The way in which our journey unfolded was till this day a lesson in life that I will hopefully never forget. We bought a map, but relied mainly on direction from the locals of the areas we were traveling through. It made our route so much more difficult and unpredictable, but we reckoned it’s the journey that matters, not the route. As we meandered along, heading south towards Cape Town, we had many weird and wonderful encounters. The weirdness originated mostly from having absolutely no idea what to expect next, and also from being approached by anyone, at any given time. We were exposed to all the elements, of which human nature was the scariest. I am happy however, to be able to say, that that is a myth, if one takes a look at all we have received from complete strangers. People were fascinated by our story, and our travels, and whenever we found ourselves in a fix, it wasn’t long before someone lends a helping hand. The first week of our journey, consisted mostly of trying to find balance and be comfortable on the bicycles, to get used to the traffic, when there’s mostly little to no shoulder to ride on. We carry a heavy load, and take up a sizeable portion of the road.
There wasn’t a day that went by, in the first stages of our travels, that I didn’t at least once, have the urge to phone home and ask to be picked up. Physically it was one of the most draining, challenging things I have ever done. Once the uncertainty and fear of the unknown subsided a little, we relaxed, and absorbed the magical energy of everything that surrounded us.
It’s amazing to witness the changes in cultures, the further along we went. Sometimes, it was truly unbelievable to think that we all grew up in the same country. Then again, when you have 11 official languages, and God only knows how many different cultures, it’s bound to be a bit different. The places we ended up in sometimes, was to say the least, very scary at first, but always turned out to be a beautiful encounter. To me this was a lesson never to judge, and never to presume, just because you are not familiar with something. As long as you keep in mind, that your contribution to any given situation, determines the outcome. If you believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it’s all good, you’d be all right.
There wasn’t a day that went by, in the first stages of our travels, that I didn’t at least once, have the urge to phone home and ask to be picked up. Physically it was one of the most draining, challenging things I have ever done. Once the uncertainty and fear of the unknown subsided a little, we relaxed, and absorbed the magical energy of everything that surrounded us.
It’s amazing to witness the changes in cultures, the further along we went. Sometimes, it was truly unbelievable to think that we all grew up in the same country. Then again, when you have 11 official languages, and God only knows how many different cultures, it’s bound to be a bit different. The places we ended up in sometimes, was to say the least, very scary at first, but always turned out to be a beautiful encounter. To me this was a lesson never to judge, and never to presume, just because you are not familiar with something. As long as you keep in mind, that your contribution to any given situation, determines the outcome. If you believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it’s all good, you’d be all right.
