I’m not sure who exactly from the Crew of Destiny said it first.
I don’t know quite when or how it started but I do know that by the end of the trip, we all know the motto: What happens in Durban stays in Durban.
Petula and Zizi often say it with a wink and a high five; Fauz with a fist bump; Tino with that smile you can spot from across the room: What happens in Durban stays in Durban.
Except it doesn’t.
It comes home with you as bruises and bumps; a scrape next to your elbow you can’t for the life of you remember getting; scars you tried to hide with a strategically placed scarf borrowed from Ross and sand at the bottom of your luggage from your still-wet jeans from that midnight rendezvous on the beach.
When we stalked out of our hotel rooms, crossed the street and walked into the ocean.
Even though the rain was coming down in a soft drenching drizzle, the fishermen on the pier were already at their posts to catch the next day’s lunch or dinner and it’s the kind of decision that would make our mothers clutch their chests and shake their heads disapprovingly.
When Amelia lost both her flip-flops and her Bellissima magazine, T-Dot accidentally took a swim and Othman just stood there… Taking it all in.
When we laughed so much I was sure there had to be something in their air and I came to the quiet realisation that no photo or video could do justice to capture that moment. To eternalise it. To make sure we never forget how young and free and f*cking powerful we felt in that moment.
What happens in Durban doesn’t stay in Durban.
It wakes up with you in your too-big-for-one bed, takes your voice and leaves you with something huskier and, admittedly, sexier than you’re used to.
What happens in Durban doesn’t stay in Durban.
It moves to Twitter and WhatsApp and Facebook and Instagram where we all rehash, repost and remind each other of the five days that were much too short.
What happens in Durban doesn’t stay in Durban.
It comes back home with you, settles in between the silences of your conversations with other people who don’t know the Life of Destiny and wouldn’t get it even if you tried to explain.
They had to be there.
They had to be a fly on the wall to every conversation, every laugh, every moment.
They had to be there to understand why seals are “uninspiring”, why hearing “hey nana” can brighten up your whole day and why the sight of a Tops bottle store makes you giggle.
And even then, they still might not understand.
Why Durban begs you to remember. Why Durban calls you back.
I spent five days in Durban at the invitation of South African Tourism to attend #EssenceFestDBN. To see more of what I got up to, check out the hashtag #CindyTakesDBN.
