Headed Home

After jumping off the highest bungy jump in the world, ziplining through the forrest, partying with 19 year olds from Port Elizabeth, getting rained out in Port St Johns, snowed out in North Drakensberg, and just well ignored in Jo'burg I am ready to get on an airplane. I by no means am ready to go home though. I would love to settle somewhere in Zim or Malawi for like 6 months and just chill. I have had an absolutely amazing time traveling. Sooo many wonderful stories and people to go along with them. I have made some lifelong friends from around the world and some from back home. It is bittersweet to think about leaving this amazing continent. On the one hand I will be back in the familiar at home but on the other I will be leaving so many new things that I fell in love with; the land, the people, the quiet and slow pace of things. It is so overwhelming to think about the pace that things go at back home. It isn't something that has ever been very good for me and I think I will need some time to adjust back into things and to find ways to slow down in such a fast paced environment. I have made a potential commitment to myself, if school schedule allows, to travel each summer for two months. I want to see so much more of the world. I learned so much about myself, my true self on this trip, and I want to continue that as much as I can.

I knew time would fly by but it hasn't really sunk in that I leave for the airport in a few hours. It is amazing how much I have seen and accomplished on this trip. I am absolutely exhausted and want to sleep for a week! Though I have been on the move quite a bit I have found time to get in a lot of reading and wow have I finished some amazing books. I am so happy to know that I will be able to continue with my relaxing for a little while when I get back as school doesn't start for at least a month and I go on another vacation with the family! Looking forward to that for sure. Maybe I can get some of my tan back that the freezing cold South African winter has faded away. Well, after 21 hours on two planes and a 3.5 hr lay over I will land in San Francisco. See you all in about 30 hours!!!!

Adrenaline junky gone wild!

So I've made it to South Africa, barely! lol I have fiunished my tour with the group. On our trip through Namibia we had some amazing highlights. After climbing all over the enormous mountains of rocks in Spitkoppe we slept in a cave with a view of the stars all night long. Somewhere along the line we went to The Cheetah Farm. This is a place that protects wild cheetahs and has three tamed ones that were born there. I got to pet them and watch from the truck bed  as the wild ones were being fed. An absolutely amazing experience and I wanted it to last all day!

In Swakopmund I went sandboarding on the dunes. The stand up boarding was actually really hard and not that enjoyable but the lie down was fantastic and i got up to 76km/hr!!!  The last run of the day however I went a bit crazy. I went over the jump and was cruising down the dune but when I went to stop I caught some sand and went flying resulting in a fractured left wrist. I didn't actually get to the hospital until the next day but i'm glad I went! Apparently it is the same hospital that Angelina Jolie gave birth in. Anyway I haven't let a cast or the fact that I can only use one arm get in my way.

Once we got to Cape Town a few of us were staying on so we rented two cars and drove around cape point. It was fun to do a mini road trip before everyone parted ways. Due to the one arm issue I decided to go with the baz bus option for the rest of my time in sa. I will be traveling the garden route and then up to Joburg were I fly home. Some of the attractions along the way are riding an ostrich, the highest bungy in the world and a canopy swing!! I may not be able to tie my shoes or pack my bag without help but I am still going to have fun!!! See you all in two weeks!!!!

Botswana

I had a great time in Vic Falls, again! I went white water rafting on the Zambezi River!!!! It was so much fun I can't wait to go back when the whole river is open and do it again. It was sad to say goodbye, again, to the friends that I made there but I will keep in touch or just have to come back to visit, lol. I have started my new overland truck trip and so far so good. My new tent mate is from London and a ball of crazy energy, she and I have a lot of fun together. :) We have spent the last three days in the Okovango Delta. It is fantastically beautiful there but the trip itself was a bit of a let down....our guide was kinda lazy and we suffered for it. Oh well better luck next time. We also did a morning game drive in Chobe National Park which was fantastic as we saw lots of hippos and a leopard kill! To top off that day we took a nature watching sunset cruise. Talk about animal overload. We are headed to namibia tomorrow which I am very excited about but sad to have only spent a week in Botswana, I need so much more time. It has been fucking cold here!!!! (sorry for the language) By cold I mean I had to buy a blanket to put inside my 32 degree sleeping bag while wearing my hat, long sleeve shirt, a shirt, pants and warm socks!!!! I deffinately didn't think that winter in Africa was this cold but hey I keep on learning new things. Well thats it for now, short update. I will hopefully be getting a Namibian number either tomorrow at the border or in the next day or so for those of you who call. Hope all is well at home. Oh yeah one of my roomies is moving to Oregon for a new job...not sure what that means for the living situation. Changes, changes, changes. Good thing I've gotten used to being flexible. LOL

Arriving alive....thank god I'm finally here!

