Arrival in South Africa.

As the morning sun rose over southern Africa and i peered out of my airplane window with bleary eyes my heart surged as i thought to myself.. "There are lions down there!!!" Then a more sobering thought took hold - "One out of seven people down there are HIV positive." Wow, too early for thoughts like that!

And so after 26 hours straight in airplanes and airports i finally reached Cape Town, South Africa. I was slightly surprised to find out that my "direct" flight from DC to Johannesburg actually stopped in Ghana to refuel and pick up new passengers at 2 am. I guess i was naive to think that an airplane could fly 17 hours without adding fuel, and i was equally surprised to see lights in the middle of the night in Africa. Boy, the things we learn (or don't) from television.

In Accra, Ghana (the capital, of course) we picked up Peter, who took the vacant seat next to me. Peter is a miner from Ghana who is travelling to Congo for work mining copper. Very polite and well spoken, we talked about Ghana, terrorism ("It's made things less safe everywhere"), and religion. He's worked and lived all over, from Jamaica to Tanzania and the U.K. He told me that in Africa "you just have to go where the work is", despite the protests of his wife whom he left behind. "It's only a two-year contract", he said. When i asked if he was Muslim he said "No, i am trying to be Christian but i haven't made it yet, due to my shortcomings." I told him Christians in my country have plenty of shortcomings but they're still Christian. In Jo'burg we wished each other well and he headed for the Congo and i for Cape Town.

After checking into my hostel and throwing my bag down i pulled on my hiking boots to climb Table Mountain. Running on just 8 hours sleep in the previous 51 hours i set out for the mountain. Table Mountain is utterly magnificent. Starkly rising up around Cape Town it lends the city a supreme holiness. Before coming here, i had read about the creation myths and had seen video of all the spiritual mumbo jumbo associated with this mountain. But when i climbed the mountain, i felt it.

The sounds of birds chirping echoes off the mountain walls as water droplets flutter down from above as though Mother Nature were tearing up. The plants were green and lush, the rocks strong and sturdy. All the while the ghostliest of clouds drift by silently as the city lies peacefully below. I was in awe - it was wonderful.


At the top of Table Mountain the views are breathtaking. After reaching the summit climbing practically straight up over boulders, i was dismayed to find concrete pathways and a plethora of tourists, who had taken the cable car up to walk around and snap photos. Oh well.. they couldn't ruin it for me! I stayed until sunset and watched a glorious one over the Atlantic Ocean. And yes, i did grudgingly take the cable car back down - what, did you think i was gonna hike back down in the DARK??! (honestly i wanted to, but i had forgotten to pack my flashlight).