Cape Agulhas! It was so nice to be back
Such a beautiful day at a beautiful place!
Lizzy, Cake and Beth having fun
Well, after
a fun night out last night, we woke up a little after eight this morning, just
in time for a quick breakfast. By about nine o’clock, the volunteers were all
in the bus, being driven by Jerome, ready to head down to Cape Agulhas. I
visited Cape Agulhas last time I was in South Africa, and was really happy to
hear yesterday that the plan was to return. Cape Agulhas, about an hour and a
half drive from where we’re living, is the southernmost tip of Africa, and is
geographically recognized as the place where the Atlantic Ocean meets the
Indian Ocean. A lot of people think that this spot is the Cape of Good Hope,
but that’s actually about ninety miles northwest, closer to Cape Town.
We got to
Cape Agulhas at about eleven and all got out of the bus to take pictures and
enjoy the view of the beautiful ocean- the weather was really great today!
Walking around that area, it was really cool to think that we were at the very
southernmost tip of the huge continent of Africa. We walked around the area for
about half an hour or more, taking a bunch of pictures by the sign that marked
the line between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. After we were done there we
went to the lighthouse nearby, which you can climb to the top of and get a
great view of the cape. I’d also done that the last time I was here, and it
felt so nice to be back in that exact spot.
Later, after
we all grabbed lunch at a restaurant in that area, we followed Jerome and Tom
to a nearby beach. It was a popular beach because there were stingrays that
typically hung out in the water around it, and if you put chum in the water
they might come up and let you feed and touch them. Most of us left our bags on
the beach and waded into the water with some chum, hoping to attract the
stingrays. These rays were really big- easily five feet across. After some
chumming, a few of them came over to us and let us run our hands across them
while they ate. One of them even gently nibbled on my leg a bit. They’re
surprisingly friendly creatures- not shy at all! After spending quite a bit of
time at the beach hanging with the rays, we got back in the bus and headed back
to Gansbaai. We got back here about an hour ago. I heard from some of the other
volunteers that the plan for tomorrow is to go explore the caves around
Hermanus or De Kelders. Sounds like another good time!
On a
slightly different note, I just remembered that three years ago today was the
day that I got offered the job working in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
That summer up in that park was absolutely unforgettable- it sparked my love of
blogging, gave me the travel bug, and prompted the official planning of my
first Africa trip. I think I’d be a different person if I’d never gone to work
up in Wyoming, and not a day goes by that I don’t think about that summer.
That’s all
the news for today! This post’s food for thought: “A mind that is stretched by
a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”- Oliver Wendell
Holmes
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