The Journey Inward

I woke up at 5:30 AM to watch the sunrise from my balcony. By 5:45. It became clear to me that the sun was not going to rise in the stretch of ocean in front of my place. I took a picture of the beautiful sky and went back to bed.

I had a nice leisurely morning and then headed up to Umhlanga Ridge to check out the shopping district. It was a 2 mile walk uphill on what was quite a warm day. My first stop was Umhlanga Arch and a cute looking Cafe named butterscotch. I was ready to sit and have my dirty chai latte. Unfortunately, it was closed. I walked around to the restaurant where I was planning to have lunch, but it was too early. I did get spectacular views, however.

I pushed on for another half mile or so to the Gateway Shopping Theatre, a humongous indoor mall. I actually bought some clothes there, but wasn’t really interested in spending much time there. Completely disoriented, I went out a different set of doors and ended up on Palm Boulevard, which was lovely. I was hungry and wanting my tea, but all of the restaurants on this trip were fast food.

After a bit, I got my bearings and started the 2 mile walk back down to the beach. Luckily it was downhill and went much quicker.

I went back to African Roots, the Cafe I loved, and had an amazing North African spicy chicken wrap with a small salad. I ate half and saved the other half for dinner. I then had a gorgeous dirty chai. The manager on duty today was Indian and very friendly.

From there, I got some gelato and then walked back to my flat. I changed into my bathing suit and headed down to the beach for my last beach walk. It was a gorgeous afternoon for it. I absolutely adored the little crabs along the way!

I will miss this magical place!