If there is one thing I have learned in my 42 years it’s that there are no coincidences. I was thoroughly depressed after sitting for 3 days in the “alien” waiting room at The Department of Home Affairs in Barrack Street, Cape Town, trying to sort out my permit. I struck up a conversation with a woman who I had seen, two days earlier, cleaning the room. Sure, I thought the place was a pigsty and I was bored to tears but she actually saw that as an opportunity while I was content to silently curse the situation. I thought she was weird when she demanded that a staff member give her a plastic garbage bag then tore around the room picking up discarded candy wrappers, coffee cups and crumpled up immigration forms. I saw her again and told her I recognized her from the prior day and we exchanged a few words. She was Miems Swanepoel and her son was a tennis coach in Boca Raton, a few towns up the coast from Fort Lauderdale where I spend time when I am in the States and where I play lots of tennis. Her day job was sorting out other people’s immigration problems but she soon told me about her passion for hiking and adventure and what she had planned. We spoke about my dog, Andy, and she insisted I come by for tea so her husband could meet this dog that had come all the way from America. I had a lovely visit with Miems and her husband, Swannie, and Andy was on his best behavior. The tea and homemade rusks were wonderful. Of course, I was slowly being caught up in Miems’ web but I let it happen willingly knowing the there might be a reward in the end. A few weeks later I was off to hike the famous Otter Trail.
The Otter Trail was a tremendous experience, physically and emotionally challenging but incredibly beautiful and full of surprises. Five days of hiking along this beautiful rocky coastline included some really precarious rock climbing sections and several steep, steep ascents and descents. At the end of each day, a sense of accomplishment and a delicious meal cooked by Miems in a large tin can as she called out for the ingredients and utensils stowed away in different hikers’ rucksacks. My rucksack, initially light with only my stuff, weighed at least 60 pounds after food, a stove, fuel were added. On one ascent, sweat was poring down my face and my left knee started to buckle. No problem – I just switched legs so that I was raising myself up with the right knee. We were 12 altogether and there are 2 cabins with bunk beds at every stop. After the first few kilometres of Day One, we didn’t see another person. The group came together as the time passed and I soon started to recognize the uniqueness and charm of people with whom I initially felt I had nothing in common. There were lots of jokes, skits and singing around the fire every night. I soon realized that Miems doesn’t like to go to bed – to her the camaraderie and team building is as important as the physicality. I can honestly say that I haven't felt that youthful and happy in a really long time. At one stop five of us swam in a gorge where the water was so cold my heart stopped beating for the first minute. We swam though a long narrow, nave-like tunnel with only a little sun coming in 60 feet above. What sun there was reflected off of water dripping down off the high rock walls. At the end of the tunnel was a pool and small waterfall. We climbed the rocks on the side of the waterfall to reach a large pool on another level and swam through that to another waterfall and so on until we reached a large waterfall feeding what Miems assistant, Jannie, called the "Pool of Eternal Youth". I said "Well thank God you got here while you were still young!" but I plunged into the icy water hoping there was some truth to what he said. I can't tell you how great I felt at that moment -- I was so happy and excited about seeing what was beyond the next waterfall that I swan and climbed the rocks without any fear or desire to stop and go back. If only I could approach the rest of my life with that same fearless enthusiasm.
Thank you Miems for helping me explore the World outside my box!
