Good Hope

Ahhhh, such a beautiful two words. Not just "hope," but "good" hope. I suppose we are all looking for "good hope." All of us searching, peeking under rocks, roaming about this planet. Seeking out happiness... looking for hope... Good hope. 

The Cape of Good Hope was originally named the Cape of Storms, or Cabo das Tormentas. Because when Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias rounded it back on March 12, 1488, on a quest to find a new spice route to India by sea, he ran into vicious storms and a treacherous, rocky shore. He would eventually turn back and return to Portugal. But King John II did not view his expedition as a failure, but rather a success. Dias had proved that it was possible to round the Cape of Africa, thereby opening a new sea route from the west to east. He subsequently renamed it Cabo da Boa Esperanca, or Cape of Good Hope.

Our truck has come to its final stop: Cape Town, South Africa. It has been a long, three-month journey, starting in Egypt, onto Kenya, then overland all the way down to Cape Town. I hop on the first tram available, soaring to the top of Table Mountain. The views are spectacular, allowing me to get an overall perspective of this beautiful setting. Mountains and peaks rise to the sky in every direction, while bays and coves and beaches lie at their feet.  

(That’s Robben Island in the distance, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27-year imprisonment.)

Later that night, we have our last dinner as a group. Then the end arrives. We say our final goodbyes, leaving a piece of our  hearts behind. 

We've been connected together for so long, close to three months, and know each other better than we know some of our own family. We've bickered and grunted at each other, argued and complained. But through it all, we've remained civil, even when life was at its roughest. We've been hungry and tired together, cranky and pissy... We've put up our tents in the dark together, and broken them down in the freezing cold. We've spent nearly every night huddled around a fire, shooting the shit, and embracing our common plight. We've seen lions and silver back gorillas, giraffes and elephants, hippos and Thompson gazelles. We've been to the Masai Mara and stayed with the Masai warriors. Traveled to Rwanda, and walked as one through its heart-wrenching history of genocide. 

We've been on more safari's and game drives than I can count. Trekked rhinos in the wild, and hippos on the water. We've been on game boats and canoes, 4x4's and Land Cruisers. Jumped off cliffs and bridges and dove in foreign oceans. We've been to the Spice Island of Zanzibar, Victoria Falls, and the sand dunes of Namibia. Yes, we've been all over this great big continent of Africa together, our little band of travelers...

I mentioned at dinner that I found each person in our group to be interesting and unique. Such a rarity these days. I stand by that statement, and would even take it a step further. I believe they are all inspirational people, as well. Deciding to make their own trek in life, forging their own trail. Many have chucked everything they have ever known, the traditional life we're taught to embrace from day one of our existence. They are pushing beyond those set boundaries, to lead a new life, a different life, an "interesting" life. 

Perhaps one day they will settle down, find that special person or magical place that takes their breath away. There is nothing wrong with that. Hell, that is what I did for the last 25 years of my life. Raising a family. Establishing roots. That is not what makes somebody uninteresting or uninspiring. No, that ill begotten trait is a state of mind. A trait that, fortunately, is easily overcome. 

I, sadly, use a fair amount of swear words in my vocabulary, that whole inner-city upbringing and all. But the one word I hold back on, which I feel is the most vicious of them all, and used only for the very worst of offenders, is the ever spiteful curse word: "boring." Now, you don't have to travel the world, or jump off cliffs; Dive into turquoise waters, or stand five feet from a 400-pound gorilla; You don't have to crawl through a pyramid or float down the Nile River. No, you don't have to do any of these things to NOT be boring. But I have to tell you, it sure in the hell helps!

The following day I go on a tour of Cape Town, taking in all this enchanting area has to offer.  Here’s what I found: 

I posed a series of questions in my last post. An attempt to find some meaningful conclusions to this amazing journey. Questions such as: What did the trip mean in the grand scheme of life? Have we learned anything along the way? Any nuggets of wisdom? Are we richer and fuller and more complex? Are we happier? 

