We’re nearing the end of our trip and since it’s the start of a new year it seems timely to reminiscence about some awesome bits of 2015 (and tell f&f what we’ve been up to as there hasn’t exactly been a glut of posts). I have to confess, I haven’t simplified my life as much as I wanted nor have I reached the pinnacle of sustainability I had set my sights on. I thought I would be fishing for my supper every week and bartering solar skills in exchange for vegetables (we did each of these things twice). But although life hasn’t been as off-grid as I envisaged I still feel like I’ve reset my life, and unexpectedly, we’ve reconnected with a lot of old friends which has been the major highlight of the East African half of our trip. 2016 looks like it will be a pretty different year since we need to work seriously again but here’s to more big changes and living yet more simply.
The minutiae and epiphanies that made 2015 memorable:
Not working. In a cubicle.
Rubuguri village, Southern Uganda, near the border with Rwanda. Its proximity to the charmingly named Bwindi Impenetrable forest and mountainous surrounds were alluring enough but Rubuguri is most memorable for being so damn happy. Full of villagers who looked out for each other irrespective of tribe, warmly welcomed visitors and loved a yarn at the local. ‘Pygmy’ visiting and gorilla trekking also available.
Receiving unsolicited advice from a monk on how to economise in Uganda. That is, how to visit national parks without paying entry fees, who to call to import a car without paying full fees, how to run a business…
Getting to know some kids who live in an orphanage in Dar through friends who work here. Some of these kids have survived kidnappings, abuse, attempted killings and still they are so admirably resilient. When we visited the first time a few kids gleefully run up to Andrew and called him Jack Sparrow! Captain Jack Sparrow!
Lake Kivu and the Congo Nile trail. Lakeside fjords! Lakeside volcano! Inquisitive children and gentle villagers. We stopped regularly for directions and people would run over to shake our hands and exchange greetings beaming with pleasure.
Seeing the Nyau when volunteering at a hospital near Nkhota-nkhota in Malawi. On our first day while trying to find the place a man in filthy white rags and a shit scary mask comes racing down the road brandishing a stick. This was our introduction to Nyau, the village bogeymen who don masks or cloth bags over their heads and chase children into submission and general good behaviour. They also chase tourists for money.
The Collywobbles, a vulture-nesting site situated dramatically on a cliff surrounded by a snaking river in South Africa. But mostly because its name is the Collywobbles.
On the Wild Coast of South Africa I learnt from the locals that problems aren’t problems until they’re problems. So much of the West is focused on problems that lurk in the imagination rather than exist as a concrete, universal issue: babies with too much screen time, driving in Africa, Donald Trump.
Riding our bikes around (and up a little) Mount Mulanje, Malawi. It’s a granite massif framed by forest and surrounded by tea fields. Postcard perfect.
The lava lake at the Erte Ale volcano in Ethiopia. And how everyone hushed up when they saw it and breathed out “Lord of the Rings” while sulphuric fumes cloaked us.
Maputo fish market. An amazing selection of seafood, an atmospheric courtyard out the back full of restaurants elbowing each other out of the way to cook your seafood for you, and the Sunday atmosphere when it’s full of families from all different backgrounds. There’s something about a family who has obviously scrimped and saved to splash out on a gorgeous meal that is very close to my heart.
The many kindnesses on this trip. Freebies from mechanics, coffee from CD vendors, a lodge owner teaching us how to smoke fish, a new friend teaching us how to make an oven out of old tin cans. An Ethiopian farmer inviting us into his home when we were lost after dusk.
Installing a solar system with lights for a special lady in Lesotho who was the sole guardian of five children. I’ll always remember her.
Diving for the first time. Dove in Mozambique and saw 5 turtles in one day.
Gorilla trekking. Absolutely sensational. A blackback mock charged a German guy and myself. We dove away from each other. Then a scout with a machete got too close to the new baby so a silverback and a blackback held back his arm and calmly uttered warning grunts. Pure drama.
Camping in Katavi National Park completely on our own and realising there were five hyena around us, watching us curiously. I told a ranger the next day and he said, ‘You saw five hyena?! Wonderful, you are so lucky.” (We were told a couple of months later a lion from Katavi crashed through a hut wall and killed a parent and child.)
Bungee jumping. It took me a couple of years to be brave enough to step off the ledge.
Writing. Starting a blog is a little like bungee jumping.
Learning how to fish. I caught a grand total of one trout. Andrew caught two black tails and one unidentified fish, suspected reef bass.
Catching up with old friends! From our time in East Africa, UK and even South Africa.
Slow-cooking.
Lalibela.
Housetruck called Bruce.
Less stuff equals happiness.
