Alicia & Rich's Roads to Everywhere London to Australia on the route less traveled

After three months travelling through Africa, I've turned 3 shades darker, grown accustomed to braids and I'm surprisingly not sick of spending 24/7 with Rich. I still feel like I haven't seen very much of the continent though, but what I have seen will stay with me for a lifetime. It has been an adventure!

Seeing the pyramids in Egypt for the second time was just as awe inspiring as the first and yes, I still think they were built by, or with the help of aliens.

All throughout Africa I have been able to blend in as a local, even in Egypt, where they thought I was a Nubian. (although some also thought I was a Rasta!) It was great to be able to walk around and not get hassled too much by vendors. Rich also benefited from my "disguise", as he gets harassed much less when we’re together (without me, he gets chased by begging children and weed sellers). The only down side to this is when people try to speak to me in their local tongue. That always gives me away. Before I go back to Africa, I’m going to learn to speak Swahili!

One of my favorite parts of this journey has been the safari in the Masai Mara in Kenya. It was like going back in time, to a place that’s been untouched by man. The animals walk around freely and there are miles of unscathed land. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and hopefully I’ll get to go back again one day. I really wanted to take one of the cute lion cubs home, so maybe next time I can sneak one into my backpack.

When Rich and I went to the Kenyan coast, it looked like a utopia for black and white couples. They were everywhere, especially on the beach. It was a bit odd that most of the couples were comprised of a young black woman and an older white man, but I didn't think too much about it. We were on a beautiful beach and that captured most of our attention. It wasn’t until we went to a beach bar for an afternoon snack that we noticed something odd. The bar owner seemed to be making introductions between groups of European looking men and young African women. As we looked around we realized we weren’t in a jungle fever epidemic, but a full blown brothel. At least 15 dirty old men (DOMs) we’re groping, kissing and conversing with young African prostitutes. It was disgusting seeing these old men taking advantage of these young women, who are in this practice solely because they need to eat. I've seen it in Thailand and that disgusted me then, and seeing these African women being groped by old European men was just as bad. I've never heard of this prostitution going on; it shocked me. Who knew? And not only that, but what must others have thought when they saw me and Rich walking around together? Maybe those DOM’s were wondering how much I cost… (10 million camels, if you ask the Egyptians!)

If you’ve been reading our stories then I’m sure you got the message about how much we liked Zanzibar in Tanzania. It still has the most beautiful beach I’ve ever been to and I will definitely be going back one day. One thing I won’t be doing again (hopefully) is taking the Tazara train down to Zambia. It was a great, once a lifetime experience, but it’s not the most comfortable way to travel. The trip was worth it though because it got us to Victoria Falls in Zambia. What an incredible sight! I’m looking forward to comparing Iguazu Falls (in Argentina) to this one. I don’t think anything can top this, except maybe Vic Falls from the Zimbabwe side, which we didn’t get a chance to see because of that idiot, Robert Mugabe! I hope someone sorts out that country soon…

It was nice to finish off our African journey in South Africa. It’s another beautiful country, with cooler weather, cheaper food, and better technology. It’s very westernized compared to the other countries we’ve been to and the best part of traveling around here is that we had a car! How luxurious it was to be able to drive from point a to b and not have to drag our bags around and wait for public transport. Ah bliss, especially for me since Rich did all the driving, as I don’t have a valid license. Rich did great too, driving 10-12 hrs some days and not falling asleep behind the wheel once.

I’d say Durban, Jeffery’s Bay and Cape Town were my favorite S.A. cities. I’d recommend Cape Town if you have time for only one city, there so much to do there, you could easily fill a few weeks.

This journey through Africa has been the experience of a lifetime for me. I can’t believe it’s only been 3 months. I’m happy to say that we can now stop taking our malaria pills, it’s been 2.5 months of taking these pills, I hope to never see one again! (no, we didn’t have any of the horrible side effects)

Now it’s time to say good-bye to the motherland and Hola to Sud America!