With the help of Google, I got over my foolishness and found out that Ebola was a major concern in just four countries—Sierra Leon, Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria. Putting the needless fear behind me, I started looking forward to this trip.

And before too long, we flew to the islands. And while I spent the first day overcoming my jet lag, my second day started with a breakfast in the hotel restaurant, after which we headed off to the Oasis Park, one of the main attractions of the island. It is a zoo as well as a botanical garden. For me, it was a delightful experience, because all I had seen of the island from above was an arid expanse peppered with a bunch of rocky craters and spikes of volcanic hills.

We saw different animals in the Oasis Park, a majority of which, like giraffes, colourful birds and crocodiles, had been brought to this zoo from South America. And even though I wanted to see some species native to the place, I enjoyed the experience nevertheless.

The botanical garden was filled with different species of cacti. The garden at first seemed quite dull to me. After all, it was full of unattractive, spiky plants, which don’t move, don’t think and don’t talk. But, after observing them for a while, I started thinking about the qualities that help them survive in the desert? These xerophytes have roots spread out to suck in every possible drop of water; their spikes repel intruding animals; and their stems work like a sponge to store water for future use.

The third day of our trip was special for me since it was my 14th birthday. On that day, we decided to go out on a road trip to see the island. Our trip was quite boring at first (owing to the fact that this island is just rocks, rocks and more rocks!). However, after some time, I began to appreciate the place. The weather here is one of the best in the world; the mountains are unique as they were formed by volcanic eruptions; and despite being an arid place, it is a home to different species of plants and animals.  Additionally, this place is also said to be one of the abodes of the Maho people, most of whom were wiped out from this part of the continent by the European settlers.

Despite all our efforts to find out more about these people, we could not find any strong-standing information, so we had to assume that they had either perished or mixed with the crowd. It’s amazing that these people survived in a place like this, hundreds of years ago, without having access to even the most basic tools that we have today. Where did they get their water from? What kind of food did they eat? What tools did they use? This long endless road trip that I took made me realise that we humans are resilient creatures who can survive even in the toughest of conditions.

The next day was Christmas. The time for us to leave the island was drawing close.

Lying on the beach for one last time, I felt totally relaxed and appreciated

the beauty and wisdom that this place

had to offer. And before leaving, I also seized the opportunity to indulge in a new experience: I went surfing despite the harsh weather and cold water. After all, how often do you get to try new things in a new place?

Lamichhane is a student at the International School of Frankfurt