It has been quite a while since my last post partly due to a lack of internet but more so due to a lack of interest in sitting down and typing away. Here I am though so I guess I'll do my best to recap the past few weeks.

My time with Dumi in Mzuzu was wonderful. It was so nice to be with a good friend and meet many new people in the process. Of course staying in a real home wasn't to bad either :) We spent some time in Nkata Bay, which is absolutely beautiful, and I stayed there one night by myself and found a ride in the back of a truck with a few of the other girls staying there. Never a dull moment especially when we were running out of petrol and just barely managed to roll into the station. I thought I wouldn't be going back there again but on my way south I met another girl traveling solo and we decided to go to Chizumulu and Likoma Islands in Lake Malawi together. We headed back to Nkata Bay after spending a few days in Kande beach where I met up with my tour leader from the overland truck for a day or so, it's so wonderful to see people for a second time when you travel! I also ran into two guys from Australia who I just keep bumping into along the way. We all spent the day at the beach and exploring the local restaurants.

I jumped on the ferry with the two girls that I met, Josie and Jody, and we headed to the islands. It was a tropical paradise with no internet and one spot on the side of a hill with cell reception, absolutely perfect. I spent my days there lying in the sun, reading, swimming in the lake, snorkeling, and learning how to use the wave ski (a cross between a kayak and a surfboard, soo much fun!). We stayed up to enjoy the lunar eclipse one night. It was so beautiful and aparently the best when seen in Africa. After a few days we took a small sail boat to Likoma Island which was another slice of heaven. There we did more of the same but had to walk 45 minutes to the market, and it was hot! The guy working there bet me that I couldn't row the local canoe out to the marker and back in three minutes so I took him up on it. Though it was difficult I did it! This was a new record as most people can't even sit on it without falling over immediately their first time. Obviously I felt proud of myself and it was nice to get a free beer out of it. lol Anyway, it was time to leave so six of us girls hopped on the ferry and spent the next two days going down the lake. We finally arrived in Monkey Bay where I learned that my visa had expired, oops. So, I wound up having to pay for an extention and a fine which most likely just went straight into the guys pocket. What can I say when he said he would have to detain me I got nervous and decided paying was in my best interest. A few hours later, at 2am, one of the girls and I got onto a minibus filled with fish (this is not a nice smell mind you) in order to get to Blantyre in time to catch our buses out of Malawi. We made it by 7 am and after running all over town to get money and bus tickets we were both on our way. It was sad to leave the girls that I had made such good friends with but I will of course keep in touch. My bus took me across the Malawi, Mozambique and Zim borders which took from 8am until midnight, short trip....Once in Zim I went to my friends for a short sleep and was up again to catch another bus at 5am! I finally arrived in Victoria Falls tired, dirty, most deffinately smelly, but here none the less at the reasonable hour of 6pm. It was so nice to have a hot shower and know that I would be staying in one place long enough to sleep for more than 3 hours! I have met up with all the friends I made the last time I was here and also bumped into some overlanders from other stops. It is great to see everyone and get such a warm welcome.

I was sad to leave Malawi behind but am very happy to be here and excited for the next part of my journey. I will be jumping on another overland truck headed through Botswana, Namibia and into South Africa. I'm starting to dread the end of my travels as I am having an amazing time, I don't want to leave. Until the next update..... 

Road Trip!!!

Dumi and I set out for Lilongwe on Friday afternoon with a friend Abby. During our four hour trip south we got lost in conversation and enjoying the sights and stars from the car. It was late when we finally arrived and the power was out for an hour or so. We said our goodbyes to Abby and headed to the backpackers in town which is moving soon resulting in a lack of furniture and such. The next day, while Dumi was taking part in a student selection process for his alma mater, I headed to the local market. I was just taking a walk around when I started chatting with a few of the vendors. They invited me to learn the traditional board game Bao. We spent the next couple hours playing and wether they were letting me win in order to get me to buy something or not is to be debated but I had a good time anyway. I went with the two guys I had been playing with, Hippo and Black Moses, to the market where you can find almost anything. I then caught a minibus, my first ever!, to go meet up with Dumi. As we headed out of Lilongwe we filled up on petrol not realizing that it would turn out not be quite enough to get us home. We wound up running out of gas, literally, in Nkata Bay. We stayed right on the lake at a backpackers called Butterfly. It of course made me think of Ambyr and her beautiful tattoo that is being worked on while I'm away :( Wish I could be there with you! As there was no petrol in town, seriously, we spent the next day hanging out waiting to see if we could find some cheap gas on the black market. The waiting wasn't so bad as the lake is warm and beautiful. We hungout on the beach, went swimming and I was convinced to jump off the rocks into the water! We finally got some petrol late this morning and made the 40K journey back to Mzuzu. So here we are again, home sweet home, for now. :)

Mzuzu!!!!

