One year ago today we were in Cape Town and we were actually pretty sad. Oh yes. I remember clearly the moment we saw the forecast for the shooting day. You know, the awful symbol of "black cloud/sun/thunder" that doesn't say anything, but it definitely says that you are going to have some trouble. I remember the panic, the idea to postpone everything or even to call it off, we were just upset. In the end, we decided to go for it and we couldn't make a better choice. Nothing was as we planned and that is actually what made everything so special for us.
South Africa and particularly Cape Town are still vivid in my memory. I felt in love with a place so deeply only in my childhood, when my parents brought me and my brother to Sardina for summer holidays. The first thing I will remember forever about Cape Town is the wind. I'm a wind person, and I know that is not something everyone can understand, but I couldn't live in a place without wind. As soon as we landed in Cape Town, I felt it. I felt the fresh wind on my face and the warmth of the sun. It was just magical. The second thing I'm going to remember is the Table Mountain. We had the luck to spent our journey in Carolina's house, that is placed in Big Bay. If you are familiar with the area you should know that from there, you have the best view of the Table Mountain in all Cape Town. I remember waking up and run outside to see if the mountain had her table cloth or if we could see the Lion's Head. I'm sure there's something magical about her. It was like a benevolent presence that was there to guide us back home. I still feel that sensation. - I call the table mountain a "her" because I always thought about her like a beautiful old woman.. I think because in italian the mountain is called "la montagna" and it's a she - The third thing is the Cape Of Good Hope. I've always had a thing for geography. Let me explain: I'm a mess with names, cartography etc.. you could ask me where is the Duomo and I'm pretty sure I would point the sea. But, in some ways I was always attracted by the Earth limits. When I was little I used to ask myself "what is the far-northern place I could ever visit? And the far-southern?". I mean, as I was standing there, seeing with my eyes the very far-souther point of Africa... well, my inner child was bouncing and screaming and feeling alive again.
And I got the chance to see zebras, penguins, baboons and a few antelopes!! (that we actually thought were goats the first time we saw them. whoops.) Another child dream achieved.
This was really a once in a lifetime adventure for me, and it wouldn't have been the same without my travel companions. We laughs so hard that I still remember the tears in my eyes. We fought, we chatted, we cooked, we drank liter of Rooibos tea.. and the fourth thing, the most important thing that I will remember for the rest of my life is the last hug Carolina gave me before our departure. I hope that my hug was at least half as powerful as hers.
