Out of Africa

Rainbow on one of my last evenings in Africa

The gang of volunteers at Cape Agulhas on Friday

Bye for now, Cape Town

Almost home! 

            After seven unforgettable weeks, my second South African adventure has come to an end, and I’m writing this post from back home in good old San Antonio. As it turns out, my plans changed slightly from the time I wrote my last update- I didn’t spend my last night in the hostel in Cape Town like I thought I would. Friday morning, Tom stopped into the volunteer house at about nine to say that they’d be taking me into Cape Town early the following morning, and taking me straight to the airport. Jerome had Friday off, but he stopped by the vol house shortly after Tom, just to say goodbye to me. I almost started crying as I hugged Jerome, but he said to me, “I feel like I’ll see you again”, and I guaranteed him that he was right.

            Since Friday was a no sea day, the volunteers spent the day going back to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. It was my third time visiting that place, but I certainly wasn’t going to complain- I love any outings with the WSP volunteers! We left Gansbaai about ten o’clock Friday morning, arriving at Cape Agulhas at a little before noon. We snapped a few pictures and did some exploring and climbing around on the rocks by the ocean- or I guess I should say oceans, since that’s the spot where the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean meet. After that we drove over to the same restaurant we’d eaten at the last time we were in the area. Tom had brought along some bait, and we waded into the Indian Ocean in the bay to feed the big stingrays that hang out there, then had a late lunch before returning to Gansbaai.

            It was about five o’clock by the time we got back to the vol house. Almost as soon as we got back, I went out for one last walk on the beach. As the cold ocean water splashed over my feet, I realized that in one day, I’d set foot in both the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Probably not too many people can say that they’ve done that. Overall it was a very bittersweet last day in Africa, and I’m glad that I got to spend my last night at the vol house rather than the hostel in Cape Town.

            Saturday morning I woke up early, after thankfully having packed everything up the night before. I originally thought that only the volunteers that were leaving Saturday- Sophie, Julie, Philip and me- would be heading to Cape Town, but it turns out the others were coming along with us to hang out in the city that day. We left about 6:30, with Tom joining us and Grant driving. We made pretty good time, getting to the airport a little after eight. I hugged everyone, trying desperately not to choke up, before throwing my backpack over my shoulders and heading into the airport.

            Thankfully by now I’ve gotten very used to maneuvering my way through airports, as well as enduring long layovers and flights. I had a total of over thirty hours of travel time between leaving Gansbaai Saturday morning (which was still Friday night San Antonio time) and arriving home at about ten o’clock Sunday morning. That time included a dreadfully boring six hour layover in the Johannesburg airport, followed by the wretched seventeen hour flight back to Atlanta. Spending that much time on an airplane is never pleasant, but I always have to give credit to Delta, my favorite airline to travel with, for at least making those hours bearable.

            I’ve been home for two days now, and am still not fully used to being back. My body is still getting back on Texas time, and I think it took about six hours being home before I started saying, “I miss Africa.” There was nearly a two year gap between my first and second trips to South Africa, and I hope it doesn’t take that long for me to get back for a third time. At the same time, it’s always nice to come home, see friends and family, and get back to the familiar feeling of being home, in the city that I’ve grown up in. People are already asking me what’s next for me, and I honestly don’t know just yet. Today is my 24^th birthday, and I’m spending it recovering from jet lag while thinking about what adventure is next for me. There are plenty of ideas in my head, but I won’t give anything away just yet. For now I’m going to enjoy being home while trying to keep my wanderlust at bay. A piece of me will forever and always be in South Africa, but there are plenty of other adventures out there in the world. As far as which one is next on my bucket list, we’ll just have to wait and see. This post’s food for thought: “It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what’s changed is you.”- Eric Roth