After a days rest at Doogles Lodge in Blantyre I was on another bus to go see Dumi in Mzuzu, Malawi. (I met a guy who was on the show Big Brother South Africa!) This time it was an entirely overnight bus leaving at 6pm and arriving at 5:30am. It was a reallllllly long bus ride. I paid a little extra for the 'comfortable' bus but it didn't seem to make a stitch of difference. I kept waking up every time the bus stopped, which was a lot! We finally arrived at the station though and surprisingly on time. It was so wonderful to see a familiar face when Dumi came to pick me up. I have settled in with him and his wonderful parents. They have a beautiful home with a huge back yard complete with cows, chickens, fruit trees and of course a huge garden. It is so peaceful here and yet very close to town.

Last night we went out and I got to meet a lot of his friends and see what the night life is like here. I had a great time and met a lot of Peace core people who happened to be in town. We will be traveling to Lilongwe tomorrow for the weekend and perhaps Lake Malawi next weekend. There are a lot of places that I would still like to visit so I am struggling to figure out how to fit it all in before I have to head back home. At the moment though I love not having anything to do all day but read my book and lay in the sun. Today we had an exciting moment though when Dumi rescued the neighbors cat from a tree and more importantly his four dogs!

I do have internet access so could skype with people at some point or if you have a good phone plan feel free to give me a call at 265992301845. There may be a few more numbers you need to add in front if your calling from the US so just check on that first.

Harare to Blantyre via Mozambique

I have finally made my way to Malawi. My last days in Harare were good ones. I went for a second horse back riding lesson with Cary and the instructor really pushed us. There may be hope for me yet when it comes to posting (the way you ride when the horse is trotting). I wish I could keep going because it was a lot of fun and I really like the way we were being taught. I don't know if I would be able to take lessons back home, they are sooo expensive there! I had a great time watching movies and just hanging out with Cary and Idir before they took off to Zanzibar for the weekend. It was a good way to say goodbye, for now.

My last night in Harare I went to dinner with Houari and two of the Chinese guys. We had a nice meal, not at a Chinese restaurant this time, and good conversation. We then met up with some friend to go out dancing. As I was warned the club we went to was full of young people. I doubt they were over 18, scary. Despite a distressing conversation about safe sex, condom usage and the effectiveness of the pill in Europe compared to America, I had a good time. The boys are a lot of fun to go out with but staying out that late was maybe not the best idea before a long bus ride.

The bus to Malawi was scheduled to depart by 8am. Did that happen? What do you think? Of course not. Houari and I got a bite to eat and then waited for the bus some more. When I finally got on the road we were about 4 hours behind schedule. That wouldn't have really mattered that much accept that when we got to the Mozambique boarder I needed a new visa which takes time. The form isn't in English so the guys were nice enough to help me fill it out. I think I was supposed to give him something for his help but the bus driver was yelling at me to get going and bribe the immigration people so we could leave sooner so I forgot to give him something. No I didn't bribe him and he was done in fifteen minutes anyway. It seemed like everyone was looking at me like I was some stupid white lady holding up the whole process. Must I remind them that they were 4 hours late!!!! The only thing that made me feel a bit better was the little girl sitting in front of me was playing peek-a-boo with me. She must have been around 2, it was so cute. Then around 6pm all of a sudden our bus driver starts madly honking his horn and swerving all over the road. For a split second I swear we were going to tip over but thank god we didn't and just kept on speeding down the road like nothing happened. It was kinda funny because everyone started swearing in different languages. To really top off the evening at the Malawi boarder the bus parked next to a bit of a slope, which I couldn't see in the dark, and I literally fell out of the bus! I was fine but shit what else could go wrong? I finally made it safely to Blantyre and the backpackers hostel at around 10:30pm. As the dorms were full I had to set up my tent, uhg.

After a good nights sleep I made my way into town. Of course nothing was open as its Sunday but I got an idea for the place and got to see the market at least. Tomorrow I am headed to Mzuzu to see Dumi and I am so excited to finally be making my way up there! Wish me luck on another very long bus ride, 4pm to 5am, yuck.

Bits and Pieces

I am still in Harare Zimbabwe. The plan was to leave over a week ago but things change. I made a great friend, Cary, and we have been spending the days together while the boys are at work. It can be a bit boring staying at home during the day so we decided to start doing some activities. This morning we went for a horse back riding lesson. It was so much fun! The instructor was wonderful at teaching us how to trot properly and just be on the horse. An english saddle is so much different than western so it was very helpful for me.

My birthday was a great success. Cary treated me to a massage and facial before grabbing drinks. At the restaurant the manager surprised me with a piece of cake, it was really sweet of him. Then we went to Houari's house where he had made a traditional Algerian meal for everyone. Several of his friends and coworkers were there and my friend David was able to come too. After dinner Houari brought out the cake he had specially made for me in the shape of 26. It was great! We all went out dancing after that and had a wonderful time.

