Saturday morning I slept in while Jamie and MC went to check out Victoria Falls. They left to catch a flight to Cape Town right after, so I was alone again, waiting for Kate and Jana to meet me at the hostel. They finally arrived at 2pm, but not alone -- Kate had brought 6 of her American friends from Gaborone, Botswana. Being in a group of 9 Americans after being basically alone for 2 months (and out of America for 5 months) was a shock to my social skills... Trying to decide as a group what activities to do was a flash back to organizing nights out in college... nine people cannot agree on ANYTHING. Finally, our whole group decided to check out Victoria Falls, which was at only 4% of it's usual flow rate because it was the dry season. After we got bored (after about 1 minute of looking at rocks and water) we decided to go bandit and hike out to a pool of water next to the falls that is only accessible during this dry period. For $2 per person we found a tour guide who took us over after his group (from a fancy hotel) left, and we got some amazing pictures of us swimming on the edge of Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world. Amazing...
The next day we went White water rafting in the Zambezi river... Overall it was a good time but bad investment in my health. I came out of the river bleeding, bruised (on my face), and with heat stroke. I proceeded to puke out of the side of the truck on the way home, splattering the guys in the back, but immediately felt better and decided to go out and party. We all went to this outdoor nightclub which was all locals and us 9 Americans. We partied down though and one of the guys in our group hooked up with a prostitute. Gross.
On Sunday, Kate Jana & I took a cab to the Zambia/Botswana border and met our tour guide Tim to start our 8 day safari thru Namibia. Little did I know, Namibia is mostly desert, actually the oldest desert in the world... so of course it was hot like the 3rd level of Dante's inferno, about 105degF every day, and we each took turns being sick or nauseous. We went to Etosha game park and I finally saw the zebras, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, lions and leopards that I had been hearing about from the backpackers at the hostel on Pemba Island. The wildlife was truly amazing and my photos turned out great. We camped in tents the whole time, but most campgrounds had pools and we wussed out and spent much time there (for real, it was TOO HOT).
Finally we went to the Sossusvlei sand dunes in southern Namibia, and climbed sand (not as fun as you might think) but- of course- there were more breathtaking and marvelling at the wonders of nature. Just as our trip was winding down and we entered the capital Windhoek, our Land Rover broke down so we got a bonus day in Windhoek (we hung out at the mall) Then came back to Gaborone, Botswana where my friend Kate lives. I discovered that the one benefit to the ridiculous weather was that I developed this great tanned, weather-beaten look about me like Indiana Jones or some really good rock climber.
I spent the next 5 days recovering in Kate's air conditioned apartment, taking hot showers, eating cheese, and watching movies on her digital cable. I did some exploring during the days and finished my christmas shopping... the whole family got African souveniers!
Finally, I took 4 flights in a row to get home, miraculously arriving on time, and only losing one bag... which arrived mostly intact 2 weeks later. It feels good to be back, and I am really looking forward to living in London as I realized that Im programmed for the hustle and bustle of a big city rather than the laid back inefficiency of Africa -- at this stage in the game. But I did have an amazing time, and I will definitely go back again (though maybe with a backpack instead of a rolly bag...)
Heres to the next big adventure...
-M
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