i'm not super motivated to share this post. i think because the best photos taken were snapshots in my mind that i alone know the moment of the "snap" and what scene was paused there eternally.
also, no photo that i took truly captures how freakin HIGH UP the mountains were,
nor how STEEP it was cresting the peaks,
or how the monkey tree branches would scrape and cut arms, legs, shirts, belly's and anything else they touched.
in some ways, i wish i left the camera at home and just absorbed everything with my senses.
it would have made me rely on the tiny but necessary ways one crafts
"the moment"
into
"the forever" --
--that dreams are made of.
it really was a magical weekend that you should have experienced with me....
my words are failing and i'm bored with showing you what it was like, so i'll resort to the boring description of what i like to call "telling" instead.
(shudders in shame)
(don't worry though, because...)
i'll grow weary of that and again begin to paint the weekend in colors, and life, and vibrancy like it
WAS when i was living it.
first, let me begin be sharing how i've looked forward to this for 3 or 4 weeks. the plan was hatched shortly after i arrived here. it was just waiting for the first rain and a holiday when we'd all have off. thursday night it thundered and lightning-ed (is that a word?!?!) all night. obviously, rain came too.
MY FIRST AFRICAN RAIN! (joy!)
these south africans are way more intense then us americans, because as i was expecting a "canceled" text message another one arrived announcing we're still going and we will survive! hahahahhaa
i worked a half day on Friday. finished packing, made a sandwich, ate a sandwich, and waited for Shawn to pick Nathan and I up.
(We're still down the car since it blew up on me (sad face).
shawn was a gem and didn't mind coming to pick us up and drop us off after the weekend was over.
at this point the day was lovely. overcast, but not raining and the weather reminded me of a nice crisp fall day. okay, that was a slight exaggeration, but it was probably as close to crisp as we get here.
we were gonna camp up on the mountain, but we decided to only go 1/5 (or about that) friday night.
here we are just before setting up the mountain to set up camp. (yay alliteration!)
the camp, and the first mountain in the background. i told you it wouldn't look that steep. DON'T let this photo fool you. it was very big. plus you can't even see the other 3 mountains behind it.
of course we had a braai every day. our first nights meal was delish with a capitol D: so
i guess that would make it:
Delish.
also, isn't our nice little brick shelter for braai-ing and the fire nice? i'll have to give credit to whichever boy thought of it. but it kept the wood dry when it was raining. pretty clever if you ask me.
here is our little tea kettle; for coffee not tea. no one drinks tea here really (sorry mish, you'd go CRAZY). people do, just not often... i was worried that we ruined the kettle all weekend because of how black it got, but a little scrubbing got it right out.
we played a rousing game of mafia by the fire. i was literally a townsperson 5 times in a row till i was finally something else! then it still took 3 more times till i was mafia!! i stink so bad at lying in that game but I LOVE being a mafia. (muahahahhhaha)
the next morning we woke up hot and icky, and we were lacking water. so us girls convinced the boys we should drive back into town, swim and get more water and then hike the mountain in the afternoon. we had planned to hike in the morning first thing after breakfast.
what can i say, we're pretty good at persuading when we need to be. so into town we went (smile)
here is nathan pondering the deeper meanings of life as we drove into town.
by noon we were back to camp, feeling nice and refreshed from swimming and re-hydrating our water bottles.
(Perhaps it should be said here in case you don't know: i drink A LOT of water. in fact, my year at BOH i was known as the hydration specialist. i was in charge of water for everyone. during school i was never in class unless i had a water bottle with me. even now, when i go somewhere with leah, she will NEVER bring water because she knows i have enough for both of us.)
to summarize a conversation i was not privy to as it was in afrikaans, the jist was retold and that is as follows: (or i am butchering even that...but basically i know i was called the last line.)
"we're not gonna make it up the mountain with the water we have"
"sure we will, there is a 2 liter for everyone"
"thats not enough for her (me), she drinks like a horse"
brahahahhahahahaha....they know me SO WELL already (laughs)
while we were swimming in the morning a cobra was spotted at the house, so we we all got out of the pool to try and see it. this is our best scared face. we didn't see it, the boys all did, but by the time us girls got close enough it was to deep in its little hole.
so we get back and begin our climb.
i guess i was thinking we'd have a trail. i mean, i've NEVER hiked (nor climbed) anything unless it was very approved and marked by the park service.
not so here.
we made our own trail through the bush.
which was as times both exceptionally fun, and extremely frustrating.
the first 40 minutes was the hardest (besides the VERY very end). it felt the steepest and it just wore me out. the boys let us take lots of breaks. i guess it couldn't have been that bad because when we stopped at one point and realized an hour and a half had passed i couldn't believe it. it seemed like maybe 30 minutes....
apparently i enjoy climbing mountains. who knew?!
it would be climb one mountain, then either go down a bit to the next one or walk level a bit till the next one came up. mentally the hardest idea to overcome was that as i'd climb and almost reach the top of one, i might have to go that far down and then even FURTHER up to reach the next one....