I had been wanting to go to a local place so the other night Houari, Shiona, and I went to a local bar with a live band. The music was pretty good and the singer was hilarious! He kept belting into the microphone and dancing all crazy with his legs all over the place. It was fantastic to watch. There was a second place next door having reggae night so we went to check that out. There was a great band that did a few Bob Marley covers.

I got together with my friend David the other day and we went to the movie theatre. I had really really been wanting to watch a movie on the big screen so it was wonderful to finally have the opportunity. We saw the Tourist with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. I actually really enjoyed it.

I am getting a bit sick of Harare. I have been here for about three weeks! It is great to make friends, have dinner parties and see the many different sides of the city, but it is time to go. If I can pull myself away from the routine that I have developed here I will be headed to Malawi on Saturday.

Troutbeck Resort, Nyanga

My vacation from my vacation this past weekend was a success. Houari (the guy i am staying with from couchsurfers) and I made our way out of Harare into the rural area of Nyanga. We stayed at the gorgeous Troutbeck Resort. We went to several of the waterfalls in the area and drove around the nation park, though we didn't see any wildlife, we had a good time in the bush. Of course I liked it as I got to see more of the amazing landscape of Zimbabwe. The rock formations, mountains and open space is so beautiful! In the morning we went for a walk around the lake right next to the hotel and at night we enjoyed sitting by the fire as it got really cold in the mountains! Sunday morning I got to go horseback riding around the resort property with amazing views from the hill tops. Though I still find the English saddle a bit tricky I did great at trotting and cantering. It was really fun but I wish Houari could have come with me as he has never been riding before. We spent the rest of the day driving around to different rural areas for his work. It was great, again, to see more of Zimbabwe.

I have decided to stay here in Harare for a while longer. My birthday is on Wednesday and we are planning to have some people over for dinner and then maybe go out dancing or something after. At some point I will make it back to Malawi but at the moment I am having a good time here meeting more people each day! It is easy to get settled into each place as I make friends and then don't want to leave. So there are also many places I want to go back to as well. At the same time I have been missing home a bit and seeing friends and family. I will have so much to tell you all when I get back!

Festival, festival, and too much music festival!!!!

Ok so the trip from Vic Falls to Harare was looooong. I took the over night bus with two other Americans and a guy from Harare, David. We left at ten pm drove for a couple hours then stopped on the side of the road for three hours for no apparent reason. After 16 hours sleeping on and off we finally arrived in Harare. The next step was finding a place to stay. The two Americans and I took a cab and luckily there was space at the only backpackers in town. I set up my tent and started meeting other travelers there, finding out about the music festival. Over the next four days I went to many shows at the international music festival. Some shows were free and others cost money so I of course had to pick carefully, which was difficult as I didn't know any of the artists. Luckily I only saw one performance that was terrible, and I do mean down right pathetic. It was a long few days though and on the last night as I was waiting for my last show to start I got really sick to my stomach and had to sit down. I thought I was ok but then I got a cold sweat and almost passed out! Luckily a woman came over and gave me some water and after a few minutes I was ok. Still not sure what happened as I had had plenty to eat that day with lots of water and no I hadn't had any alcohol in two days! Well the main point is that I am fine, well I have the sniffles at the moment as the weather has gotten colder here. Other than that no complaints.


On the last day of the festival I was able to obtain a place with at a couch surfers. If you don't know what that is it is a person who opens their home to fellow travelers around the world. The guy I am staying with is from Algeria and is just working here for the time being. He a very kind and generous man. I am very lucky to have such a nice place to stay here. The other day after lunch with a few of his friends we went to go pick up his friends dog and take care of him while he looks for a new place to live. When he found the dog, a gorgeous 9 month old bullmastiff, he was butt to butt with what looked like a young female black lab. Wellllll, they were stuck together!!! they obviously had tried to get un stuck but to no avail they were not coming apart. It was hilarious but also painful to watch. Finally the gardener was able to literally pull him out of her and they seemed ok. So this big guy is now staying with us and it is nice to have an animal around.

Houari, the man I am staying with, took me to dinner at a Chinese rest aunt last night and though I had the opportunity to try jelly fish and other such traditional foods I respectfully declined, I was curious though, next time. Today I made my way to the local market where I did my best to bargain for some items. I didn't do the best job but it is hard when the starting price seems so reasonable. I got some pretty dresses, some jewelry and a few heavy presents. All the other girls traveling around have all these nice clothes and after two months I was really starting to miss my skirts and pretty things so I am very happy with my purchases today.

