Magic

Judy. Shortly after we arrived in South Africa, I read a quote by John Hemmingway:  “If I’ve ever seen magic, it has been in Africa.”  I just might have to agree.

Ted asked me the other day why I thought we have such a deep feeling for this country.  I’m not really sure I could tell you why.

Maybe it’s the deep golden light that diffuses the landscape at dusk and dawn.

Maybe it’s the fact that I feel I can touch the stars—all I can see in the Southern Hemisphere—and can follow the Milky Way from one horizon to the next.

Maybe it’s the welcome we get from almost everyone we meet and the open smiles that greet us.

Maybe it’s the animals:  seeing elephants, rhinos, ostriches, cape buffalo, blue cranes, hippos, and all the other exotics up close and personal.

Maybe it’s the landscape as we drive from from the thriving city of Cape Town to the winds of the Cape of Good Hope to the desert landscape of the Klein Karoo to the pounding surf of the Garden Route.

Maybe it’s the fact that our countries seem to parallel each other in history and in modern social issues.

Maybe it’s the incredible wines that I never discovered before.

Maybe it’s even the rooibos tea that I’ve dabbled in at home and learned to love here.

Or maybe it’s the fact that the dollar goes so far here.

I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is.  But South Africa is vibrant, contradictory, vast, complex, misunderstood, and very much a work in progress.  Like our own country, they have a way to go yet. And I can hardly wait to come back.