South Africa

Hello everyone!! As you may or may not know, I'm back in the States as of late Friday night, but I just had to finish off my blog for the last leg of the trip.

We left Zimbabwe and took an 18 hour bus ride to Johannesburg where we met up with one of Saul's good friends. This bus ride was not uneventful.....when we arrived at the border of Zimbabwe and South Africa, everyone must disembark in order to get an exit stamp. So as we were waiting our turn I saw people heading towards our bus and asked the guard if we were supposed to just bypass the line and get one our bus in which he replied "yes". So I made Saul get out of the line and started waiting in the line to get back on the bus. Well obviously the guard did not speak English as we actually did need an exit stamp, so Saul and I proceeded to stand back in the exit line (now longer this time). We were almost to the counter, when I noticed our bus drive off......yes it left us. We then had to run for the next 15 minutes to the South African border, where luckily our bus was stopped and we were able to get on. It was quite an adventure and the bus driver actually lectured US for not coming back in a timely manner!!! Anyway, Saul and I can laugh about this now, but I was obviously freaking out at the time as Saul stayed calm and collected as usual. :) Anyway, once we arrived in Jo'burg, Sureka (Saul's friend) was nice enough to take our souvenirs off our hands as we left on another bus ride to Cape Town 3 hours after we arrived. Despite the short time in Jo'burg, the vibe there was amazing! People everywhere were blowing there vuvuzela's on account of the world cup in South Africa. It was the most interesting thing to see, people in business suits walking with their vuvuzela in hand or wearing the most ridiculous flag colored glasses. You could almost feel the national pride in the air!

The day that we arrived in Cape Town was the day before the start of the world cup, so we ended up partying in the center of Cape Town where the city center was blocked off and huge big screen TV's were set up as a concert was played for the World Cup. It was such an amazing experience to see so many people so proud to have the world cup in Africa for the first time and we were blessed to be there to witness it. We stayed at Saul's brother's place for the night and headed to Tsitsikamma where the world's tallest bungee jumping resides! Unfortunately two people told us it was around 3 hours to drive there and then 7 hours later we arrived, but no matter, we did it and it was amazing!!! 216 meters of pure adrenaline! The good thing about being further than we expected was that we found an adorable little town called Knysna and ended up spending the night there. Little did we know that Knysna was hosting the French and Denmark teams so that made the atmosphere even better when we headed to a hotel lobby to eat and watch the starting games.

The following morning, we got an early start and headed back to Cape Town as we were leaving in the evening back to Jo'burg. We were smart this time and took a 2 hours flight instead of a 16 hour bus ride as Saul found this travel agency that was selling tickets that were cheaper than taking the bus!! We wish we'd known about that on the way to Cape Town....lol! Anyway, as soon as we got to Jo'burg we went straight to a fan park where we saw USA and England play!! Again an amazing experience to see everyone come together. The following day we went to the Apartheid Museum which was an eye opening experience for me. A definite must see if going to South Africa. We also visited a lion park where lions were walking inches from our car. They also have an area where I got to play with the lion cubs!!! One of the highlights of my trip!! The rest of the SA trip was filled with the watching of the world cup! I've definitely taken a liking to soccer now and am even thinking of going to the world cup in Brazil......we'll see.

Anyway, after 2 days and 24 hours of collective flight hours, I'm back in the States where my jet lag is actually not too bad. :) Saul and I had an amazing trip and now have the travel bug as we're now thinking of teaching English in Thailand for a year once my master's program is finished! It's a bittersweet end as I finished one of the most amazing life altering trips of my life, but now I start a new era of my life with the start of grad school. I hope you all immensely enjoyed following my blog as much as I've enjoyed sharing my experience with all of you. Check back soon as I'll put the link to all the pictures once I receive them from Saul. Wish me luck on my first day of grad school tomorrow!

