How To Live Like a Rockstar When You are Not One...
April 9 It has been nice to be a little bit lazy. I feel super comfortable at Loubser’s Bed and Breakfast. I have my own room, Lala the older woman running the place acts as my mother and her husband Francois gives me fatherly advice. They are very sweet and it feels like I am a part of the family here. I do not really want to go. Today Lala found me a car to rent from one of her...
April 8 Brushing your teeth with cologne is terrible. I seem to experience this about once every 10 days. My toothbrush and my cologne are both in my shaving kit (among other things of the sort). I am not sure how it happens really. All I know is that it does happen… and seemingly often. Somehow in my shaving kit, a sift of cologne comes of out the spray nozzle of the bottle and ends up on my toothbrush. Unbeknownst...
April 7 I was up before my friends and I wanted to write my blog in the morning, but by the time I got out of the shower, Tosh and James were away and outside of the tent. Tosh was smoking. He told me, “I try to quit every morning!” This morning seems to have been another failure. Tosh and James told me they had second thoughts about travelling all over Namibia with me. Money is a bigger factor than...
April 6 The Meteor Inn fed me a huge breakfast today and then I got into contact with two local friends, Tosh and James, who I had met yesterday in Tsumeb. They asked me to wait for them because they said they wanted to travel with me. I ended up catching a taxi from Grootfontein to Tsumeb to meet them. On the way, a fellow rider asked me if I was travelling alone. When I confirmed I was, he asked...
April 5 I am starting to have weird flashes of headaches and earaches. These are things I never have in my life, ever. Sometimes I have a weird nerve-jolt of pain go through my eyes for a nano-second. I am wondering if this is a side effect of being on malaria medication for nearly four months straight? I can not wait to get away from putting this medication garbage into me… [su_quote]I am stiff to move lately.[/su_quote] I am going...
Trying to Remain Sane as a Writing Travel Blogger. April 4 I really love writing on this website. I enjoy all of this so much…being a writing travel blogger… I have been a doing this for 11 years now, though only about 12 months of it is on this website. But, I have about 10 other years of daily writing that is just like this, as I have travelled and roamed the planet. It is a heavy load as a travel...
April 4 I checked out of the Old Bridge Backpackers this morning and decided to get out of Botswana. I made it to the bus station and trying to find a bus to Shakawe, a border town with Namibia on the Botswana side. Two lovely local ladies walked me to the right bus. It would be a seven hour journey. I got a front seat so that I could see out the window as we drove. Botswana is very dry...
April 2 Getting up at 06:02 is not easy when you prefer to howl at the moon. Once you are up, it is not so bad. Making that initial move to get yourself out of the warmth and comfort of a bed that you could surely use more time in…that is the tricky part. I am certain we are too far into the future to have to wake so early anymore. I was waiting at the reception of the Old...
April 1 I changed places to sleep today and made my way to The Old Bridge Backpackers where I had spent my time yesterday. I was pretty comfortable where I was, but I needed a hostel where they could accommodate my desires to see some of the Okavango Delta, which is right here! On the walk, there was a really nice looking dog having a nap on the side of the road. He awoke when I got close to him. ...
March 31 48 hours ago I was in Lesotho… Right now, I am near the top of Botswana. I can really make miles when I need to get somewhere. It is hell on my body, but I can cover the ground when I feel like I need to. [su_note note_color=”#b0b1b6″ text_color=”#030303″ radius=”6″] 433 km – Oxbow, Lesotho to Johannesburg, South Africa 349 km – Johannesburg to Gaborone, Botswana 670 km – Gaborone to Ghanzi, Botswana 285 km – Ghanzi to...
March 30 I have not had a towel for a little over a week now and I have been looking for one to buy or waiting for one to steal from a hotel or hostel that I did not like. This morning that ship came in.The guesthouse I ended up in last night was far too expensive. The girl, who was preparing breakfast this morning, was miserable and incapable of smiling. That was enough to justify it. New towel! I...
March 29 Another three country day. Those are pretty big days… And rare days, though I have had two of them in about a week… I was up early at the New Oxbow Lodge and out on the road by 08:00 to try to hitchhike my way out of Lesotho. I do not want to leave this country at all. Lesotho is this perfect little sweetheart that does nothing wrong and only makes you happy. The people are wonderful. People...
March 28 I got up at 05:45 for the sunrise. The people at the Sani Mountain Lodge had been raving about it. I prefer to curse the sun to howl at the moon, but sometimes a man needs to tackle a sunrise. Nature here had convinced me so. [su_pullquote]”Are you from Wales?” a local asked me today. Wales? That is a random one…[/su_pullquote]It was cold. Like a-sweater-is-not-enough cold. But, while it is cold for me, the Lesotho’s really take it...
March 27 Usually, I think I am pretty sharp and a victor (or at least an equal against the competitors in the game of life)…but I was incapable of counting money about three minutes ago. The bartender was laughing at me. Math is one of my strong suits. I could not make my bills add to 30, and then when I tried to overcompensate that, I made them add to 70. The bartender wanted to help me. I told him,...
March 26 I decided to check out of the village Roma and get deeper into Lesotho to get as real as possible. I feel like I sort of cheated Swaziland by only seeing just a small corner of a small country. So, this morning, looking at a map, I noticed a fine line that represented a road that went right across Lesotho to the other side. It was not a thick line so I knew it was not much of...
March 25 You know when you hit something of a lull in your travels and you start thinking that maybe it is time to wrap this up, and then you have a magical day and you are just like, “Holy! And I was thinking about turning in for a bit!?” Today was one of those days. It is like the travel spirits do not want me to stop. I got up at the house where I was staying and had...
