Bali to South Africa – Fall 2023

Today, we were woken with the sun shining down the staircase and the smell of freshly baked banana bread wafting into our little bunks. After enjoying breakfast, we headed out to the hike. When we arrived, the sign said 1.8km. All excited, we began the short stroll. Shortly after we started, we all slowly realized what we had gotten ourselves into. An hour-long of stairs climbing straight up all the way to the very top of Table Mountain. The path was in S curves winding all the way up. My legs actually went numb 2/3 of the way in. Ben and Zoe decided to go barefoot. Passerbys said things such as, 'That is not normal behavior, that's wild, and Are you okay?' There were really pretty flowers all the way up and nice greenery, and passing the cliff edges as we reached higher elevations was amazing. After growing up backpacking, I'd say that was the hardest hike I have ever completed. We all made it up, though! There was a restaurant and shops at the top amongst cobblestone buildings and walls. We enjoyed a lovely lunch and sat on the wall, looking over the magnificent view. We could see so much of Cape Town, and the ocean view stretched so far due to the height we reached that I swear you could see the curvature of the earth. On the way back down, Griffin unfortunately takes a tumble, and Margaret murders a bee, which she feels awful about.

We headed back to the boat, only slightly defeated. Everyone seems to be taking in these last moments with each other, intentionally embracing the smallest of moments with each other as we dread packing day tomorrow. Once back on the boat, we scurried away again to some shops, ice cream and the food market full of tons of delicious food stands. We got high-end sushi, rame, bau buns, shrimp mac and cheese, and more. Everyone is exhausted, but there's no time for naps as the countdown ticks. Were headed put to see the new mockingjay movie in the theater tonight, Im sure we will all cuddle and hold hands, shedding a few tears. Chau.