I feel like I seriously have NOT blogged in awhile. Life here in Northern Namibia is
getting crazy busy as we wind down our year. Exams are in full swing for the final term, I’m trying to
start thinking about the packing process, and I am marking papers like a mad
woman. I leave the village in less than two weeks! When did that happen? However, I’m taking a
little break to catch all of y’all up on the shenanigans that went down the
previous week.
As several of you know, I traveled to Zambia and Zimbabwe
with two other volunteers. Before
I go into great detail, let me just say that this is one of the best trips I
have ever taken! It may have been
because it was spontaneous. It may
have been the company. It may have
been because the locals in these two countries are some of the nicest people I
have ever met. It may have been
because I did some pretty extreme, hardcore stuff while I was there. Or maybe,
it was all of the above and even more.
Either way, all you need to know is that I highly recommend traveling to
these parts of Africa.
For the adventures we encountered, let me break it down
day-by-day for you:
Friday: This was the first day of exams, so we all left
school a little early so that we could get to the south before it was too
late. We went in style and avoided
combis like it was the plague.
Somehow, we managed to get two private hikes (hitch hiking) all the way
to Windhoek. I can’t say that they
were the safest drivers, but they sure got us to the city quickly. Plus, there was a little AirCon to make
us smile. After arriving in
Windhoek, we checked in at the hostel and headed to dinner. It was an early night because we had an
early flight the next morning.
Saturday: AIRPORT!!!
I think this is the longest I have gone without flying since living in
Saudi. If you know me well, you
know the airport is one of the places that I feel most alive. I could go to one every day just to
watch the people, guess the different nationalities, and daydream about
possible adventures. My soul is
happy here. Either way, we woke up
around 4am to get to the airport. We
caught a flight from Windhoek to JoBurg, and then JoBurg to Livingstone. We stayed in Zambia during this trip,
so the first day we just explored the open markets around town. I was able to buy some fabric for
myself and a couple Christmas gifts for the family. It was another early night (who am I kidding, every night
was early…we are grannies) because we had to catch a bus to Zim early the next
day.
Sunday: Emily and Mallory had plans to go to Botswana in the
morning, and in order to get there we had to pass through Zimbabwe. On this morning, we woke up early,
caught a bus to the border, purchased our visas, and headed off to another
country. I decided not to go to
Botswana in order to save money for South Africa, plus I went on a safari with
my parents and I was able to see a lot of cats. While the girls were gone, I went on a tour of the
falls. I could have easily done
this by myself, but it was nice to get a little bit of the history, plus I was
able to make some new friends.
While I waited for the girls, I explored the markets and shops. I think I made more friends in Zim than
I have a whole year in Namibia.
Talk about the NICEST PEOPLE EVER!
Before the day started, I was a little concerned about being alone for 7
hours, but in the end, it was so rewarding to spend one-on-one time with the
locals.
Mallory and Emily got back to Zim around 3, and then Em and
I headed out to ride ELEPHANTS!!
We went on a 45-minute trek through Zimbabwe on the back of an
elephant. Our guide, Tom, told us
a lot of interesting things about elephants, especially Doma, the one we were
riding. Doma is a 40 year-old male
who is waiting for his last molar to come in. Apparently, when the 6th and last molar has come
in at the age of 45, the male elephant is finally mature and ready to reproduce. Why are men always such late
bloomers?! Female elephants are
ready to go at 12 or so. Come on
boys! After the trek though, we
got to snuggle with Doma and take precious pictures, which you can find via my
Facebook and Instagram. The night
ended with an African dinner and a drive back to Zambia.
Monday: Dreaded MONDAY! The Devil’s Pool.
If you have never heard of this or done any research, please go do so
now so that you have an understanding of what I am about to say. All you really need to do is go to Google,
type in the name, and prepare to feel nauseous.
Since it is dry season in Zambia right now, tourists are
allowed to swim in the Devil’s Pool, which is basically a little section of
water at the lip of Victoria Falls.
I’m talking lip. Like I can see down the fall lip. Apparently, two years ago a guide died
trying to save a tourist who was not an experienced swimmer, so I was feeling
really safe… not! The night before
and the morning of, Emily and I were trying to do everything possible to back
out of this adventure. I thought I
was going to VOM! However, with
the help of some people at home, my mom and friend, Andrew, I sucked it up and
went. Since I had not talked to my
mom much during the trip, she didn’t know how badly I wanted to back out. I woke that morning to a Facebook
message about how I would be fine, safe, and have so much fun… Mom says it’s
ok, it must be! I also had a
comment from Andrew asking if I had gone to Devil’s Pool. I even responded no and that I wasn’t
going because I was too afraid.
Afterwards though, I just kept thinking about these comments and
realized I would regret it if I didn’t go…I went! Let me tell you, I would have regretted it if I hadn’t
gone. It was amazing, scary,
nauseating and rewarding all in one.
I don’t currently have enough time to go into great detail about this,
so if you have questions, feel free to ask.
The rest of the afternoon, we lounged at a super fancy pool
back in Zim. We were told that we
could not visit the pool because we weren’t guests, but working the puppy eyes
and the volunteer card, we managed to convince a softie to let us in. He told us that if anybody was to ask,
we were on a sight inspection for Wilderness Safaris, an organization in
Namibia. SCORE! Pool time and
buffet. :) We were happy, happy, happy! Our
waiter’s name was even Simba. Does
it get much better than that?! The
night ended with us back in Zambia, packing for our flight home.
Tuesday & Wednesday: To sum up these two days quickly… 5
taxi rides. 2 airplanes. 1 combi. A LOT OF MILES TRAVELLED! A LOT OF SWEATING!
That’s the bulk of the trip though. It was awesome. It was
beautiful. It was needed. It was good for the soul!
Below is a link to my Facebook photos: (hopefully this works)
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