I am obviously doing fine, sorry for the delay in update. Sometimes getting Internet can be tricky without a computer. Houari is letting me borrow a phone for now but I will be looking into buying one for the rest of my trip as calling taxis or other people locally has been important. If you have a good long distance plan go ahead and give me a call at 0735068223. Ok I have really gone on way to long. There is just always more to say!

Stilllll in Victoria Falls!

It seems that without the push of the overland truck schedule it is way to easy to stay in one spot. I really like it here in Vic Falls. The people are very friendly and the backpackers I am staying at is just a wonderful place to have fun, hangout and meet other travelers. I am leaving tonight though with a few other people to go the Harare where the music festival is going on. I am so enjoying not having a plan and just going day by day, moment to moment. There is nothing better than saying your plan for the day is not to have a plan. Yesterday I spent my day by the pool and chatting with people from all over the world. What could be better? I have made friends with a lot of the locals and could come back easily now. I will be sad to say goodbye today but may just find myself here again on my way to Botswana after visiting Dumi in Malawi. I love that I don't know what is coming next and I can decide to do anything! Anyway, I am safe, well and happy and everywhere I go there are plenty of guys who want to be my personal shaperone so I feel very safe. The guys have been amazingly respectful, nothing like the boys back home (sorry guys but you have a few things to learn) LOL. Well thats all for now I guess, more to come when I am in Harare, a new chapter to this discovery of not just Africa but of myself.

Crazyness in Victoria Falls

Yesterday I did some of what Victoria Falls is known for, the adrenaline sports. My friend Harry and I decided to do the tandem bridge swing. What that entails is getting harnessed up, getting cozy next to each other, holding on tight and jumping off a bringe over the Zambezi river next to the falls. It was fucking fantastic!!!! As soon as we did it I wanted to do it ten more times! We had one of the people from our truck take pictures so I should be getting those by the time I get home. Then we rushed back to camp where I got picked up to do an elephant safari. It was deffinately something that I would recomend to people but it wasn't quite what I had expected. You got to ride of the elephant with a 'driver' for about an hour. The best part was going into the water with them and feeding them. I got to touch its tounge and it was so smooth. I didn't buy the video, I took photos, but I did buy the footprint of the elephant that I was riding.

I had to say goodbye to my overland truck group this morning. I am very sad to see them go as we all got really close over our trip. I will of course be staying in touch with them and the crew as well who I also got very close with. It has been a 24/7 party in Vic Falls especially since we haven't needed to get up at the crack of dawn every morning to drive miles and miles. Our watering hole for the past few days has been the local seedy bar complete with male and female prostitutes! It may sound bad but it has been really fun getting to know the locals and Zimbabwe continues to be the friendliest place.

As it was our last night together our truck group decided to have a BBQ and we invited another overland truck to join us. It was a great feast which of course led us all, the other group included, across the street to dance away the night. It was good luck for me to meet up with this other group as I will be joining them on a sunset cruise this evening. I am much more confident traveling alone at this point as I have a better understanding of how things work and who to ask for help, but it is always nice to be with other tourists. I have pitched my tent for the first time at a great backpackers here and will enjoy using the kitchen that is available to us. Well until the next post.....

End to a trip, start of a journey.

My overland trip is officially over. Though I am no longer on the trip I have been continueing to camp with them in Victoria Falls for the past few days. Since my last post we have made our way through Zimbabwe to Vic falls. We did several safaris or game drives which were so amazing. One of our game drives our guide, Ian, took us to see the cave drawings of the bushpeople. He had so much knowledge about the people, the plants the animals, the history of the land and knew some of the bush language. It was mind blowing what he told us about them and so incredibly sad that they have been pushed out and off the land into the desert. We learned about poisonous plants, herbs, medicines and edible plants. There is absolutely no reason to go to the store for anything, just walk around and it is all right there under your feet or up in the trees! After the caves we went on an animal seeking drive where we got to get out of the car and walk up to a wild rhino!!! We got within 25 or 30 feet of this enormous animal and shit I was a little nervous. The guide took a photo of me with the rhino in back so you will see how close we really are and how massive this animal is. I am just continually amazed by all the creatures here, large and small. We stayed in this absolutely beautiful place for two nights. The cabins or huts are build in amongst these huge bolders and caves. There is no way to properly describe the awe of being there. You just have to experience it.

The next few game drives were with this crazy guy Andy. He told us all about the poaching problems and how he himself has been employed in catching them in the national parks. He took us on a night game drive which was an experience to say the least. We got to see some small creatures that only come out at night but the best part was watching Andy swerve off the road yelling at the baboons in the trees, scaring them off. It was absolutely hilarious! We also, during the day, would speed after these birds in the middle of the road and they would scurry off in all directions. I called it bird bowling. I kow it sounds maybe a bit bad but it was all in good fun and no animals were hurt during our adventures. I can't tell you how incredible it is to be in the national parks so close to these animals. I mean we were within feet of elephant herds, leopards running across the road in front of us, tons of giraffe and soooo much more. It was just so fantastic!

