Friday, January 14, 2011

The End of the World.




Good Hope

That is, the Cape of.

European sailors dreamed of finding new worlds, so they set off to the south. Africa was strange and powerful, but the Europeans couldn't conquer it (thanks to malaria, though that was fixed in the 1800's by the gin & tonic concoction many explorers sipped). So they kept on going, and going. Finally, the rounded the edge, the Cape of Good Hope. It was the first sign of rounding Africa on their way to India and the spice islands. The Suez Canal wasn't built till the mid 20th century, and Columbus couldn't find India, so for centuries sailors passed the Cape.

I've been to the end. The extreme.

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