Cape Town

Part two of the South Africa diaries! This is potentially the best day in South Africa- spent with penguins!

A little discouraged by the morning rain that welcomed us to Simon's Town, a town about a 15 of 20 minute drive from our air b&b. We spent quite a few days in Simon's Town, an adorable area!

Amidst the hustle,

People rushing to

Experience wonderous

Scenes, there lay

Vibrant orange of

Passion, singing a

Wordless song of

Blessing to the 

Soul who stops

Notices

Appreciates

Lets time stand

Still

I kid you not, I think I have over a hundred pictures of these penguins!

Luka wasn't thrilled with watching penguins from the boardwalk, but...

The rest of us found them captivating. We laughed for over an hour, watching them fight or try to waddle run only to fall over. We ahh-ed over a few chicks and eggs hidden under their parents. Eventually, we tore ourselves away because Makai's attention span can't be described as enduring :)

A first sighting of penguins! It's funny how you freak out over one or two before knowing there's hundreds more around the corner.

Penguins certainly aren't graceful on land, but they swim with amazing skill. Although we couldn't see them do much swimming, even when they sailed through the water and up to the sand demanded admiration.

Makai told us the penguins "wabbled". We all accidently started saying that too :)

Emalai deemed this one "her penguin"

Wind beat against my face,

wearing down with salty

erosion, robbing my smooth

physique. Rage fills my limbs

but weariness deems me

immobile, falling limp to

change and agony of not

knowing- will this end?

Who will I be then? Will

I be worthy, wanted,

noticed?

See the egg?!

Holding dewdrops

Savoring blessings

Small, fragile, passing

blessings

Stopping for a break before the next adventure.

Cape Town area officially has, in my opinion, the best succulents ever!

Meet the dassie, which we later learned is a South African name for a rock hyrax. These guys were everywhere along the board walk, just as common as the penguins were on the beach.

Rock hyraxes are great climbers and are known for screaming like a frightened woman at night.

This gives you a little taste of the way vegetation often spilled down the from the mountain, growing up to the beach.

Where to?

Rest

Adventure

Family

Valleys

Unexpected?

Do you

really

know?

Makai was excited when we got to Boulder Beach (a short board walk from the penguin viewing) and decided to roll up our pants, get in the water and explore.

Never come to adventure without expecting tunnels,

rocks and rough roads, unexpected twists that pummel

into unexplored area. Adventure never brings one along

without presenting risk, asking the follower to be strong.

A penguin on the rock right next to us!

A magnificent view of Boulder Beach!

The benefits of being short ;)

Where would you see this sign except in South Africa?

The harbor

Mom enjoys eating at local restaurants. We lunched on fish by the sea at Salty Sea Dog.

These musicians were singing all three times we came to Simon's Town. They were very talented.

African time- aka, never on time.

We enjoyed our glimpse of Boulder Beach so much that we returned after lunch.

Luka and I headed off across the boulders for an adventure. We found this penguin and were stoked!

Right behind the rock next to the penguin, we found lots more! Luka joked that had "sermon illustration" written all over it. He was right. Often I find myself settling for one "penguin" because I don't dare face the unknown, risk making things worse or looking like a failure, put forth the energy... But God calls His children always deeper into the blessings of His love. He has so much more for me than I can ever imagine. I'm slow, scared and stubborn, but amazed that He keeps taking my hand and teaching me how to take the risk of going deeper with Him.

Can you get any closer?

Luka got the penguin to copy his every move

Luka and I returned to bring more family members. There was a few mishaps getting back. I fell in between two rocks, scraping my legs, then got all wet :)

After laughing over this sign, we pulled our car out of the parking spot. The moment we pulled out, a penguin came out from behind another care and walked right in front of the sign!

Simon's Town from the mountain