I am ending my trip with the overland truck in Victoria Falls tomorrow morning. Today I am setting out to do the bridge swing with one of the guys from my trip and then an elephant ride. I am so excited for these adventures. I know I keep using all these words like incredible, amazing and all that but there really aren't words to express these things properly. The other day we went to see the falls themselves and it was just incredible. When they suggest to you to wear a rain jacket they aren't kidding around. I didn't wear one and it was like standing in a high pressure shower! The spray from the falls this time of year is so powerful that at times you can't even see the falls. In a few days I will be heading up to Harare, Zimbabwe, to attend an international festival with music and various performances. When we passed through Harare last week I met a young woman on the road who invited me to come stay with her so I will see if I can make that happen. It is a bit scary to be back on my own again but also a good change from the go go go of the group trip. I am really sad to see the truck move on tomorrow and my tour leader, Victor, keeps trying to get me to come with them. I am considering meeting up with the truck down in Cape Town and coming back up to Victoria Falls but I don't know yet, I have a lot of options. So until next time, hope you are all well and thanks for some of the emails and facebook comments. It is nice to hear from you guys.

From Dar to Malawi to Mozambique and Zimbabwe!!!!

In the past week or so we have covered some major ground. I am currently in Zimbabwe and loving every minute of it. After the fantastic time in Zanzibar with the spice tour and beautiful beaches we made our way down through Tanzania into Malawi. There have been some really long bus rides in order to cover this ground so you get very good at sleeping, reading, eating and just doing nothing on the truck. We had a few whirlwind days in Malawi with the highlight of me getting to see my friend Dumi who just recently moved back from the states.

We went to a local market in Mzuzu, Malawi where we had to barder for an entire outfit for a person we picked out of a hat. Then the next night at our camp we got all dressed up in what the secret person had gotten for us and had a fashion show. It was absolutely rediculous and fantastic! Dumi came to meet me at the camp site with his friend Janet and we went in the warm water of Lake Malawi, it is more like a fresh water ocean with waves and beautiful beaches. It was so wonderful to spend some time with him and I can't wait for when we have more time together.

I also went for a two hour horse back ride with a fantastic guide and my roommate from the trip. It was absolutely wonderful even though I was a bit nervous because it was on an english saddle and I had never been on one before. I did great though with the trotting and a very short amount of cantering. We ended the beautiful ride by taking off the saddles, putting on our swim suites and going into the lake with the horses!

The last couple of days have been looong drives, starting at 6am and getting into our camp after 7pm. True we have had 600k to cover each day plus several boarder crossing which can take a lot of time. We have been lucky so far with only one guy having trouble getting in and out of Malawi. After spending one night in Mozambique we crossed the boarder into Zimbabwe. We stayed at this great place where we got upgraded from our usual camping to dorm beds for the same price! We were all thrilled. We had such a party that night. lol. We spend a whole day in Harare city walking around, going to the gallery,the botanic garden and such. It is a more modern city and the people were so friendly. Right as we were about to leave my two friends and I met with group of people who are part of a band. Long story short the singer invited me to come stay with her in a week or so when they are having a huge international art and music festival in town. I am so stoked to try and make that work! Today though we arrived into another absolutely gorgeous camp ground and went to the Great Zimbabwean Ruins where the rulers used to live. It was absolutely amazing and we got to see some dancing and drumming, took some great videos.

Anyway, I will end there for now. There are so many little things I want to share and when I get to Dumi's again maybe he can helo me upload some photos. Please let me know what all of you are up to as well!!!!

Overland Truck Tour here we gooooo!!!!!

After a great week in and around Nairobi it was time to meet up with the overland truck tour. This is a semi truck that has been converted into a bus like vehicle, it has massive tires, air shocks and seats way up on the top so you are overlooking everything and everyone. Very cool trucks. I have been on the trip for a little over a week now and there is already so much to tell. The people have been fantastic but whats a great trip without a few party poopers! LOL We started our trip with a three day safari through the Ngorogoro Crater and Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. We saw so many animals up close and personal it was amazing! Some highlights were the heard of elephants literally surrounding us not even ten feet away from our car, hippos, giraffe, rhino, and the best was when we saw lionesses chase and kill a warthog twenty feet away from our car!!!! Then the rest of them, fifteen or so plus a male lion, came walking in between our cars to get to the kill! I got a short video of them tearing the little guy apart, not for the faint of heart but so incredible to see how they do it right there in front of you, no National geographic here!

