Part of March and April found me visiting my brother and his family in South Africa. While there it became obvious to me that being a tourist for the rest of my life sounded like the perfect job for me. I love being a tourist, no matter where I go, by the end of my stay I always feel that I could stay much longer. I must have been a nomad in a previous life, I embrace change. I love to move around and discover other cultures.
As a tourist I got to walk on the same soil that zebras, springboks, porcupines, termites, dassies and baboons use daily, to name a few. The other animals had to be viewed from the car. As we drove through Addo Elephant Park we were blessed to see many elephants. They are majestic animals who rule the bush. Zebras, warthogs and their babies hang out with them at the water holes. We drove the scenic Garden Route from Jeffreys Bay to Franschhoek via Mossel Bay while enjoying great South African wines and food.
The day before my flight home we drove around Cape Peninsula. At Simon’s Town I watched penguins swim in the see, lay on their eggs, and just hang out with their growing brood. I joined my 12 year old niece who was watching two penguins fight. She told me that it seemed to be about protecting a brand new hatched baby from another adult penguin. At first I thought the baby had not survived as it laid there unmoving in the sand with part of the egg shell still attached to it while the two adults pecked at each other. My niece was convinced the baby was fine, I wasn’t so sure. I had enough of the fight so I moved away to take some photos of some adolescent penguins. When I came back she informed me that the baby was alive and safely hidden under its mom (or dad, can’t tell one from the other). As there was no “body” laying on the sand I used my camera lense as binoculars and waited patiently for a peek at the miracle. After a couple of minutes I was given the pleasure to witness a tiny head surface from under its mom’s flipper, it was quickly hidden again by mom before I could take a decent picture.
We stopped at Cape Point where we encountered baboons. I am not a fan of those pesky monkeys as I was not prepared in anyway to come face to face with a few of them. I was able to hide behind my brother when a trio of them decided to block our way as we hiked to the lighthouse. Apparently my brother speaks baboon, he got them to move out of his way and we were allowed to keep climbing the stairs to the lighthouse. The wind was too strong to allow us to walk along the crest but the view down to the point was breathtaking. We did not have enough time to hike down to Cape of Good Hope, the most southwestern point of the African continent, so drove to it instead. We ended our day at the waterfront in Cape Town after admiring Table Mountain from afar.
Being a tourist is like living in your own interesting documentary. As I waited in Dubai for my connecting flight to Seattle, I felt happy even though I had sat in coach in a middle seat during my 9 hour flight from Cape Town. The vision of the elephant march I had witnessed and the color of the Indian Ocean were playing in my mind as I walked around the airport. I landed in Seattle under a grey sky 14 hours later, I breezed through customs but had to wait for my two small suitcases containing my precious souvenirs as they unloaded more baggage than I had ever seen in my life. 450 bags came out of the Boeing 777-300’s belly. Major airports still see a lot of traffic but traveling off season, it was early fall in South Africa which I discovered is a blessing as hotels and flights are usually cheaper then. The crowds of tourists are much smaller too. Parks and museum might not be open as late during the off season but you get through them faster as you are not constantly dodging crowds and waiting in long lines to get in.
After a good night’s rest it was time to get back into my normal life. As I sat thinking about all the wonderful new experiences I had enjoyed, I almost started to feel sorry for myself. Being home is definitely not as exciting as traveling. The thought of chores were causing me to want to get back on an airplane even if it was in a middle seat in coach/economy. So before I could fall into an after vacation funk I downloaded the photos from my camera. I told myself that being a tourist is a state of mind that can be applied no matter where I am. As I looked at my pictures I felt grateful for my trip, they reminded me that I get to choose how I feel about being home and how I tackle what needs to be done. I get to practice what I have learned lately which is to replace “I have to do…” with “I get to do…”
In this part of the world it is spring which brings flowers and weeds, bird songs, and cool mornings and nights. Like a tourist I will go explore the garden that has emerged while I was gone before I start my “I get to do” list.
Happy exploring no matter where you are!
DouceLifeAt50.com 
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