Love,

Nicole

Livingstone/Victoria Falls - Zambia/Zimbabwe

So I'm not exactly sure where I left off, but I'm pretty sure that we had already arrived in Livingstone where we found a very nice hostel/hotel/camping ground. We stayed there for two days and had a blast!! Saul and I both bungee jumped the bridge that is on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe and very close to Victoria Falls. The jump was 111 meters and was sooo much fun, but even more fun than that was what they call the swing. The swing is 130 meters and is even more scary than bungee jumping as you are supposed to jump straight down, legs first. This is what makes it more scary as with bungee jumping, your equilibrium is already off and therefore you don't notice the drop as much. That was pretty much the highlight of our trip to Vic Falls as the rest of the time we just walked around and explored the city a bit. We're hoping to go bungee jumping again in Cape Town as it is apparently the tallest drop in the world (Vic Falls is the 3rd highest drop)!!! Can't wait for that adventure!

Well being 9am, our timing was a little off when we were trying to get to Zimbabwe as there were no buses leaving until 2am. Therefore......Saul said it was common practice in Zim, to hitch rides, so.....that's what we did. You flag down cars that are headed in the direction you are going and if they have space and are also going to the same place, they'll take you there for a fee. It's actually very common as I saw. So we went to the "hitching post" in Victoria Falls and got in with 2 other passangers. We were actually very lucky and our driver happened to be a cop, which I happen to believe helps when you are stopped by one of the many police checkpoints along the way. Anyway, so we got a ride to Bulawayo (4 hours away from Vic Falls) and immediately was able to get a combi (14 passenger van) to Harare where Saul's family lives.

We got to Saul's mom's house quite late, around midnight, but everyone was waiting up for us. He has two sister's and a brother along with his mom and a niece and they are all very sweet and welcoming! We've been here for about 5 days now and have had excellent company, food, and rest!!! I believe we are leaving tomorrow and I am a little sad as I feel that the time has been very short. I watched my first cricket match today (Zimbabwe vs. Sri Lanka) and although it was an experience, the games can go on FOREVER..... Well more adventures later.....hopefully I'll be able to upload my bungee jumping video! ;) Okay I just tried the DVD and it didn't work, so I'll just put a few pictures instead and convert the DVD when I get home.

Love,

Nicole

Pictures

Me extremely surprised and happy to see a wild elephant as we were heading out of Livingstone. Our cab driver pointed it out and then stopped for us to take pictures. Who says you need to go on a safari to see animals, all you need to do is drive around for a little while.

The smile on this boy selling sugar cane is priceless....

One of the villages we passed by on the train ride to Zambia. I had bought these girls some cakes and they were ecstatic.

Where up to 75 slaves were kept. Notice the size in comparison to how tall Saul is. It was amazingly small in there.

Me trying to climb a coconut tree and failing miserably....

Baby rhino that was less than a week old!

Baboon that tried to attack me. This picture is for you Chris!! ;)

