I write this while seated cross-legged at the floor of Hosea Kutako International Airport. It is about 13.15hrs… waiting for my ET834 14.30hrs takeoff. Lots of mixed emotions. I have already swapped SIMs to my home Safaricom one hahaha… maybe this will be uploaded while in transit at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa since it will be quite a long write for me and read for you.
Not sure where to start with this because somewhat, Namibia has given Rwanda a run for it's money… just a bit though. Maybe because I thought I met an interesting gentleman I would have loved to get to know a little bit more? But travel jinxes it all thanks to the short stints.
Anyhu, the past two weeks have been an absolute blessing. I would want to express everything in detail but my mind went blank in the few seconds of freefall while skydiving so I am writing this from a clean slate - a factory reset mind hahaha. Namibia was a country I wanted to visit for my 28th birthday with skydiving as the highlight. COVID had absolutely different plans and so I spent the day with my family. It was a small intimate birthday. Unexpected, since I have been running to myself on my birthdays since I clocked 26, yet so loving - I cried my eyeballs out. It was one I will remember for a while - but not to say subsequent ones will be spent with family hahaha - I revert to my solo birthday travel tradition.
So, back to the story, work had me in Lusaka from Nov 23rd 2020. I had booked a one-way ticket to Lusaka - primarily because KQ wouldn't allow a roundtrip over a month later. Days passed in Lusaka, then weeks and my return date was approaching when my random mind told my adventurous self to try Namibia again. I explored the flight and road options available. I didn't want to take chances with flights, so I went with road hahaha (plus I am a budget traveler)… It was a loooong 30hrs on the road. Since travel is a deeply spiritual experience for me, I will now break down God's providences along the way - this is slightly redacted so for the flavorful version, call me lol:
Accommodation in Sesheke: The bus was too slow from Lusaka and we couldn’t cross the border on the same day - but as love and life would have it, I met two amazing people in the bus; a cute gentleman called Nathan (Nate) and a beautiful lady called Hawa. Nate helped Hawa and I (who were transitioning to Namibia) get a place to stay the night, then we had dinner together and early next morning we crossed the border. Since he was a local, I definitely consider that a hook up from heaven!
Drive to Windhoek: At the border, I borrowed a pen from a raggedy kind gentleman to fill out the immigration forms and again as love and fate would have it, the gentleman ended up being my truck drive to Windhoek!!! His name is Admire. He and his colleague Kudzanayi (Kudzi in short) got us to Windhoek safe and sound. That day will forever remain with me. It felt like an up-close unravelling of a day in the life of a truck driver. I will remember Kudzi who probably gets to see his family in Zim approx once every week and I will pray for Admire who continues to find his roots in terms of family. I will pray for their good health because quality sleep seemed rare. I will pray Zim's economy stabilizes too. I will pray for strength daily in their work.
Accommodation in Windhoek: Did I mention I am a budget traveler? Oh yes, so I use Couchsurfing (CS) to get kindness driven accommodation. My host would call for another blog of her own but Maritha was the greatest blessing Namibia had in store for me. She is resilient, loving, kind and a great cook lol (I only did dishes). She is knowledgeable, well read and super intelligent - can chat about anything - a tea lover and a huge plants fan. I could go on and on but I will forever have her in my heart. The number of times she bailed me out and just made my trip even more fun are countless. She opened her heart to me. I met her friends and family. We talked late into the night, we drove together, we sung our lungs out and laughed out hearts out. We loved so loud! I will never forget her for sure. By the time the two weeks were coming to an end, it felt like we had known each other for ages - the inside jokes and the in-depth exchange of life's turmoil will forever be engraved in my heart.
Sossusvlei adventure: Quick backdrop - So I had been chatting with a lovely Belgium lady I met on CS - her name is Flo. The plan was to meet up with Flo and a Russian couple at Etosha, then do a circuit together. Splitting costs in this way would have made every experience extremely cheap. However, as network dictated, we were not able to connect. So I went back to Windhoek, a little disappointed but still content. All spirituality seekers and lovers - get time to visit Etosha pan and sit there for a while; you will know what I am talking about. The re-planning began and by God, Maritha and I made so many calls loool… the right plan fell into place and this is how I met Cliff. He is an expert in his trade for sure. We had a wonderful experience driving through the spectacular Namibia landscapes down south to the Namib Desert, then we hiked Big Daddy which was hard work but absolutely rewarding… the second of my Namibia Highlights. While on the Big Daddy peak, Cliff and I met a Russian gentleman called Costa - hold on to this name for a bit.
