If there’s one word I can use to sum up
Hogsback, it’s “fairyland.” I had to go inland from the coast a bit to get there, and it's up in the very green mountains. This whole town is like a permanent renaissance
fair. It’s weird. My hostel, Away with the Fairies (R90/night for camping, R160
for dorms), is super cutesy with elves, fairies, and Tolkein quotes painted all
over it. My first day, I went on a short (and slippery, muddy hike due to the
recent rain) hike to an 800-year-old “big tree” and some streams and waterfalls
and such.
I can't tell you how many people I met who have "Not all those who wander are lost" tattoos...
My
second day, I went on a longer, 6 hour hike and wander around. I found a bunch
of waterfalls, one of which was called Madonna and Child falls. There, some guy
asked me if I had washed me face in the water. No…I hadn’t. He said that it was
an “Africanism” to wash my face in the water and it would wash all my bad luck
away. Why not, I thought, and I washed my face. “Feel better?” he asked. Yes,
actually. Strangely I felt much better.
The cleansing power of the waterfall
Back
at the hostel, I had signed up for the outdoor bath. They have a bathtub in a
secluded spot in the trees that overlooks the mountains. It was a great view,
but just a mediocre bath because it was a little cold outside and the water
wasn’t too hot. Should have stoked the donkey heater, I guess. Still wanting to
bathe, I immediately just went to the normal shower block and took a hot shower
in there, then relaxed in front of the fire.
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