Hello everyone!! So much has happened since the last time I wrote, but Saul and I have been very busy traveling from place to place and internet is a bit tricky here to find and even when found, it is VERY slow and irritating, thus I must have the patience to blog....lol! Hence why I haven't updated my pictures since Cairo. Sorry about that. I was hoping to write a lengthy blog full with pictures and even a video at Saul's mom's house, but unfortunately their internet got shut off for some reason and it has taken over two months and counting for them to come fix it. Anyway, besides this everything is wonderful!!! We had quite the adventure on our train ride from Dar Es Salaam which was actually 54 hours and not 40 like I'd quoted before. Life is a slower paced here and schedules and exact time frames are unheard of. I like it a lot though as it gives you time you otherwise wouldn't have to relax and think. It is a way of life and it is understood by all that things (especially travel) take time in Africa and thus no one is ever in a hurry. A nice change from the rushed American life that we're all used to. So the train ride....ahhhh. A great way to travel (again if you have time) as you can use the bathroom whenever you want (as opposed to the mercy of when the bus driver decides to stop). The bathroom was "interesting". A hole in the train that goes directly to the outside and if you're lucky or can wait, you can finish your business while the train stops, otherwise it is a challenge fun challenge to actually "hit the hole" as the train speeds by beautiful scenery...hahaha! The train ride was absolutely breathtaking. I would highly recommend it as the mode of transport for anyone that travels, whether in Africa or otherwise. It is a calming experience and we were able to see the "real Africa" by it. Along the way we made many stops, and you could almost always expect the local people to be there, either to welcome home their family/friends, or just to sell local fruit/nuts/drinks to the train riders. Saul always says I'm trying to save the world as there were so many poor people walking around with no shoes and the malnutrition bellies, that I couldn't help but give anything and everything I had to them. I kept looking for things that I had in my bag and eventually bought all the local goods the people were selling, only to give it away seconds later to the local children. The smiles on their faces were priceless and I would have done it again millions of times over. Although you hear of these stories in America with various charities you can't really understand the impact unless you see it for your own eyes. They were truly grateful for anything you gave them, even empty plastic water bottles, which Saul explained to me they melt and add paraffin to make a polish for their huts. I wish I could show everyone reading this a piece of my mind and heart so you could see the impact this experience made on me. Anyway, enough of that, just a reminder to be very thankful for all that you have and try your best not to take anything for granted (like food, clean drinking water, and hot running water, yes I've had to bath in cold water).

On the train we met various people. An American couple living in the Middle East that just decided on a whim to get married in Zanzibar, but first wanted to take a safari in Tanzania, hence were on the train. We also met a few others from America, one that had just finished his 2 year duty in the Peace Corps and was traveling around another that was working abroad and just finished his contract and was also traveling around before heading home. In my sleeping cabin, there was a girl (Meliza) that was from Berkeley in her first year of medical school and was doing an internship in various village clinics within Zambia. She was extremely paranoid and rightly so as she was traveling by herself (not exactly ideal). Apparently when she reached Dar Es Salaam, she was supposed to take another flight directly to Lusaka, but her booking was magically cancelled and thus had no other choice but to take the train. As we arrived quite late in Kapiri Mposhi, we decided to stay the evening with Meliza as there were no buses going to her destination until the next morning and we didn't want to leave her by herself with her 3 enormous bags. So off we went to a local hotel that had no running water and in the morning we passed up 2 buses to Lusaka in order to wait for Meliza to get on a bus. This was definitely our good deed for our trip as she complained a lot and was very high maintenance, yet despite this we couldn't just leave her by herself. Anyway, so after we left her, off we went on our way to Lusaka and then on to Livingstone (Victoria Falls) a few minutes after we arrived in Lusaka.

Well Saul is waiting and we'll be in Harare for awhile, so I will catch up with the rest of my adventures hopefully tomorrow. Hope everyone is well.

xxxooo,
Nicole

Tanzania

Okay so I found a place that was open until ten and I took advantage as you won't be hearing from me for awhile as we leave for Zambia tomorrow on a train that takes 40 hours! It goes through national parks and should be a wonderful ride so don't feel too bad for us! :) So where was I.....so I was explaining my bus ride to Tanzania, which was an experience. We actually met two Indian guys who work for the UN in Congo, but are traveling throughout Africa on vacation. We spoke with them a lot and they came to the hostel with us as they had nothing booked in advance. Ate dinner at a local dive place and I have become quite the vegetarian lately....hahaha! Since it was a long journey for us, we hit the hay after that as we had to get up very early again today to take a ferry to Zanzibar. Zanzibar is a nice island that is famous for the main slave port. We took a city tour along with a spice tour today and it was fabulous!! I never knew where so many of our spices originated from!! Our guide was extremely informative and spoke excellent English so naturally I was full of questions! ;) Then we went off on our city tour where we saw the horrifyingly small space that 75 slaves were kept in (pictures to come). The city is adorned with beautiful doors all intricately carved out of wood or ebony. A very very nice place to visit in which we hope we can come back to as there is much more to see and not nearly enough time!! Well I am off as we just met another fellow traveler and they are waiting for me to go to a local bar. I guess more lack of sleep for me, although sleep is overrated in this case!! I'll have plenty of time to sleep on the train ride!!

