The Huge African Sun

It takes more than traveling to be a nomad. It requires changing views on time, space and people. You must want less and love the creative void.

The middle of the ocean is perfect to live the void. Food is rationed. Hygiene is restricted because of there's little fresh water. We sleep lots between shifts. Harmony is fundamental for everybody's health. Sails push you forward according to the winds' will, and so time becomes relative - with little wind, you move a little, or not at all. Simple as that.
In the middle of the way we had engine trouble - a cracked head. So, no motor to enter Cape Town. That's it. No problem! Aboard a sailing boat, the engine is only a gadget to facilitate maneuvering in smaller spaces - it isn't essential. Much on the contrary: it kills silence.
As we couldn't predict the time it would take, we had to ration food and water. Being the girl of the boat, Robert granted me an extra share of water for personal hygiene.

The trip to Cape Town from Rio is one of the most beautiful. In low latitudes there's a lot of marine life and few people. Wise nature. The "roaring forties" is a strip where winds get more intense. Night shifts in this place make you see the boat as a nutshell and yourself as almost nothing. This feeling can set you free. 

Commotion, in a beautiful new moon shift: I see lights on our bow - Table Mountain lit up at night. That was approximately 100 nautical miles from Cape Town. Wind was really dim- around 15 knots - so, it still took us two days to get there. In the middle we started facing 4 to 5-meter waves with no wind at all. When the boat was at the lip, that brought hope. The sight was beautiful. But when the boat went onto the base, we all felt fear.

Cape Town is a must to those who love nature. We where greeted joyfully by seals and sea lions. This was just a sample of the force of nature at the Cape of Good Hope (or Agulhas) - wild and powerful. Those who have seen the sun shine in Africa know what I'm talking about.

And there's much, much more: strong flowers like artichokes (Protea), delicious peaches, moving sand, baboons, whales, penguins, sharks... and the African people.