Just NB

The internet is virtually non existent, but I have a bunch of posts ready to go once I have a little more air time. We are in Namibia, and it rained (ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!) the first night we were here & drizzled the second night we were right. We are spending two nights near a waterhole (with lots of protection between us & the animals) and it’s like watching the Nature Channel. Giraffes, elephants, pumbas, rhinos, jackels, I can’t even keep track. We are leaving the animals tomorrow morning and trading it in for the desert...for three or for days...so back in the oven for me.

Friday March 22, 1:11pm Yesterday was a very special day. We left the Lando at camp and ventured off in a safari Jeep. The breeze was welcomed as we had been baking in the sun for six straight days. We drove through tall grass, got a bit stuck in sand, and even drove through ponds of water when we had to. The terrain was bumpy to the point I couldn’t drink my water unless I wanted it all over me, and I wasn’t waisting a precious drop, since I “only” had 6 litres to last me until morning. After two hours of bumpy roads, we were greeted by our polers. These men & women would take us in twos, with our mat and tent into a canoe-like boat for 1 to 1.5 hours until they found a campsite suitable for the night.  Valentine from Germany hopped not-so-gracefully into the mokoro (the canoe) with the help of our poler,  Langos. We cruised through the delta slowly and carefully as to not miss any animal sightings but more importantly as to not disturb any animals, lik...

Just going to take a shower.  Things I see: the dark. Things I hear: the noise from the bar, crickets, a small land animal like a squirrel that I can’t remember the name of, a few other animal noises not belonging to something like a lion or other huge animal. Things I will see on my way or in the shower: small snakes, spiders - of all types and sorts, and possibly another camper. The only thing that bothers me in this situation? How uncomfortable my little camping mattress is. Oh, and the fact that whoever camps next to me will most definitely hear me sleep talk.  March 20th, 8:41AM Came back. No spiders seen. So snakes. And I believe I had my first night’s sleep, after a lot of praying.  It’s easy to get caught up in the school yard here. People of all ages and more boys than girls...the popular crowd...the quiet crowd...was I getting caught up in that? Was I focusing on what I came here for?  A bit of both. Next time someone is in the po...

Tuesday, March 19th, 9:42am Don’t have a clue. If you would have asked me last night, the answer would have been a hard no. Overheated, a bit dehydrated (the day before, in two hours, I drank six cans of soda water and never once had to go to the toilet & that’s on top of drinking litres of water a day). Everyone remarks that I sleep talk and my back aches as I sleep. I’m always the last one to be ready, the one to eat the least (don’t worry, I’m eating enough), and the first one to bed because I am exhausted. It’s catching up with me. I knew this trip would be hard, and I’m rewarded with amazing and breathtaking sights and experiences, like the hundreds of elephants I saw up close yesterday, and the happy and friendly energy of the group (thank God), but I have to try to stay positive in the evenings, because if I had the choice, I would come home to camp and sleep.  One thing on my list to do is have my big bag packed 100%, zipped, and ready to go the n...

Blog March 18  730 am “It is a blessed day for a visit for to the falls.” Says one of the countless locals, selling tours, trips, souvenirs, or simply asking to escort me to wherever.  “Yes it is. Thank you, have a nice day, goodbye.” Had to throw my line in there cause buddy wasn’t gonna take the hint. I had indulged in a little conversation, I must have had my guard down, because usually, the, “Thank you, have a nice day, goodbye.” line is thrown out in under ten seconds.  “Goodbye, Sister.”. I started walking the fifteen minutes in the sun in the +34*C heat, ready to call it quits, forcing myself to go, despite my burning feet, my overheating body, my lack of desire to go since I had seen it from the other side years before, but I kept on.  I got to the entry gate, realizing I forgot my passport, remembering our guide told us to have it with us when we went to Victoria Falls, secretly hoping to be turned away and go home in a taxi and go...

Take away from our meet and greet with the group today: please give the driver 10-15minutes notice if you need to do a bushy-bushy. I am exhausted. Will eat supper & crash in my own tent because I’m exhausted. Tomorrow will be an interesting day. Sleeping solo because there’s an off number of girls. Goodnight!

Alright, so I've spent two nights in Zimbabwe and it's been veryyyy nice. Granted, I slept a lot, but this hotel or safari lodge or whatever it's meant to be called has been quite nice, despite the fact that I argued with them that I had already paid for the room (I had not. And still they were kind until I told them last night that I was wrong, and had indeed had not. Travel agent mishap.) I'm sure that other areas in ZB (can we just call it ZB from now on) are much more dangerous and beat up than this little town, but Victoria Falls is quite nice. I can walk into town during the day. If I wasn't alone, I'm sure I could walk into town for supper. My safari lodge/hotel/campsite has a little pool, bar, restaurant, and curio shop, and I just love the atmosphere. I haven't been on the "tenting site" of things, and I suspect it's like flying Business Class one flight and then flying Economy the next flight...but hey, I'm here for the camping...