Love from Tanzania,
Nicole

Kenya and Tanzania

Hello all!! Sorry for the delay in writing.....it's been a long but great few days and internet was scarce where we ended up after staying in Nairobi. So after our safari, we took a 10 hour bus to Mombasa, a beach city on the coast of Kenya. It was absolutely beautiful!! We spent a couple of days there just to get some r&r by the beach and that we did! The locals in Kenya are very nice people that I had the priviledge of speaking to, just do to my talkative nature. Many of them are very hard working people that start working at dawn until way after the sun goes down. I have a huge respect for them as they are honest people trying to make a decent living. It's great because many people think Saul is a local everywhere we go and therefore we don't get ripped off if he doesn't speak.....lol! In Mombasa we took matatu's everywhere, which are 14 passenger vans that are extremely cheap. There is a driver and a conductor that hollers from the side window to try and fill the van. When you want to get off the van you just knock on the side of the van and it pulls over! A really great experience actually.....

Soooo.....that was Mombasa and it was fabulous! After 2 days, we then took a bus that was supposed to be 9 hours to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, however there was a "minor" setback. 30 minutes into our drive we were pulled over by the police and the bus driver was told that our tires were flat, there were no seatbelts (which there were) and there was no speed governor. Then it was explained that in order to leave a "price" needed to be negotiated. So 6 hours later the acceptable price was set and we were off!! Although it seems like a hassle, it was a nice experience because I got to speak with a local for a few hours who explained his business, why he was going to Dar Es Salaam (to buy cheap products and sell in Kenya), and many other things. He actually got me the local price for a mango, which was amazing!! Anyway, once our bus was on the road it was fine. A little rough for the first three hours as there were no paved roads, but otherwise great!

Sorry I have to explain the rest later as I'm using a computer in a shop and it closes at 9pm and it's now 9:01. Love to everyone!!!

Safari!!! Whoohoo.....

Hello all!! Finding a computer is much easier than I anticipated in Africa. The hard part is actually finding the time to write.....so I think I left off in Egypt and our crazy police raid. After that we just hung out and walked around Cairo and then left for our flight to Nairobi, Kenya around midnight. Our flight was pretty crazy as we left at 3am and had a stop in Sudan and a stop in Ethiopia before finally getting to Nairobi. Nairobi is a GREAT change from Cairo. Not that Cairo isn't a nice city as well, but Nairobi is the Africa I pictured. Very nice and green with beautiful scenery everywhere. Cairo is a humongous city with nothing but buildings, not to mention people trying to rip you off left and right, even following you for blocks to get you to go into their store. So we arrived in Nairobi around 3pm as we our flight was delayed from Ethiopia and checked in to our hostel which is AMAZING!!! It's very near the city, but far enough to be surrounded by nature. We walked to downtown Nairobi and explored the city a bit until I thought I was going to pass out standing up....lol!! We went to bed extremely early, for us anyway (around 10pm) as today we got up early to go on a SAFARI!!! We went to Lake Nakuru, which has a wildlife reserve! We came inches from zebras, giraffes, hyenas, buffalo, flamingos, rhinos, and baffoons (many baby animals too....so cute!). Actually a baffoon attacked me, but luckily Saul saw out of the corner of his eye and chased it away.....I was eating an orange and they are very hostile animals, especially when it comes to food. I looked away for literally one second to pose for a picture and the animal came running towards me. They are very very smart animals. Anyway, can't write too much more as we are leaving a couple of minutes to take a 9 hour bus ride to Mombasa, a beach town on the coast of Kenya. I'll post pictures there if internet is available as we'll be relaxing by the beach for 2 days. Love everyone and your comments too!!! Glad you are all enjoying my adventures! ;)