the journey to freedom....

where do i begin?! my traveling thus far has been quite the whirl wind experience!! we started in cape town, which was quite the culture shock!! to be landed basically back into a 'first world' city, after living in west africa for a month was an upending experience! we had some family friends of mine meet us at the airport and drop us off at our snazy backpackers, just to pick us up the next morning and take us on a gorgeous tour around the wine country, tasting wines and driving through beautiful scenery which could have easily been my local napa valley! the night life was great in cape town and we manage to catch live music 2 nights in a row, one a local white south african band which was very similar to dave mathews band, and the other a township band which was jazz-rasta, lyrics in Zulu (the local language). both were fantastic and we had the best time listening to the music, dancing, eating random meat (kudu - deer, ostrich, and crocodile), and meeting fun locals and other travelers. unfortunately it was raining the whole 4 days we were in cape town, so we couldn't make it up table mountain (the local mountain with a supposed-amazing view =( ), couldn't get the boat to Robben island (where nelson mandela was imprisoned for 27 years), and risked our lives on another boat we dared to get on to get out to see seal island! but we were quite the cheesy tourists...riding the double decker bus, going on cheesy bike tours around the cape, and taking plenty of pictures!
after many of our tours and plans were rained out, we decided to book a flight to durban and a bus up to Lesotho, a small country in the mountains completely surrounded by south africa. it has the claim to fame of having the highest low point of any country in the world!! we got there and it was FREEZING!! it was 2 degrees Celsius during the day and -14 at nite!! and no central heating....we were staying in a tiny lodge at the base of Sani pass, which had a central lodge where they kept a fire burning and was nice and warm. but to leave that room and head to bed was quite a daunting task!! sooo cold! luckily they gave us water bottles that we could fill with boiling water and take to bed with us....it made the world of difference once you jumped into bed and hugged it close to you, you could get comfortable quickly!! luckily for us...on the bus on the way up to the pass, we met a local south african who has a farm near by and when she saw that we had no coats, she took her own off and instructed her daughter to do the same, and gave them to us to borrow for 3 days while we were up in the mountains! such amazingly nice people!!
we did our own hike the first day there which was so beautiful! up one mountain, around the 2nd, and then we dove down into the valley and wound our way down the mountain along a river which had many stunning waterfalls and clear pools. the whole thing took us about 7 hours including our lunch break at the top. it was so nice! i met a lovely Afrikaans family in the lodge and got to know them quite well. there were 2 daughters 11, and 13 who loved soccer and were so excited about travelling. and the parents were lovely and very easy to talk to. they invited me to their farm in the future and promised to come visit me in california one day. we exchanged phone numbers and email address, and i hope to see them again one day! really such fantastic people!
the next day we took a 4 x 4 up sani pass into lesotho where we took a brisk walk in the freezing cold snow and visited a local village to see the way they live and what their lives are like. they were amazing people, very friendly and welcoming. one woman welcomed us into her home and introduced us to 6 of her children. she also sold us some bread and had us taste the local beer (is was sour and disgusting!!). i really felt a strange homely feeling when i was with the family...they were so loving and had so very little. they were living in the freezing cold in a tiny hut, smaller than any bedroom i've ever lived in. yet they were so happy, welcoming, and kind to us...it was really a humbling, warm feeling....all i could really do was give them the bit of money i had in my bag and know that it would go a long way for such resourceful people.
to continue my soul searching and getting to really know local people and their lives, we continued on to jo-berg where we decided to stay in a backpackers in Sweto (the biggest township in south africa). it was a really amazing experience to see how all these people live and to hear all about their hardships and the battle they are still fighting to be free. today we took a bike tour around the ghetto and really got to interact with the local people. they were amazingly friendly and invited us into their homes and couldn't wait to talk to us and tell us their story. combined with the tour we went to the apartheid museum which was the best museum i have ever been to, really making the struggle of black africans a reality you can feel. they depict such a real and heart wrenching struggle of these people, it's impossible to be a part of it all and not walk away with tears in your eyes and a whole new perspective of what is freedom, equality, justice. to think, all these crimes and tragedies have taken place in the past 40 years!! since we've been alive! it's amazing to think that the people we befriended here have faced these terrible fights for freedom....again, this has been one of the most eye-opening and humbling experience i have ever been a part of.
it really makes you appreciate everything we have been born with. but at the same time question why?? why them? why me? and how can we change for the better? as a world...as human beings.
much love to all, thank you for being a part of my life and allowing me to see the world in this way.