One of the best things one can do for oneself is wake-up in the morning, open your eyes and say "WOW!". I have been getting up very early in the mornings, walking out to the lawn in front of the house I have been staying at and mutter those exact words. Even here in Cape Town there is always something to keep you tuned in, I would say "worried", but in reality there is nothing to fear...just respect. If it is not locking the doors for the baboons who are on the prowl, it is swimming or surfing with constant fear of Great White sharks (there are MUCHOS of these guys though very few attacks), then there are the possible dangers of the street. How do you deal with all of these? As a cameraman I once worked with said "Situational Awareness". Simply be aware at all times, and things go smooth. Frankly, I still have yet to see anything as scarey and frighteneing as Los Angele's freeways!
I have only been over here two weeks, and most people would have crammed a safari, river rafting trip, and 1,000 photos in that time. So what have I been up to: well, I have managed to master the train/bus system in Cape Town, buy (and sell) a car in Capetown, prepare to buy another car (and later sell), visit 4 mechanics, learn about traditional medicinal (not what you think) plants around the Cape, get chased by a vicious baboon, take time wonder why people are watching American Reality T.V. shows such as "Who wants to be the next Super Model?", a little sketching, and wrote a new song for a lovely woman around the globe. I have been busy...the way I like it.
Yesterday, my friend Kent and I walked along in one of the National Parks near by to an area called Black Rocks. There are a number of sea caves along this stretch of coast. The rocks are beautiful and look like a painter's mixing plate with all of the colors. Kent actually made the trail going along the cliffs, and no one else really goes there or knows where to access it. We watched the sunset and talked about the state of the world. The passionate environmentalist has been stoked again inside of me since arriving here with the same magnitude of when I was an 18-year old Environmental Studies student at UCSB...I am going to help save the world by God! While walking back, we ran into a cormorant (sea bird) that was sleeping. It did not even know we where there as it was sleeping on one leg with it's head under it's wing. It looked headless. I was able to get right next to it, and take a photo. When it heard the "Bing" on my camera, it woke up, flew low along the rocks, and dove into the ocean. I felt horrible. What a way to wake up! Some skinny human in your face with digital contraption three feet away....so sorry...so sorry....we'll get it right one day.
Yesterday, one of the baby baboons snuck its way into the enclosed vegetable garden. Kent and I tried to walk up to it and release it, which freaked the entire gang out. The alpha male charged Kent with fangs that look like ice-cream cones. It is said that the baboons actually hunt lions! I have NEVER seen something so intimidating. Fortunately it was a bluff, and we backed up. The other baboons moved about and I really felt like we were in Planet of the Apes! Finally the baby found it's way out, and the whole gang peacefully resumed to digging up roots in the field. I played back the video footage of the charge while out in the field, and the baboons heard their own shrieking on the audio track! It was so funny to watch them react to THEIR own wear chants! Hahahaha....they looked so confused!
Hope to be on my way soon, but the pace here almost makes Latin America look fast. We don't need as much as we think we do! That I am sure of. Be well- Johnny
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