Back to the Mother city

8 februari 2020 - Kaapstad, Zuid-Afrika

After a blurry and busy month back home I didn’t fully realize I was leaving again for 3 months. I think the realization kicked in when I was in the plane, yet I also felt quite relaxed and cool about it. Maybe after an x amount of trips you just kind of get used to it? Maybe I’m also starting to learn that home is not a place, it’s within myself. Still I find it challenging sometimes to be able to feel at home or okay, no matter my location. But I’m getting there. Then the moments I do feel centered are just so amazing and blissful.

My first stop was Johannesburg to visit my family there and I had 3 really nice and easygoing days. We spent a morning at the spa where we had an exfoliation, full body massage, a facial and a manicure. I think my skin has never felt so soft.. The rest of my time I spent practicing yoga, cuddling with the dog and talking with my auntie about Reiki and other spiritual things.

Next up was Durban to see the other part of the family. Just a one hour flight brought me to green hills and tropical weather. It was so good to see everyone and to be back at their house surrounded by impalas, baby monkeys and some golfers every now and then. Of course I slept in the same room I was in three years ago so I felt right at home. Also they have a pool in their backyard now. Tough life hey.
For the week I was there I mostly did my own thing, since school and work was also starting there that same week. But I quite liked it; I did my morning practices, did some studying and reading, used the pool on a daily basis, walked the dogs. I went to the beach as well which was so good, I always feel so grounded and connected when I’m at the ocean. Even though I find the African sea a bit intimidating sometimes, I still had a little dip. It was so hot that I also just needed the cold water to cool me down a bit. The week went by quite fast but that was fine, I was so ready to go back to Cape Town after three years!

A very bumpy landing and a few little prayers got me to Cape Town soil. Even though it was 18 degrees, raining and super windy I felt very happy to be back. It was like nothing has changed; I couldn’t find the driver who was supposed to pick me up. This was also the case three years ago… Some phone calls and one hour later, the driver arrived and took me to the hostel I was going to stay and work at for 2 months. It’s a nice place; not too party-ish, not too quiet. There is also a nice little garden with a small pool and a bar. I even found a secret little place to do my yoga practice in peace. My new colleagues seemed really nice and they gave me the first day off. So I explored the Waterfront a little bit with my roommate the next day, this is only a 10 minute walk from the hostel. There is a big shopping mall, a food market, nice cafés and a cool band playing African music, which I really enjoy. From there you also have a good view at table mountain, lions head and signal hill. I think one of the reasons I love CT so much is that it’s a big city but it doesn’t feel big. Everywhere you look you can see the mountains and the ocean so it still feels spacious. Half an hour to an hour drive out of the city and you are surrounded by nature, no skyscrapers to be seen. It’s very easy to escape the city life.

The first week I worked quite a lot, just to get the hang of everything. On my days off I went to the Waterfront to do some grocery shopping; I’m trying to cook myself as much as possible to stay healthy and save some money. I also went to the beach a couple of times, mostly to one of the Cliftons. The water is super cold on this side of the cape as most of you probably know, but when it’s a hot day it’s very nice to take a quick dip to cool down. My technique is to just run in, do a squat to put your whole body under water, stay there for more or less 5 seconds and get out again. You probably really want to get out by then. The process of going in might be tough and your feet and legs will start to sting, but it’s totally worth it. Afterwards you will feel cooled down and replenished. Besides that it is also really good for your body, maybe you can see it as a breathing exercise?
That same week I also went on a little road trip with some hostel friends. We went to Houtbay where we had some fish and chips at the harbor and made friends with a sea lion. After that we did the Chapmans peak drive which is still as beautiful as I remember. All the way to Noordhoek, where we had a little walk on the beach, which is huge. There was a lot of wind and therefore some nice, big waves. We sat on the rocks for a while just watching the ocean and some surfers trying to control it. On the way back we stopped a couple of times to capture the amazing scenery. Some pictures will be the exact same as some that I took three years ago, but that’s fine, I can’t get enough of the landscape.. Llandudno beach was the last stop of our trip, it’s such a beautiful beach! Here it was way less windy than Noordhoek, so we had a little dip in the sea the same way I just described to you, since this was still the cold side of the ocean.

I feel so happy and grateful to be back here, it feels different and new but also very familiar at the same time. It has been a couple of weeks now but it feels like I’ve been here for a while already and so far I really enjoy living here. To be honest, I have to get used to the hostel life again a little bit. It was a luxury to have my own room for the first part of my trip, here I share my room and there is not really a space where you can be alone. Luckily I discovered that small place in the garden where no one comes. I’ll be fine though, as I said I can just escape to some of Cape Town’s nature close by. I also made a little list of things I want to do every week from now on: a hike, teaching a yoga class, and watch the sunset. I’ll tell you how that went down in the next one…

Sending you love and light from the sunny south.

Foto’s

1 Reactie

  1. DM:
    15 februari 2020
    I think it's great you made this decision to go back. It's always a daunting choice and you probably question it, but it seems to only extend your personality! Good luck on chasing your dreams!

    Ps, doing well on writing in English, I enjoy reading it!