaurant to eat local cuisine and watch dancers and singers.  The Wife made the innocent mistake of telling our server that it would be my birthday in a couple days and I ended up with the circle of singing servers wishing me a happy birthday.  Yeah ... not my favorite thing.  The Wife took several videos of the show ... Check them out in the Google Photos album.

July 19: A free day for church, more shopping, and minor distress.

Sunday morning started with ... intestinal distress.  Something I ate was not so golden at the Gold Restaurant.  Fortunately, I travel with medicine for exactly such situations.

We walked to a church for Mass before returning to V&A.  We were caught in the rain but we were prepared with our umbrellas.  This time we visited an enclosed, high-end market.  They had a lot of cool stuff but it was all overpriced.

A set of statues at V&A.
(Photo taken by the Wife.)

My intestinal distress cleared up by the end of the day.

July 20: A free day for the Museum of the Dog, the Iziko Slave Lodge, and a birthday dinner.

For my birthday we walked around old town starting with lunch and another visit to Green Market Square for some last minute shopping (We shop a lot and ... I spent a lot more than the Wife).

We walked to the Museum of Dogs which tells the history of Cape Town, and South African, life through the eyes of dogs and their owners.  It was, actually, interesting.  It helps if you do the scavenger hunt you can pick up at the front desk.

After the more light hearted Museum of Dogs, we walked to the much more serious Iziko Slave Lodge museum that chronicles slavery in South Africa.  We're not big museum people but we seem to be getting better in our old age as we are enjoying them more.

In the evening we went to Nelson's Eye Steakhouse for my birthday dinner.  The food was really good and there weren't any singing waiters or anything.

July 21: Castle of Good Hope and heading home.

Our flight home wasn't until 8:00PM so we visited the Castle of Good Hope, a mix of Castle and museum.  We spent time there going through the various military and historic museums and exploring the castle before we had to go to the airport.

The interior courtyard of the Castle of Good Hope with Table Mountain in the background.
(Photo taken by the Wife.)

We went to the airport early but this gave us time to eat a good lunch before we had to check in and go through security.

The return flight was an hour longer than the outbound flight but it went fairly quickly and we arrived mid-morning which is an odd time for us.

Cape Town is an interesting place and we took full advantage of the time we had there.  As we advance in age, this will probably be our last trip to Africa as we are shifting more to Europe and perhaps South America.  Cape Town's mixture of cultures made it a good place to finish off the continent.

Photos can be seen in my 2026-07 Cape Town South Africa Google Photos album.