Last night in a hostel in Mbabane, Swaziland, I ended up in a fascinating conversation with a couple of locals, Denzel and Anna. According to Swaziland tradition, a bride-prize is required to marry a virgin here (virgin often defined by “not having children” rather than “not having penetration” in Swaziland). [su_pullquote]A “Bride-Prize” is 18 cows that you must give to the father of the girl you want to marry.[/su_pullquote]A “Bride-Prize” is 18 cows that you must give to the father...
March 24 Swaziland, a country where your mini-bus driving 80 km/h uses no signals to pass a police car in a 40 km/h zone. Actually, we nearly rear-ended the police car because we were driving so fast… No issues. No second guessing… I have met a guy here who has never ever heard of McDonald’s. That is amazing. That is beautiful! Swaziland is a safe country. They still have the death penalty here, but hearsay is that no one has...
March 23 Swaziland is far more developed than I ever would have guessed. It sort of feels ahead of South Africa, though it has its crazy, charming traditional ways that it hangs onto. I was expecting grass skirts and grass huts here. Instead, it is huge supermarkets, strip malls and restaurants that could be in Europe. Yea, in Swaziland. I know. It is weird for me too… Oh, and another weird thing for me is how people call money “bucks”...
March 22 Here, try this. Here is a handy-dandy set of helper words if you are about to arrive in Swaziland! [su_box title=”Some siSwati Phrases:” box_color=”#d2cece” title_color=”#070606″ radius=”1″] Hello – Sawubona Thank you – Ngiyabonga (I), Siyabonga (we) Goodbye – Hamba kahle (go well) Goodbye – Sala kahle (stay well) How are you ? – Kunjanl? I am well — Ngikhona How much? — Malini? Yes – Yebo No – Cha[/su_box] It was misting all day, but I really wanted...
March 21 I said goodbye to Maritza in the morning and then Toby drove me into the center of Johannesburg. The city is a massive, sprawling, urban area built of clusters of suburbs. There are huge areas of population and then there are green areas with a forest. Then, another patch of city. The, more forest as you blast through it all on a freeway at 120 km/h. Johannesburg is a very pretty. [su_pullquote align=”left”]2,000-3,000 curious tourists visit the museum...
March 20 Johannesburg: Hanging out in Maboneng. In 1886, there was a gold rush in this area that lead to the establishment of Johannesburg. In fact, Johannesburg was referred to as “Egoli” or “The City of Gold”. A mineral revolution was taking place at the time, and as a result, today there are many bleached-white and yellow-tailing mine-dumps standing high around the city. It gives the city a very distinct, unique look with the unnatural man made piles of sifted-through...
March 19 South Africa had quite a history, some of it very dark. On February 1st 1991, a signing of a national peace accord took place where former president F. W. de Klerk promised to end an apartheid legislation and end the segregation of whites and blacks. Up until 1991, covering a time frame of about 20 years, South Africa had a dark mark on their name because of the partisan. This proud sports nation involved in cricket, rugby, football, where...
March 18 Johannesburg: Like Nothing I was Expecting. The bus arrived in Johannesburg at 06:00. I was listening to the band Seether as we drove because they are the only band from South Africa that I really know anything about. Coming into Johannesburg was very interesting. I have only heard terrible things about Johannesburg. Car jacking. Murder. Theft. Crime. Gated communities. I did not even really want to visit, but I had a friend here so I decided to come...
March 17 Bulawayo to Johannesburg: Back to the Future. Happy “I hope you drink Guinness all day” day! It seems weird to not be drinking a lot of the black liquid gold today… I ran around Bulawayo, trying to find a place to print some photos to mail to friends. I met a beautiful woman named Kimberly in a photo shop, but I am terrified of the 25% HIV population here in Zimbabwe. I have decided to turn my crotch off...
March 16 Matobo National Park and National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe. I left my hotel which smelled like mouse urine. I was walking down the street when a dog freaked out and started barking at me. Science says that dogs are colorblind, but there is no doubt that the dog recognized that I was alien to the majority of the population here. It makes me wonder if I was frightening the dog that was clearly confused by my peculiar features....
March 15 Bulawayo: National Railway Museum. It is hard to get moving when there are people to entertain! I left the hotel in reasonable time this morning, on my way to visit three museums in Bulawayo. My intentions were good. Then, I ended up walking past a place that was selling Johannesburg bus tickets… I guess I am headed that direction so I went inside to inquire. Two women were sitting at a desk. I told them silly stories and...
The Road to Bulawayo: Hitting a Goat March 14 Sometimes, you can just feel when it is time to move on from where you are to see more of a country. Other times, you have to get moving before people begin to realize how many days you have been wearing the same shirt and pair of shorts. I left Shoestring Backpackers Lodge today a little for the former, but a lot for the latter. It was time to change my...
Victoria Falls Gorge Swing: Wild Horizons Adventures Wild Horizons – Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Telephone +263 (13) – 42313/42314 Email – info@wildhorizons.co.zw Facebook Wild Horizons March 13 I decided to tackle the morning at about 09:00. I wanted to start it earlier, but it was important to have a fresh of a mind for the day so I stole a little extra sleep. I was at Wild Horizons at 10:00. Today was certain to be a great day. [su_note note_color=”#b0b1b6″ text_color=”#030303″ radius=”6″]If you...
Zambezi Horse Trails Victoria Falls Zambezi Horse Trails Email: info@vicfallshorsetrails.com Skype: alisonhorses Tel: +263 13 42847 Facebook Zambezi Horse Trails March 12 I had a morning, but my day really began at 15:30 when a man named Joseph arrived at Shoestring Lodge Backpackers Hostel to pick me up and take me to Zambezi Horse Trails. We stopped to pick up a Gail and Faye, a really nice American mother and daughter team, and then pulled into the Zambezi Horse Trails, one...
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