At the Bottom of Everything (the continent that is)

Traveling is always a unique experience. Each journey has its own adventures, its own pace, its own tone. Each of these are highly determined by the place you visit and the people you decide to visit it with. South Africa was no different. It was also an incredible experience.

During our few days spent in the most southern and most developed country on the continent, we met great people, tasted great food, swam in two oceans and under one waterfall, hiked several coastal trails, drove stick on the left side of the road, ate fresh fruit everyday, climbed a table-like mountain, tasted dozens of wines, drank at a whisky bar, paddled a canoe and pulled a pontoon across a river, and got acquainted with the two sides of the South African healthcare system (more on this later)

We stayed with locals we met through the popular website couchsurfing.org. This reference did not disappoint. Every host we stayed with was incredibly warm, friendly, welcoming and helpful.

Our first night we stayed with this really impressive and dynamic young guy named Johan. He prepared a traditional South African dish for us. He invited four of his closest friends over and we shared a peaceful evening together drinking wine and partaking in the cultural exchange that so often dominates the travel experience.

They shared with us that, as South Africans, it's very difficult for them to travel outside their country. Because their passport says "South Africa" on it. Because South Africa's border patrol is so poor. Countries scrutinize their reasons and intentions for leaving the country. "You guys have really pinned the lottery." One of them says as they comment on our "worth its weight in gold" USA passport.

Talking with our new friends, they begin telling us about where they were from and their upbringing. What it was like to grow up in rural South Africa. This seemed so strange to me, talking to white people much like myself that were born and raised in the sticks of the African countryside. It was amazing to see, even with so much distance between us, how similar we were as people.

The next day, while driving around the Cape Town area coastline, my travel mates and I started questioning what it was we truly enjoyed about the travel experience. Yeah, we were in South Africa. But why were we here? And what were we hoping to get out of it. We all agreed that we didn't want to check off the boxes of all the typical tourist attractions. For me, a good experience is often times elusive or unpredictable, but when it comes, you know it, and you soak it in while it lasts.

For this trip, it was our first dinner with our friends, learning about the country directly from them. It was learning to drive in a foreign country. It was teaching John and Renee to drive a stick shift (both had never done it) in a foreign country. It was running the trail at Robburg Peninsula only to discover one of the most beautiful and secluded beaches in the country. Almost getting blown off the top of the cliffs by the strong sea gusts. It was enjoying good seafood and sushi for the first time in a long time. It was taking in the luxury of well stocked and well managed supermarkets, eating and preparing fresh food everyday. It was getting to know the painful history of the country from staying with a host who was discriminated against for much of his life. And sharing a few braais (South Africa's version of BBQs) with him and his friends. In the end it boils down to what moves you inside, and that can come in unexpected ways at unpredictable times.

Pictures from SA