THE SUN SETS ON BEAUTIFUL AFRICA!

AFRICA A FINAL THOUGHT!

Africa … a final thought.

Africa was by far the most interesting experience of our lives. Perhaps because around every corner we traveled we were emerged deeply in the culture and landscape.

During our seven plus weeks we visited five countries, traveled over 32,000 miles by airplane, 6,000 miles by car, 200 miles by bus, 900 miles by open safari truck, 40 miles by horse, 10 miles by zip line and countless miles walking/hiking.

We strolled the pristine beaches, navigated the narrow roads in the mountains, savored the greens of the valleys and like children search for wild animals in the rugged bushland. We visited large cities with houses encased in metal fences and barbed wire and stayed in remote villages in huts with no locks on the doors. We hobnobbed with the wealthy and befriended the poor. We ate at five star restaurants and also ate with our fingers from a grill in a local small village butcher shop. We gave gifts and even our personal items to many and also received a variety of gifts from smiles to life lessons from people we met along the way. We spent time with black and white African’s as well as people from all parts of the world.

This trip was a pretty tall order for two retires heading down the road but not over the hill. I think it will take us some time to process our experiences but there are a few things that we are certain of. The countries we visited in Africa were stunningly beautiful. The people of Africa are equally as beautiful. We felt extremely welcomed by all the people we met no matter where we traveled. In many of our blogs we referred to TIA which by now you knows stands for THIS IS AFRICA. Most often, I found other people used TIA when things went array. We used it most often when we had an amazing experience. WOW THIS IS AFRICA!

Okay now for the big question asked most frequently … What was your favorite experience? Roy will tell you his was also the most ridiculous thing we did and that was when he rode in the back of truck at night (without a gun) looking for lions. I still have nightmares about that adventure. Mine was by far sleeping in tents in the bush and hearing the lions roar in the far off distance. With that said, we would be remise without telling you that an everyday highlight included the many people that we met especially the children.

So, we hope you enjoyed traveling down the road with us and through our blog you were able to share in our many wonderful experiences. We enjoyed your company on the road.  

So, were back on Potters Lake now getting ready for summer and bass fishing. Our blog will be a little quiet for a bit. Ironically, our blog goes on vacation when we don’t!  But my wheels are already turning and it won’t be long before we start planning our next trip. I'll let you in on a little secret...don’t tell Roy but in the next nine months I will be talking him into going to Rwanda to see these big guys up close!