this is what it looked like. as we walked. it only had moments of driving me crazy. i should say, the thistle and thorn bushes drove me crazy. i think i overused "ouch" so much if i'd been giving myself a dollar for every time i said it, i'd be a millionaire twice over.
i lost patience with the tree thorns on the 3rd mountain. i'd just fight myself out of them, instead of waiting for someone to come help me out like we'd all been doing. that is how i got the holes in my shirt. o well....it was a $3 walmart shirt i wore, so i didn't lose much.....
the closer we got to the big mountain the more fully convinced i was that i wasn't going to climb it. the final yards were all rocks and it was just too steep. i wasn't interested in falling without health insurance. every time i'd go to stop though, shawn or fritz would tell me to wait till we stopped to eat lunch. we were trying to get to an outcropping of rocks and some shade. it "SEEMED" like it was at the base of the last big mountain. so i was ok with going till then.
somehow, no...not somehow. here's how....
*i'm blonde.
*i don't really pay attention when someone is in control. i'm more than content just following.
*if i ever looked up without being completely stopped and standing still, i'd fall and trip. so most of the hike was with my head down till we had breaks or i paused myself for a moment.
so in "this" how the boys tricked me into the climbing the final mountain. by the time we stopped for lunch, we only had maybe 200 yards to go till the top. here is a little view from lunch. i wasn't about to not go that final bit!
pretty, huh?
i wish you could understand how steep it was....see all the rocks? on the way down i couldn't manage to NOT have them fall below me onto everyone. somehow i was the only person who like knocked every stinkin rock from its place onto those below me. i really oughta work on that...
that last final stretch was so hard. it was so high and steep i was almost terrified with each step i took making me far to cautious and slow. it was really steep so i had to pull myself with my arms (which was a nice break for my legs, but hard). also, i was just plan tired. everyone passed me (which i was really fine with). i was to tired to be stubborn and care i was last finishing.
hahahahaha....which goes to show you EXACTLY how tired i was (smiles).
i made it to the to and just wanted to pass out. everyone was climbing onto this rock and getting photos of themselves and just taking it all in. i still hadn't really caught my breath and didn't trust my legs to walk out onto the edge myself. but....
...i did go out with lots of encouragement, poking, prodding, mocking and telling me i had too.
i'm SO SO SO glad i did!
besides the fact that the view was beautiful and i was really safe just sitting there like i did; this photo rocks (smiles).
man...the things i've seen and done since getting here take my breath away!
i can't tell you how GOOD it was for me to do this. i'm so glad i finished and climbed the final mountain. i wanted to but i didn't have the motivation to do it myself. for once (and probably the only time ever), i'm glad boys lied and tricked me into something (hahahahaha). standing on the top just looking out over the city was lovely.
i really have no other words.
i was proud of myself for doing this.
so proud.
i was elated that i just climbed not only ONE but FOUR mountains (in a single day!).
i felt strong and capable and it was funny how such a physical thing could touch me spiritually and emotionally and almost make me cry.
i climbed a mountain.
(still in shock and smiling!)
here is the final mountain after we climbed down. i am standing on the top of the 3rd mountain about to descend that one when i took this.
i guess it does seem semi-big here...but not big enough to be life-sized. also, remember this was the final mountain, we had 3 others in there too!!
the climb down sucked. it was harder (which i knew it would be), and just not fun. i mean, "getting to camp" was something to look forward too, but not in the way "reaching the summit" was. i fell many times. usually just because my foot would get caught on the uneven ground and i'd twist an ankle or something.
at one point i also did an army roll and fell a ways till i stopped. i can't even remember if i stopped myself or if i ran into fritz or nathan? i SHOULD be able to remember, but i was too traumatized thinking i'd roll off the mountain completely.
apparently it was a very graceful roll and many were jealous thinking it looked like great fun.
praise the LORD it did not happen over a thorn bush!
we got back to camp just before sunset and were tired, hot, happy, and gross. but here we are!!
the rest of the weekend seems so boring in comparison to the hike, but for proper documentations sake:
we wanted to go rinse off the grime and sweat so we drove down to a hose and just hosed off in our clothes.
water has never felt SO GOOD. it was heavenly and i felt so clean after.
we were all so tired we went to bed around 8:30 that night.
got up, relaxed a bit. ate breakfast, the packed to go home.
we swam some more in town before shawn drove nathan and i back to the farm.
ooooo, and also, Odette cut my hair on sunday morning by the pool. we sat under a palm tree and drank cold drinks while she did it.
my hair feels amazing and i love it.
it sure wasn't you, aunt rose, but i think i found someone who i trust and who can do you justice since you're so far away. (you could just fly here to cut it yourself, lady...but anyway....)
what a WONDERFUL weekend of camping and climbing a mountain.
(smiles)
ooo and come back tomorrow for the video uploads of it...i gotta figure out how to do that again, i forget so easily.
also, my dad is coming to visit after his mission trip up north! i'm so excited to have my first visitor, and my daddy at that!
and i changed my header....and i LOVE it. it sorta is a little obsessive with all the photos being me, but it fits what i've been doing here/seeing here....so, thoughts?!?!
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