Cape Point, Cape of Good Hope, and Boulder's Beach, Cape Town, South Africa - Day 14

It's a long, pricey day, but it's a good one. 

We're hitting the tourist trek down to the cape, and the drive alone is a scene worth seeing. Plus there are no words for the beauty of the Cape Point Lighthouse in the distance. 

It's a minimalist structure after a grueling quarter-mile of steep uphill, but at least the path is paved. 

There's an optional 1.5-mile hike to the Cape of Good Hope, but it actually looks prettier from here, and after Lion's Head, I'm not about to walk along a flat, completely exposed trail. 

Next stop is Boulder's Beach. Because...PENGUINS!

Endangered African Penguins, to be exact, found only in South Africa and Namibia. 

There are plenty of them, and the bolder ones are only a few feet away from the man-made wooden pier that traverses their sanctuary. 

I've never seen anything cuter, and it looks like they're having some success - there are plenty of young ones and eggs to be seen. 

This day's theme is TOURIST, but there's always a reason the popular things are popular. We probably saw more breathtaking things in one day than most people get to see in a month, just when I thought I couldn't be more in love with this country. 

Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa - Day 14

No way we're hiking again.

The cableway has a wrap-around line for tickets, but it's worth the smooth-sailing cruise to the top.

The car itself rotates slowly around the windows, and a couple of them don't have panes so you can take in fresh air while you gasp and gape at the precipitous and absolutely stunning view down. 

Lion's head looks to small from here. I'm glad we climbed it, but my legs have not yet recovered so I'm glowering at it just a tiny bit. 

The first thing we notice at the top is the rock hyrax, the colloquial dassie. This one looks like it's smiling but it's probably just showing us its sharp little teeth. 

Why drive through the Twelve Apostles when you can see them like this? There's no view like the one from this terrace. 

The top is very much a table, with plenty of walking paths that snake around the plateau. The rock formations are an artist's dream, and I imagine you could take some pretty serious engagement photos if not for all the people.

They say Table Mountain is one of the most difficult things to do in Cape Town. The weather is as fickle as the visibility, and we're fortunate to find the one clear day of our trip to make the ascent. I've had my fill of the cableway, but we'll be back to do the 5-hour hike some day.  

Lion's Head, Cape Town, South Africa - Day 14

I am still EXTRA. Day 14 is the only day of promised sunshine we have, and it's likely the only day of Table Mountain and Lion's head we get. The mountain cableway carries a precarious height and will close for weather conditions if there is a single cloud in the sky or for high winds if a couple of dassies sneeze at the same time.

Lion's Head doesn't close, but it easily becomes unsafe. But I will not forego this iconic hike. Harry and Kerryn are wiser than we and express zero interest in this amount of exertion so we decide to get up early and try to finish hiking before they're done with breakfast. I absolutely refuse to get up at the crack of dawn for it. Instead, I insist we get up BEFORE the crack of dawn.

It's pitch dark outside when we start the uphill climb. Cape Town unfolds below us, a sea of city lights. 

The hike is a never-ending uphill battle of the switchbacks, and some of the stairs are steep.

The last leg has a bypass path, otherwise there's some free climbing lite with chains and staples to help you scale the rocks.

The view from the top is worth the climb. I love the breathtaking sight of waves lapping on sandy shores, and I love even more that this summit remains non-commercial. No vendors, no snack stands, just all the smiling faces of the people who passed you on your way up.

The sunrise concludes while we're up there, and hiking up in the pitch dark is probably the best decision I've made this trip. Lion's Head...the hike will eat you alive if you're out of shape, but it's worth every butt-wrenching step.

Shark Cage Diving - Marine Dynamics, Gansbaai, South Africa

I am open-minded. Adventurous. Courageous, brave, definitely grew a pair. Those are euphemisms. The truth is, I'm EXTRA. I can't just go on a safari in South Africa. I can't just scale Table Mountain or just hike Lion's Head and get my fill like a normal person, I have to get into a cage for a close-up with great white sharks. 

It's hard to time the photos, and ours leave a lot to be desired. Believe me, this is something you MUST experience firsthand.

If one wants to get uncomfortably close to great white sharks, though no normal person seems to understand why one would ever want to get close to great white sharks, Marine Dynamics has your guys.

There is nothing like the thrill of seeing these giants up close. They are a sinister shadow in the deep, and they are impossible to see until they're too close for comfort. Those teeth are sharp, and even from the safety of the boat, the frontal view of an open mouth biting the bait ball gets adrenaline coursing through the veins.

The crew is almost as impressive as the sharks. They. Know. Everything. One look at an ominous surfacing shark fin, and they can name that shark. Not a single question they can't answer, and they are upbeat but professional. They even provide breakfast and some nicer snacks during the excursion - the veggie eggrolls are fun addition to chips and hot tea and chocolate.The vegetable soup at the end is a great way to wrap up the day, and the vegan nature of the soup is considerate. 

I haven't done any shark diving before so I can't really compare the companies, but Marine Dynamics has a legitimate and legitimately great thing going. They don't make the sharks attack the cage as they don't want to injure the sharks, and they've won awards in for their conservation efforts. Plus they kept me from being eaten by sharks so they're superstars in my book!

Coba Ruins and Punta Laguna Monkey Reserve - Tulum, Mexico

Now THIS is more our style. A tour group that doesn't believe in tour groups, a pricier action-packed, active adventure, just the two of us and a single guide. David is impressive; professional, intelligent, fluent in more languages that he knows what to do with. He picks us up in a comfortable van, and we get out at the gate of Coba. 

William shows us around as the morning sun starts to filter through leafy trees. He is Mayan and speaks impressive English, all of which he can translate to Mayan,  the most authentic guide I can imagine.

We bike along an easy path to Nohoch Mul Pyramid as the cold starts to lift, We're so early that the other tourists haven't arrived. 

The majestic pyramid is calm and quiet, not a soul to be seen. The ascent is no less daunting, though; climb in a zigzag and don't skip leg day.

My aching quads start to heal as we walk the flat path through the Punta Laguna Monkey Reserve. There are a few cute ones in the trees, and they leap, undaunted from branch to branch as we watch.

We get to do some flying of our own soon. A long zipline across a shimmering lake is next on our agenda.

What goes down must canoe back up. 

But we don't stay up for long. A harrowing descent into the mouth of a cavernous cenote, down the ladder into total darkness and meditative silence, just us and the bats. 

There's plenty of time of reflection as every moment of my day flashes through my mind. The depth and breadth of this action-adventure tour stimulates all the senses, and it's only when you get deep into this cave that this whirlwind starts to sink in. I love this tour for its intimacy and excitement. I love the pace at which it flows, and I love never having to stand in line. I contemplate take this tour all over again next time I'm in Tulum, though I'd pay extra to ride the zip line twice.