Today we didn't have class, instead we went on a bus tour of the area. We went around downtown Cape Town, and and then headed to the coastline. I have never seen such a beautiful place, or even thought that one existed. We were winding along the sides of mountains, looking out at perfect blue water. If our internet stops fighting with me I'll add as many pictures as I can. We hopped on a boat to go out to seal island, when the random rainstorms Cape Town's famous for hit us. We were a great sight, I'm sure- the rain was just pouring down as all 17 of us slipped around the boat screaming and trying to find cover. It doesn't just rain here- it POURS, and we actually experienced true horizontal rain later. After our not-so-great seal adventure, most of us were tired and were secretly wishing we could just go back to the houses. I can't stress enough how glad I am that we didn't.
The next stop on our tour was to see the penguin habitat. Penguins- in Africa?
They were the cutest, funniest animals I've ever seen, and don't be surprised if I smuggle one home in my backpack :) Then we did another thing that I'll always remember- we got to play in the Indian Ocean. Again, something that I never thought I would get to do.
These things were amazing, but the best was yet to come. To drove to Cape Point, which is in a gigantic wildlife reserve. We saw huge, wild parliaments of baboons (our tour guide informed us that's the proper name for a group of them), as well as some huge ostriches. All the animal species in the reserve live there in a natural habitat, not because humans put them there. I've never been in a wildlife area like that before. We got to the main area of Cape Point, and were told that if we took the hiking trail to the bottom that we would find ourselves in the most Southwestern point in Africa.
It was hands-down the coolest, most amazing thing I have ever done. We trekked(literally- you could barely call this thing a path... I would say a cross between rock-climbing and creating your own trail) along the mountain. The first scenic thing we saw was a beach deep down in the cavern- an untouched, empty, footprint-less beach. We hiked down thelongest, steepest stairs ever to the bottom, and nothing has ever been that cool. It felt like we were discovering a secret place, a place completely untouched by the normal world. I felt free- like nothing could touch me. In that moment in time, life was just perfect.
We continued on the path, when again the weather went from beautiful to worse rain than before. We climbed up to the highest peak, and there we were. Staring out at the water, nothing standing between us and Antarctica but water. It was so pristine and peaceful. I had this feeling of weightlessness, almost as though I wasn’t even standing there. I didn’t care that I was soaked completely through all of my clothes or that the wind was freezing. It was a moment that I’m never going to forget.
Me, T.J., Jesse and Hilary weren’t quite ready to head down to the buses yet, so we found another peak with an amazing view. We didn’t really do much except just sit and talk, looking out at the water, but for some reason it’s something that meant a lot to me. We were experiencing this together, and I can’t think of a better way to create real friendships that are founded on something a little bit more than just having fun together.
Today was for sure one of the best days that I’ve ever had, and it makes me so excited for things to come. Tomorrow we have class in the morning, and then a tour of Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held during part of his 27 years in prison. It’s also Nate’s birthday, so we’re going to try going out in downtown Cape Town to celebrate.
No comments:
Post a Comment