When I first decided to tell people at home that I was planning an around-the-world trip by myself, whether they were nervous for my safety or excited for my adventure, it was inevitable that one of the questions they would ask if I was going to be lonely. I’ve been dreaming of this trip since […]
Well, first and foremost, tourists to the DRC are generally unheard of. The majority of this small population typically is reserved for Gorilla Treks in Bukavu/Virunga, on the eastern side of the country along the Rwandan border. Kinshasa tourists, therefore, are an even bigger anomaly. Luckily, I’m completely used to having to explain my weird, […]
When Kristen asked me what I wanted to do in Kinshasa, the first thing (and honestly only thing) I mentioned, was the Bonobo sanctuary. Lola Ya Bonobo is the world’s ONLY Bonobo sanctuary, so who would have thought that it would be somewhere as unlikely as Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of […]
When you’re a suburban kid living in a big city, one of the first things you learn is how to get to a place that doesn’t feel “like the city.” When I arrived, Kristen handed me the link to Azadeh’s blog, which is all about living in Kinshasa and what to do and see…so of […]
Yep. You read that right! Kinshasa’s biggest party of the year is Oktoberfest. Held on Halloween (or thereabouts, depending on how the weekends fall), Germany comes to the DRC in the form of beer and music. Oh, and pagne lederhosen, if you’re so inclined. When I told Kristen what days I was thinking of coming, […]
When you’re planning to leave home for an undetermined amount of time, on your own, to another continent… you tend to search out a few things that are going to be familiar amongst the deluge of new-ness that is about to become your entire existence. Also, if you have an addiction, you definitely try to […]
So I’ve been yapping about this Acacia Africa tour for…20+ blogs now, and I’m safely deposited at my friend’s place in the DRC,and I’ve had a bit of time to reflect on my experience. It all started so innocently, with a google search about “best way to get to Victoria Falls from cape town”– I […]
Waking up on “Day 20” — aka Day 0 of “No More Acacia Africa” was so surreal. Jane had a mondo headache, I had fallen asleep in my dress from the night before, and we were HUNGRY. Classic, really. We had already packed up our bags the day before, and most of the squad had […]
Remember that day a few weeks back when the Perfect Ten was in Swakopmund and we went sandboarding and skydiving and it was this insane, expensive, adrenaline-filled, epic day? Well, today was crazier. Day 19 started with our final breakfast as Acacia-ers at 6am, and then we were headed to our activity pickup in the […]
This one time, nine of us took helicopter rides over the Okavango Delta…
