Knowing your second home in the world

by Kenya Fonte Ramos da Silva (Brazil)

Making a local connection South Africa

In February of this year, my friend Naomi and I decided to go to Cape Town, South Africa, for enjoying our vacation. We didn't research anything before we went to the city, so we could take advantage of the surprises that awaited us. Cape Town is famous for its incredible nature. This was the only information we had when we arrived in the city and, therefore, when we got the airport, we decided that we would go to the beach. But how to go to the beach without knowing anyone, without knowing how to drive and without knowing where the main beaches are? Through the Internet? Maybe... But we think of something better and unusual: through people. We looked for people on the streets to give us all the information we needed. It was difficult, but after talking to two dozen people, we got the necessary information. The first step: exchange our reais, Brazilian currency, for rands, the local currency. Then, we went to the bus cabin, located at WaterFront, to issue cards that worked on buses. We could not understand what the attendant was speaking because of the strong local accent in her English, however, after several tiring minutes of conversation, we finally issued the cards! Then, according to information we obtained, we walked to bus station and waited for the bus. The bus contains a mechanism that calculates the amount of credit was spent based on route was used, so when the passenger gets on the bus, needs to touch the card to a machine to "tap-in" (record of entering the bus) and when the passager get off the bus, must touch the card again, doing "tap-out" (record that you left on the bus). However, nobody had warned us about this, so we entered without tap-in and the driver immediately warned us in an exalted tone, because we were supposed to be breaking serious rules - and we really were, because it indicated that we didn't want to pay for the trip. Everyone on the bus was tensed, we could see the expression on their faces. We just apologized, did the procedure and sat in our seats. After two hours bus ride, we arrived at Camps Bay Beach. It was perfect! Blue waters, warm white sand. It was not full. However, the water was very cold - compared to the waters of Brazil, which we were used to. We entered the water. I have a powerful connection with the sea and while I was thanking the universe for everything that was happening, for being so happy making dreams come true, a boy called Diso, approached me and showed me a photo of me. I was scared, however, he went on to explain that he was a photographer, that he saw me and decided to photograph me. I thought that was incredible and soon we became friends. On this day, we had lunch together, we went to other tourist spots in the surroundings. We returned home at night, with the promise he made that he would surprise us in the next few days. The other Sunday, there he was, at our house, calling us to go to the top of Table Mountain, with purchased tickets - which he had gotten from his old friends. We are excited! We got ready and set off for another unscheduled adventure. Diso acted as our private guide, he knew the mountain better than anyone! From the top, you can see the whole city, a breathtaking view. We had the impression that we were above the clouds, I had never experienced anything like it. We spent the whole afternoon there. The sunset is the most beautiful I have ever seen in my life and, while the sun sets on one side of the mountain, on the other, it was possible to see the full moon coming. I cried like a child. We returned home with the feeling that we had made the best choice in having gone to the beach that first day, just as we did. Being open to new experiences and meeting other people is incredible, especially in Cape Town, which definitely became my second home after the trip.