The call of the Wild (Up Norte)

Hey guys (and girls),

'9 days, 3 countries, 4 currencies, 2 backpacks filled with more than was necessary, 1 trip of a lifetime.

I had an absolutely incredible, 'epic' adventure (I need another word as a descriptive synonym to describe events in my life - but in reality, that's what my week was. Epic.) exploring a small portion of the heart of Africa (not everyone may consider this the heart of Africa, but it felt like it.). These countries are beyond surreal in beauty, culture, climate, wildlife, and natural landscape. A friend of mine, Sydney, from New York, and myself decided it would just be the two of us. We thought that the more people one adds to the type of adventure we were looking for, the more difficult it was going to be to meet people. Because of circumstances of this trip, and what lay ahead of us, we decided not to travel with a bunch of our friends here (although we did run into them on several occasions), and rent a car- as it would make it harder for us to step outside of our bubble and interact with other travelers. 9 days.

 We flew into Livingstone, Zambia, where we then headed to Botswana via taxi, bus, and hitchhiking (in which one has to pay a small fee in Botswana). After a few days in the Okavango Delta and a game drive in Chobe National Park, we made our way to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. We ended our trip back in Livingstone. We had the opportunity to see Victoria Falls from both sides. Sydney was a great traveling companion- a very easy going and laid back person, which made for a successful trip. Arriving back in Cape Town, I really noticed a difference in cooler weather. The leaves here are starting to change on campus. It's April, and autumn is just about here. Weird!

Instead of going into detail about everything, I'm going to jot down a few quotations from my personal journal entries that I find more beneficial in sharing my experience. 

 "Jollyboys Backpackers Lodge is a paradise from paradise. The atmosphere is very 'chill', with lots of sprawl out space filled with large ornate cushions that offers one flexibility to create his/her own relaxation pad."

"In reality, there really is no way to describe the place I'm in right now, this city, this backpackers lodge, this country. I'm minutes away from one of the 7 natural wonders of the world (Victoria Falls) ."

"Fireflies- haven't seen those in a long time. The intense chatter of the frogs reminds me of home, and summer. And really good nights rests. A massive thunder storm and lightning show made its way over our camp tonight. The view was spectacular. I feel like I'm living the Nat Geo or Discovery channel right now. Life out here is so surreal. It's so surreal. I must come back- I will come back."

"On our hike this evening, we could hear grunts. Deep, thundering grunts and other unfamiliar noises to my ears. Hippos."

"I feel as though I've returned to my element, except this is nothing like what I've experienced in my element before. Africa. Exotic bug species I never knew existed- crawling all over me as I write this, my and hand this journal  foreign objects paving the way for exploration."

"It's currently 5:30 AM in the Delta. Lions can be heard in the distance (claiming their territory), hippos grunting meters from us. Epic. We're about to leave for one hell of a morning walking safari. Holy S*$% these hippos are noisy! Whatever explanation for the noise they're making, its so (insert swear word here) awesome. I think our plan is to mokoro to the main island, where we're going to do some walking, serious walking, to spot beasts of nature."

"I managed to flag down a guy last last minute headed for Maun- all the while haulting the massive passenger bus departing, to remove my bag from the under carriage compartments."

"It was roughly a 3 hour bus ride. We ended up stopping roughly half way for a checkpoint. 'Everyone off the bus'. We were instructed to dip our feet into a sanitation pit (more or less a bunch of muddy water), and get our bags searched.The whole purpose of this fiasco was to prevent foot and mouth disease."

"We ended up getting heavily stuck in the mud along the driveway to a Backpacker's Lodge. The entire scene was beyond comical. Charles (our driver) was beyond words, panic stricken. I thought the entire thing made the long day quite humourous."

"I suppose I better put a shirt on, not sure how many mosquito bites my malaria pills can endure."`

"I've been giving myself time to reflect on stuff thus far-  my experiences here in Africa, my family back at home, architecture, school, Morgan, LIFE. A cleansing moment in time."

"Adventure: with adventure comes the idea that one needs to let all preconceived notions go and slip away. That anything can happen. Prepare for the unexpected. Don't be startled or shaken by the unexpected. With adventure comes obstacles or challenges. Challenges don't go away on vacation. Instead, vacation provides opportunity for one to look at these challenges differently, as adventures in themselves, as realizations, as life experiences. Experiences that provides opportunity to grow and learn."

"Both visits (to Vic Falls) provided complementary showers with admission- which did wonders for me, and the environment- as I haven't showered  [intentionally] once this entire trip. Nor have I hardly changed my clothes since last Saturday."

"The experience in itself was mystifying....to be standing in its presence. To witness its grandeur."

"I could see nothing as I made my way across the bridge. Heavy rainfall and gravity defying spray that created a white cloud engulfed me.."

"Walking next to baboons, monkeys, and warthogs is a norm in this part of the world. For me, however, these experiences, these 'foreign' animals to America, will never get old."

"Upon departure from Livingstone, I had a good chat with some 'older' British travelers. 2 couples, who 'like to keep it kinky- even at our age!'".

"I'm starting to lose it, my brain is now in sleep mode, its last generators have failed in any last attempts to jot down a few more ideas or thoughts. Tomorrow---"

Relaxin'

A local's life via mokoro transport.

My attempt at giving this mokoro navigation a shot. This stuff is much harder than it looks.

Pre-sunrise in the Okavango Delta. 

Sydney and I. 

Dipping shoes in sanitizer to prevent foot and mouth disease. 

Chobe National Park- morning game drive.

The mighty Victoria Falls. I was lucky to see this during the wet season, where the falls are most intense.

The area surrounding the falls is rain forest. A perfect breeding ground for plant and specie diversity.