So let’s try and tackle some of these one by one. 

Have I learned anything along the way?

So, I've always been interested in the origins of our species. Whether we’re talking early bipedal hominids of 2-4 million years ago, or Homo sapiens of 300,000 years ago. All the evidence points to our arrival, or rather our evolution, beginning in East and South Africa. I've now traveled to the very spot in northern Botswana where we may have taken our first steps, gathered our first berries, hunted our first prey. Do I feel connected to this ancestor of ours? Yes, in fact I do. The bushmen of Botswana were amazing to meet and to witness how they live, as they represent the very fabric of our rich history. 

Man has been moving about for a long time. Advancing. Pushing ever forward. And on a personal level, I've always felt compelled to fully encapsulate man's past, in order to understand its future. This trip has allowed me to connect to that wonderful past, and in that sense, even if I got nothing else out of it, the trip was an absolute success. So the answer is an emphatic, yes, I learned a tremendous amount along the way. 

But I received so much more than that. I’ve uncovered treasures inside which will continue to evolve and surface over my lifetime. I've just scratched the surface on this new me. I knew I was resilient, but this trip tested my mettle. I learned how to use time to my advantage, and to seek out small rewards to overcome hardship (chocolate bars and soda for the most part!). 

I learned I’m not as big of a pussy when it comes to heights than I anticipated. Conversely, I found I might be a shade stupider than I thought, as well. Jumping off gorges is certainly not the most intelligent thing a person can do. Yet, even as I sit here today, typing away on this post, I'm contemplating paragliding off Signal Mountain. Wtf is wrong with me? 

What does this trip mean in the grand scheme of life? ‘My’ life in particular?

I'm not sure I have an answer to that question. At least not yet. Although I do know, without a shadow of a doubt, that there now resides inside me, deep down, some meaningful life lesson I’ve acquired along the way. Some nugget of wisdom that will most assuredly help me at some point in my life. 

Am I richer, fuller, and more complex?

You bet your ass! I was a blank, heaping void of ignorance when it came to Africa three months ago. And now, at this stage, I could probably write a dissertation on it. One important takeaway is that anytime we as human beings get out and discover our commonality with other cultures and regions of the world, we grow exponentially as individuals. Life is so interesting, but it’s how we relate and interact with our fellow man that makes it the most interesting. We are such a diverse species, which becomes readily apparent when you explore the world. A diverse people with a shared history and common, innate wants and needs.

Am I happy? 

Happiness is a tricky thing with me. As mentioned earlier, I believe we are all searching for happiness, which can take many shapes and forms, an inherent trait that binds all humans together on this vast planet regardless of religion, faith, color, creed, culture, region, tribe... 

And while we continue our pursuit of happiness, the trick is knowing when we’ve found it. Whether that comes while sitting on a giant dune and watching the sun’s bright orange orb rise into the sky; Or diving in emerald green water and discovering a world of color and life. Perhaps it comes while in a jungle, watching in awe as a gorilla eats leaves from a tree. Or while jumping off a cliff into a canyon 350 feet below. 

Perhaps you find happiness while having a conversation with a fellow traveler, or sipping coffee with the person you love... 

The important thing is to recognize these moments. Embrace them. And say, "Fucking-A I'm happy right now!" 

Because life is going to get sideways on you. No doubt about it. It's gonna suck sometimes. Maybe even a lot of times. Yet, even when we are failing, or running up against a brick wall; When the entire world seems to be caving in around us; Even when we find ourselves steering into the Cape of Storms... Bear down and weather the storm, you might be much closer to something spectacular than you think. 

Life is an amazing ride. Move fast, but not so fast that you lose sight of those magical moments. Because that is where hope lies…. Good Hope!

So to answer the question… Am I happy, as I type out the final words of my Kusafiri Afrika blog? 

Fucking-A right I am!

Safari Kev out...