From there we did a village walk, had some local cuisine, very delicious vegetarian options here by the way, and made our way over to Dar Es Salam. We came over to Zanzibar the other day and spent hours walking around the maze that is the alleys of the city. Oh I forgot I bought some painting, can't wait to get them in frames and up on the wall. At night in Stone Town there is a night market so after cocktails on the beach with a hookah for fun we made our way to the food market for dinner. This was absolutely incredible. Vendors all over the place with every kind of fish kabob, falafel, rice, samosas and my personal favorite their pizza which is basically a crepe with banana, nutella and chocolate on top! The warm water, white sandy beaches here are of course the luxury that we have all been craving after spending long hours on the road and many nights sleeping in our tents along the way.

I am running out of time here, as is what usually happens here, so I'll just wrap it up. I am having a fantastic time here and looking so forward to what is in store for us over the next couple weeks on the tour. I am in great hands with the group and of course our guide, Victor. Although last night we had to send him off to bed from the bar as he had been looking into the bottom of his drink for twenty minutes....we had a grand party on the beach! As always miss you guys, wish you were here and can't wait to tell you more stories and show you pictures!!!!

Makin' out is the thing to do!

Hello Everyone!
I am in Nairobi for the last day today as I am meeting my overland tour group tonight. The last few days have been great! I went with two guys I met at the backpackers hostel to the Giraffe Center. It was a small place with about eight giraffe. We walked up these stairs to be face to face with them. You get a handful of food and can feed them. The best part is that you can get a kiss by putting the food pellet in between your lips and they use their tongue to get it from you. It is a great make out session! LOL!
After that I came back to the backpackers to meet Bethany, this woman who invited me out to the orphanage she is working at. So we took the local bus about an hour and a half out of Nairobi into the gorgeous hills of Kenya. The air was so clean and fresh with evergreen trees everywhere. Once we got to the small town we took motorbikes up the hill to the orphanage. It was a little scary at first flying down the dirt roads, wind blowing in my hair, on the back of this motorbike, but then you start to look around and it so exciting. We arrived just in time to join the kids after dinner during their group time. It reminded me so much of boarding school or the group home the way they ran things and they way the place was set up. I spent the evening talking with the volunteers, from America, and cuddling a tiny kitten named Nala. She was the sweetest little kitty, made me miss my big kitty.
The next morning I went with the volunteers to the school and saw more children that they are helping through tutoring. I was given the opportunity to tutor a young boy, Michael, on his reading, writing, and comprehension. Then I sat in on an art class that the volunteer had put together. It was so wonderful to see an organization that was doing something so wonderful for the kids and being productive! I absolutely hope that I find a volunteer position in Malawi. After lunch, they were so generous!, we headed to the 'bus station'. I  took one of the local buses back home which took forever but I arrived before dark which was good.
The next day, after meeting many Americans at the hostel, I made my way to the Nairobi National Museum. It was an amazing place with some great exhibits like the one on international womans month, and the one about evolution. They have the oldest skeletons, from Kenya, in the world! Then I went to the snake park and had a volunteer take me around and tell me about all the different kinds of snakes. I spent over four hours doing all that.
I have been enjoying the backpackers hostel so much because I meet fellow travelers everyday that I have been doing fun things with or just getting some great ideas of things to do. Today I am going to meet my overland tour group. Luckily for me the hotel that I need to get to is just a block away from the backpackers I'm staying at! I am so excited about this tour and really getting going on this traveling trip!!! Miss everyone and when I get some more photos I will try to figure out how to put them up. Unfortunately I didn't really get any pictures of Nairobi because it just isn't smart to bring anything into town with you. Oh well. Update soon, maybe!

Nairobi

After spending a few days in Moshi Tanzania, after my climb, I was ready to go to Kenya. It was a small town with two roads, not a lot to do and my guide, who was fantastic about taking me around town was starting to cramp my style. So I was all set up to get on the 6am bus to Nairobi. I could hardly sleep because I was so worried I wouldn't wake up in time to catch the bus, my alarm is so quiet I can barely hear it when it is in my ear! I made the bus and boy was it a long ride. We didn't get into Nairobi until around 3pm! The greatest part of the drive was that at one point I looked out the window and there were about 15 or 20 giraffe staring back at me. They were just on the side of the road!  It was great I just wish I had my camera out at the ready, next time.

When I got into Nairobi I didn't really know where I would be staying so I had the bus drop me off at a backpackers. Their idea of dropping me off is still driving, but slowly, saying ok it's down that way. Luckily I had met a Canadian teacher on the bus and he got off with me and we walked up the road to the backpackers hostel which was like three buildings down. I feel a little bit better here than I did in Moshi, more people speak English, the hostel has internet on site, dorms, and oh my god a TV! Last night this guy I met, Steve, and I watched this hilarious show called the Ninja warrior. It is one of those Japanese game shows where they have to get through obstacle courses in a set time. Hilarious! He and I are going to go to the Giraffe center today and then if I get back in time this other woman I met is going to take me to the orphanage she is working with out in one of the slums. I am so looking forward to all these new things. I have a few more days to figure out what to do with before I meet my bus tour group at the Hotel down the street. I may stay in Nairobi to discover a few more things here, perhaps go to a movie or maybe find the elephant orphanage. Not sure, the options are endless. Anyway, I am doing well here and very excited about the people I am meeting and the places I will be going. 

