hippy-tastic

i'm not sure where to begin. it's hard to pick a starting point when an entire 10 days just blends together in beautiful, love-filled memories.

there is Judy: a big yellow, dream of a bus that carried us out to africa's version of Burning Man. she provided shelter, comfort, music and eventually she provided a little unanticipated adventure.

judy in the desert

there is Afrikaburn: a magical land where there is no money. everything is gifted. everyone shares. the only point is to have fun and be kind to your neighbors. so much laughter. so much hugging. so much hoola-hooping. there was a boat in the desert that played music. there was a house on wheels. there were countless people in costumes. there was coffee. there was a hot air balloon. there just wasn't any cell phone service or internet.

shawn, angel, raph, julie, liana and brad in our tented home

home base at afrikaburn

there is the "crack den": three rooms in a slightly run down hostel operated by a kind, young guy named lil Wayne in the Observatory suburb of Cape Town. We stayed longer than we had planned as Judy was repaired. It was our little nest in Cape Town: big kitchen, cozy beds and 12 people's luggage sprawled everywhere.

i want to just tell you about the 10 or so people i spent time with that touched my heart. i want to tell you what the sunrise looks like in the desert after an endless night of dancing and then what the sunset looks like that same day after an endless nap. i want to explain the shock we all felt when we pulled out of the desert and learned bin laden had been killed. i want to tell you about the view from the top of Table Mountain or what little penguins looks like in the rain in Simon's Town. i want to tell you how beautiful the Kirstenbosch gardens and how magical it is to stand at the base of a huge acacia (?) tree. i want to tell you how difficult it is to dance to 'drum and bass.' i want to tell you how the sunrise at the southernmost point of africa looks like a cheesy-ocean-oil-painting found in the mall (it's that hazy purple and powerful waves). i want to tell you that South Africa's autumn looks like New England in a way.

jonathan at the top of table mountain

sunrise

we took a vacation from our vacation

frolicking in the gardens on the last day

but, know this: i had a lovely time. i am safe. i am healthy. i shared good times with lovely strangers. i am excited to head home (after a brief visit to sierra leone with a mustached friend) and just be there. it's been a perfect post-Kenya adventure; it's going in a box.

here's to a wonderful d.c. summer, ya'll!