One step through two oceans

I walked into the bar, casually propped up one elbow and smiled proudly, because I had just crossed two oceans in just one step.

Cape Town, the name for me was very strange before 2008 and only became known after chatting with my classmate from South Africa. Honestly, at the time, I still mistook him for saying that he was in the capital (Capital), not the city that was located at the southernmost end of the "black continent".

It took me 2 years to get a chance to set foot on Cape Town thanks to a lucky occasion. The city welcomes travelers with better weather with a day of up to four seasons, warm sunshine like spring, hot lunch, cool afternoon and autumn, and a cold coat on the street. People come to Cape Town to visit Table Mountain, which has a very special shape, to play with Emu ostriches on the farm, to visit the vineyards that stretches very tight and of course indispensable trip. to the Cape of Good Hope, the fairyland of the earth.

The Cape of Good Hope reaches out offshore between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Photo: Quang Tri.

Cape of Good Hope has the English name Cape of Good Hope. The magical land is located 64 km from the center of Cape Town, the road mostly runs along the beautiful and romantic coastal. Early in the morning, the summit of Mount Lion belongs to the mountain table without fog, according to the local fishermen, this sign means that it is sunny today.

South Africa is a paradise for wildlife. Before arriving at the Cape of Good Hope, the ship had a side-side glass window that took visitors around the bay, where the seals were leisurely playing in the cold water. On small rocks lying in the middle of the sea, hundreds of fat bodies jostle each other to occupy a place for drying, sometimes resounding loudly calling for mates or growling.

Pristine coastline at the foot of Mui Hao Vong. Photo: Hoai Nam.

The gulls return to shore to continue wandering the unique path to the southern tip of Cape Town. The fynbos, the typical flower of the brilliant region, bloom all over the national park. Reaching the Cape of Good Hope, the thrill pervades me as soon as I can see the magical cape that is only read in books on geography and the great voyages of explorers.

The Cape of Good Hope is actually not the southern tip of the African continent, exactly 150 km east - Cape Agulhas. But why do people have to come all the way here, this tough year-round land that only has sunshine, wind and sea? Simply because Cape of Good Hope is considered to be the meeting point of the two oceans of the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean.

His first voyage around Cape of Good Hope marked the portrayal of Portuguese porter Bartholomeu Dias when he decided to search the road to the southernmost tip of Africa and to the Indian Ocean in 1488 (many records 1486). He called this cape Cabo das Tormentas - Cape of storms but was later changed to Cape of Good Hope on the advice of King John II of Portugal. Other sources report that the name was changed by Dias himself.

To me who thought of this name is not as important as its meaning. In the 15th century, when the ships did not have a modern navigation system, no mechanical machines, but the small man dared to build a boat to cross the big sea and then face the dangers, steadily overcome it. Cape of Good Hope - Cape of Good Hope is filled with the beliefs, optimism and hope of the oldest sailors especially when this cape often has thunderstorms.

Full view of Cape of Good Hope is located at Cape Point where the old lighthouse is located. From afar, the tiny ledge protruding out of the blue ocean is not as majestic and magnificent as people think. Yes, it was just a bare rock, but it marked an interesting concept - one step across two oceans.

Ancient lighthouse atop Cape Point. Photo: Quang Tri.

The car again drove people down to the sea surface where the words "Cape of Good Hope, The most South Western point of the African continent - Cape of Good Hope, the extreme southwest point of the African continent" and the coordinates 180 28 '26 ”East, 340 21' 25” South. Everyone wants a photo by the board and I'm engrossed in the beach. Only a few gulls seemed leisurely in front of the strong breeze blowing in on the shore, swirling with white waves.

Dip my hand into the cool ocean water, I collect some water in the plastic bottle shell and then add a pinch of sand. So there was a special gift to bring along with the interesting story of a colleague that I will never forget: “In the old days, the brave sailors always faced the challenges that went from this sea. to the ocean. On Earth there are two southernmost points, one in South Africa is the Cape of Good Hope, the other is the Cape of Horn in Chile. If you see a sailor sitting on a bar propped up with two elbows, it means he used to pass these two dangerous nose points. ”

Although I don't have the opportunity to become a majestic sailor like in maritime history, but in a poetic perspective of life, I reward myself with the right to fight a elbow on the table and sip a few beers in the bar. See you soon Chile and Cape Horn so I can complete the strange passion of a traveling lover.