Happiness Can Be Found in Unlikely Places free essay sample

Found in Unlikely Circumstances About a year ago, myself and a couple friends took a semester off school, went to South Africa for a vacation and for a chance to see a different part of the world. We set out for four months; three of those months we spent traveling up and down the garden route and the east coast and midway through our trip, we stopped at a hostel called, â€Å"Coffee Shack. † It was very laid back and relaxing hostel; there were many people there every night and the ocean was so close to the tepee we were living in, we were practically swimming. Every morning we would wake up to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore and the enormous African sun that hovered over our heads. One morning, we decided to go out with some of the guests from the hostel for a hike along the hills by the seashore. We will write a custom essay sample on Happiness Can Be Found in Unlikely Places or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These hills were covered in thick blades of grass but had rock faces that were pointed out towards the water. If you looked to your left you’d see these hills go for miles; mound after mound, circular shaped huts with cone shaped roofs sitting on top. African trees as well, looking as if the wind was blowing all the branches to one side of the trunk but they stood absolutely still; frozen in time. To your right you’d see the ocean go out for as far as you can see, while standing on a cliff with an almost vertical drop. From looking at the cliffs from the sides, it showed the many trails descending down the cliffs made by mountain goats and every once and a while you could see one half way down; climbing up. Although our surroundings were incredible, the heat was as well. We went through several bottles of water through-out the hike. Our leader, an African local, lead us down one of the more climbable hills to the ocean floor where it was covered in rock. With the sun beating down on us we felt trapped because we couldn’t swim in the water, the waves were too strong we’d be thrown up against the rocks. We carried on through this frying pan for another couple of minutes until our leader stopped the group. He lead us to this crack in the wall on the side of the cliff which was about six feet tall and about a foot or so wide; barely big enough for someone to squeeze through. We all stood there, as warm as ever, wondering what he had brought us too. He then told us we could go inside in groups of four; lucky for us, my friends and I were in the first group. We felt like eggs being boiled on concrete before squeezing through the crack in the wall and going into the cave; shaded from the sun. The four of us stood there; it was absolutely pitch black; we couldn’t see a thing, but as pointless as it seemed, it felt great to get out of the sun even for a couple of seconds. Our leader came in and explained to us that every night, when the tide comes in, this cave gets mostly filled up with water and when the tide goes down it leaves some behind that serves like a pool. He handed my friend a flashlight and he turned it on. The complete darkness we were looking into immediately vanished and a small little body of water appeared. We all looked at each other; I could tell by the expression on my friend, Jake’s face that he was thanking the heavens. We then, one by one, crammed into this Jacuzzi sized pool and let out sighs of relief. The cooling sensation was indescribable. It was easily the most satisfying and refreshing experience I’ve ever had on a hike.