Swakopmund thrills: I had gone deep into my pockets by the time we were entering this town thanks to the fact that I was forced to hire a 4x4 by myself rather than the initial plan with Flo and the Russian couple. Maritha pulled his Brother Elia in and she lovingly split costs with me - sema Mungu!!! Everything came together nicely yet again while at Swakop and Walvis Bay. Now, remember Costa? We met again in Swakop and he invited us to join in on one of the excursions in Walvis Bay - drive through the dunes to get to the iconic sandwich harbor- at no cost (reminded me of paying it forward principle). Other than the obvious adrenaline thrills of sandboarding, quad biking and skydiving, another highlight would be the morning beach walks with Elia, Maritha's brother. He, like me, loves walking and is an early bird. This is something I will always be grateful for. That I didn't walk the beach alone and that he knew the right spots to stop and take it all in. Elia's life story remains an inspiration and how I pray that God makes his life wholesome in exactly the perfect way. That God make everything beautiful in HIS time for Elia.
COVID test hustle: So, Namibia was not as straightforward as Lusaka in getting a test. It seemed that everywhere I looked, the road to getting a traveler's test led to Pathcare. Pathcare had this online ticket platform to secure booking for a test. I had tried in vain to get a booking that allowed the right validity window for my return flight. Cliff and I will always joke about the Namibia vs Kenya culture on this one hahaha. But long story short, I remember going round town on Thur trying to get a lab in Windhoek that would also issue a travel certificate but this bore no fruits. As a last resort, I emailed Pathcare, begging for a slot. In a few hours - while on our way to Swakop - an email came scheduling me for Fri 1 Jan 9am. This meant a change in my activities plan but oh how relieved I was. The joy and peace that settled in was just indescribable. I remember our playlist shifted to one of worship for a while hahahaha.
So if you ever wonder why I travel - hope the above instances paint a picture. Everything else is a bonus. I feel closest to God when I am in a new location by myself. When I know no-one as I enter a country but leave with lasting friendships. I meet kind people, I love deeper, I become one with nature and I am as free-spirited as I could ever be. It is as if God and I enjoyed a long road trip from Katima to Windhoek on a truck. It is like I have hugged God through all the strangers (Pombili, Jona, Steven, Helena, Derrick my tandem master, and the passenger that was distressed in the seat next to me on the plane just to mention a few). It is as if God and I had a conversation walking through town on my last night at Windhoek. It is as if God and I talked by the pool at Etosha until 11pm. It is as if God and I camped under a beautiful tree at Sossusvlei and it is definitely as if God and I talked about our lives while parachuting back to land.
If you have read this far, I will leave you with a few travel nuggets as you hopefully plan a solo trip lol
1. Use Couchsurfing to save on accommodation costs and get a true local experience. Again, exercise caution with this because not all people have good and pure intentions
2. Pack super light - try google backpacker examples on packing essentials (if you are female check female backpackers because we need different essentials lol; but quick tip from my books is tights are a lifesaver lol). Also, you do not want to (a) lose your luggage and light means you board planes with all of it and (b) run around big airports with a large suitcase loool or cross borders sweating
3. Always wear your heaviest clothes when traveling lol - that way, you save on packing space and are ready for the worst weather anyway
4. Do not over plan - I tend to book flights only and then plan excursions while on the ground because this way, I get the cheapest offers (Maritha for example helped negotiate the costs downwards esp where my accent would have sold me out to the highest bidder lol)
5. Be super friendly and open hearted - exercise caution for sure but put out positive vibes and you get that back. I tend to think that when you speak love and trust, you get that back. Traveling on a truck, planning to link up with Flo, couchsurfing, meeting up with Costa were all acts of trust and I am humbled to have gotten the trust back
6. Travel is what you make it to be - it can be costly or cheap depending on how you go about it. Save what you can every month, then travel on your 12th month. Example: My first travel was a 17day Nairobi-VicFalls road trip that cost me 90,000KES. I saved up about 10,000KES per month and the extra went to activities on the ground
7. Budget enough time in country just in case you need a change of plans or find that you want to add in something else to your itinerary. This way you are in no rush. I would say the one-way ticket helped a lot with this because it made it super flexible to book a return ticket for when I was close to ready to get back home
So happy travel to you my Dear Friend. I hope you find exactly what you seek through travel. I hope you find love, joy and you never lose your sense of wonder. That God's grandeur and creativity through geography dazzles you over and over. I pray you connect with fellow HUMANS. I hope you meet amazing people that are waiting to meet you too. I hope you dance to the rhythm of love's journey.
May you love out loud, I mean, LOVE LOUDEST! :)