What the Post!?!

As I head onto Nairobi I needed to lighten the load a little bit. I wouldn't be needing any of my heavy snow gear from the mountain so I figured I'd sent it on home. Wow was that a journey. One of the guides from the Kilimanjaro trip has been nice enough to take me around town each day, helping me figure out where things are and run errands. So we had to walk all over town to try to find a big enough box to fit everything in. Then go back to the post office buy the brown paper and tape to cover the box then buy the postage to send the box. This whole extravaganza took around two hours and was really expensive!!! It hurts the pocket book now but I'm sure when I am only lugging around one bag I will be happy the package was sent.

I finally took a dip in the pool the other day. I am staying at the YMCA and they have an enormous pool. It has been raining off and on but it is so hot and humid here the cold water felt great. Also due to the weather my laundry from the mountain was not finished, they dry everything in the sun. It was a fiasco to try to get everything back and when I did get my things, many enquiries later, things were wet and my vest was a bit ruined. So the moral of that story is do your own stinking laundry even if the sign in the room says not to hang damp clothing! At least you will know where it is and it won't cost anything.
Oh I forgot to mention in my rush the other day that on the mountain it was -15 C, what is that in F? As a result though my bottom lip got really chapped, :( It will get better quickly. Till Nairobi! Hope all is well with everyone at home.

Mt Kilimanjaro

Jambo (hello) from the roof of Africa!

After what seemed like the never ending day, two plane and over 36 hours of travel, I finally arrived in Tanzania. It was a bit overwhelming at first and I must admit I was pretty lonely at first. I was kinda going, shit what did I just get myself into?!" Then of course the tourists starting coming out and after just one day at the YMCA I was headed up to climb Kilimanjaro. It was an amazing trip! I spent 7 days on the mountain with two fantastic guides, five porters (they carry everything), and a cook. These guys were just amazing. The hiking was intense to say the least with anywhere from 4 to 7 hour on the trail each day. This wasn't walking on a flat trail mind you, we were going up over 1000 meters a day and then down 1000 meters to camp everyday, hike high, sleep low. Anyway it was really physically intense. The last day, summit day, we had to wake up at 11pm! We started our long journey up the mountain at midnight, in the snow, but it was so beautiful. With the bright moon we didn't need to use our head lamps at all. It was so steep that, even with the walking poles, we had to take a step, stop, take a step, stop. It was all you could do just to keep going. Luckily this entire trip I didn't have any altitude sickness, mostly in part to the medication my doctor prescribed I'm sure. We finally reached the roof of Africa, Uhuru peak, at 6:20am. We just caught the sun as it was coming up, took some photos before the clouds came back in and then were headed back down the mountain. The peak is 5895 meters high, I don't know what it is in feet but almost 20,000. So, anyway, running out of time here on the computer so I'll wrap it up. I'm completely in tact, well soar as hell but fine. I am figuring out how to take the bus to Nairobi and even met some fellow travelers that I might meet up with in about a months time. So I'll do my best to keep you all posted. Love to everyone, can't wait to show you pictures!!!!

Mechanical issues?

So, I'm at SFO two hours early even though its a domestic flight. You know me I can't be late. My Mom dropped me off after spending a hectic week with her getting everything ready for the trip. My Dad met me at the airport and spent some time with me before he thought he was sending me off, I thought so too! Our plane was forced to move to another gate as the previous plane was majorly delayed. So we get on the plane, we taxi out and were about to take off when the captain comes on and says we have a mechanical issue that needed to be checked but he thinks we can go without it. Well it turns out he's wrong so we all are sent off the plane to reschedule our flights and missed connections!

Despite having missed my two connections I was feelings good and I met some really great people in the same boat. I really great woman who works for UCSF researching HIV in Uganda was great company in our almost four hours of trying to find other flights to Africa. I also met a young woman who had climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro a couple years ago and also done a similar bus tour with the same operator! She had some great things to same and I am more confidant that I will be able to reach the top! So I came up to Seattle, checked into my complimentary hotel and got together with Cousin Jessica her husband Paul and beautiful baby girl Charlotte for dinner. It was so wonderful to be able to finally see where they live and spend some time as we don't get to see each other very often. Something that could have "ruined" the beginning of my trip turned out to be a great way to start the trip. I am ready to go after a great nights sleep and some free internet time to set this thing up. Phew.

Ok, well I will try to keep you all posted. And wish me luck today on actually getting to Africa this time!!!