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My last blog concerning my Africa trip.. Crazy to realize I am back again, and even more crazy to realize my trip has come to an end.
The last week of my 100 days in Africa were spent in Kachumbale, a small town in Uganda close to Mount Elgon. Together with my friend Elke and her study friend Lieke we stayed at a priest and his random bunch of 'family' members. I could not have imagined a better way to spend my last week: I really felt as part of the family right from the start, and it was amazing how welcoming and friendly everyone was. Even if you left the house for like 5 minutes, you were greeted by the standard phrase: 'Welcome back!'. And each morning was opened with 'How was the night?'.
And as part of a once in a lifetime experience: on Sunday morning we were welcomed by a 1000 people singing us a welcome song in the church. Afterwards everyone was very eager to shake the hands of the three Mzungu's, and this continued throughout my time there.
One of the other things I enjoyed most about Uganda, other than the very kind people, was the transportation mean 'boda boda'. Being tired of squeezing into a minibus, it was a very pleasant surprise to see the many motorcycles with comfortable backseats. And it really was THE way to move around: even the priests use the boda boda's to go from blessing to blessing.
But furthermore my last week was about playing games with old and new friends, reading books, hanging with my new family and simply seizing my last moments. On Friday I went to Sipi Waterfalls, and we had so much fun dancing in the waterfall-rain that it was the perfect way to end my very first real backpack trip..
So, what can I conclude about 100 days in Africa? Well, for starters, it is a beautiful and magnificent continent, but definetely an one of a kind. Life in Africa is most of the time so completely different than life in the Western world, that there is no point in comparing. It is not an easy continent to travel, but I believe it is worth it.
Did I find what I was looking for? To be honest, I am not even sure WHAT I was looking for.. But what I found, was 100 days of being able to breathe. Of feeling ALIVE. And I could not have asked for more. Yes, sometimes it was tough, and yes, sometimes I felt I wanted to go home so strong that it even surprised me. But being back, and looking back, I can only say one thing: it was GREAT. It was absolutely fantastisic. It could have been anywhere, it could have been any destination, but I chose Africa. And I kicked Africa's butt!
Will I be going back to Africa? Hell yeah! But.. maybe next time on an organized tour haha ;-)
Though I will never forget about my Africa trip, I am already busy working out the details for my next trip. As most of you know, my sister is happily expecting her THIRD child, which means I will have to cut my journey short by at least 1 month to make it back in time to welcome him/her into this truly beautiful world. Some things are still more important than others :) So sometime in the beginning of next year I will fly to Australia, and I will close off my journey with 2 months in most likely Laos and Thailand.
Great prospects, but not without cherising my Africa memories..
Thanks to ALL for sticking out through the end of my Africa stories, and hope to catch you all again with my next trip!
- comments
Snoek Yoooo kerel! Wat een mooi laatste verhaal over Afrika. Ik ben erg blij dat we elkaar nog even konden meeten hier in Uganda, want ik was even bang dat we elkaar zouden missen, voordat jij weer weg vliegt .. op naar het volgende avontuur!!! LAPPERRRR
Lieke Wat een mooi laatste verhaal!! Ik vond het ook superleuk dat je ons kwam vergezellen in Kachumbala! Overleef je de Nederlandse kou een beetje? Kus
Mol <3