Jbay - Step 2.4: Leaving “home”, enjoying time in nature and 20-hour bus ride to Johannesburg

Before I finally left, I had four more days during which I went to the Wild Spirit Lodge again. It almost felt like coming back to another home, as I had been there 4-5 times before, always for just two days. My friend, who also volunteered at the hostel in Jbay, came with me for two days so we could enjoy the nature around the beautiful lodge.

This meant mornings with beautiful sunrises (once accompanied by magical chanting in Sanskrit), meditation, and yoga. After that, I would usually check on my five favorites of this hostel - the orange cats that chill in the morning sun in the grass every day.

We couldn't skip our breakfast routine that we established in Jbay, which is the world's best porridge - on the sunny deck with a stunning view and in the best company (cats again, of course).

When my friend went back to the hostel in Jbay, two other friends who had stayed for six weeks in the hostel came to the lodge. So we had an amazing day in Nature's Valley at a stunning beach. This day was so special and we felt very connected to nature, the beach, the water, the mountain, and the forest. We had a picnic together, painted on paper, but also used my tattoos as mandalas, made handcrafted jewelry, swam, and played in the sand.

Already in Jbay, as I became close friends with two other volunteers and we spent a lot of time together, I could appreciate what it was worth to just be childish again. Playing hide and seek, running around playing tag at the beach, building sand art, laughing at everything for no reason, and just being pure and genuine. Everyone has this inner child that is longing for healing, unconditional love, and acceptance, and I believe that "being a child again" is what offers us this healing.

It is needless to say how special it is to meet human beings around whom we can just be this child without judgment but with acceptance and love. Having the common mindset of enjoying life to the fullest and making the best out of every situation.

So this time in Jeffreys Bay was very special for me, and that beach day in Nature's Valley was also one of the top 5 best days of my life.

I came back to Jbay for two nights as my two friends finished their volunteering and we got a bus to Johannesburg together. Supposingly, this was meant to be a 15-hour bus ride. Keeping in mind that we were in South Africa, it was expected that it would take more time and patience than that. (#TIA)

After the first 10 meters, the bus needed to stop due to technical problems and we waited one hour for it to be "fixed." About six hours later, the bus stopped again on the road, in the middle of nowhere because of that same problem and appeared to be definitely broken. So we could make it to another bus station at 5 a.m. in the morning and waited for another bus so that we could switch to continue the ride.

In the end, about 22 hours after we left Jbay, we arrived in Johannesburg. One of us three got on another bus while my remaining friend and I took an Uber to stay one night in a hostel in Soweto.

Soweto is a township in Johannesburg, South Africa, that is known for its rich history and cultural significance. It was originally established in the 1930s as a segregated area for black residents under apartheid but has since become a symbol of resistance and resilience. Today, Soweto is a vibrant and diverse community that offers a range of experiences for visitors, from historical tours to live music and street food.

We took a rental car the next day and drove to Mbombela, where we had a nice Airbnb for two days. Here we visited our friend who decided to leave us and go back to Germany the next day. In the place he stayed, we could walk around zebras and impalas that would also walk by the pool sometimes.

The chapter of Jeffreys Bay was closing, and the triple M transformed to double M. The next posts will continue to tell the stories of the adventurous travels from double M.