An Incredible Journey-And We're Off!

Today marked the start of two incredible journeys. The first, our lives as Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs). The second, a five-month journey through South Africa, Egypt, India and Southeast Asia with Rachel, my CATJAR friend.

We woke early and said our goodbyes to the few volunteers that still remained before hopping into a cab and heading out to the B1 for the last time. It was only about 6 a.m., but we had high hopes of making it as far as Cape Town before nightfall. And we were planning to hitchhike the entire way. (We are, after all, ladies on a budget, and without much Nam cash left to spare!)

Our drop spot just beyond Windhoek city limits was a pretty poor one, and we waited nearly two hours for our first pick up: A guy who was only going as far as Rehoboth, about an hour south of Windhoek. Originally we'd agreed to ride only with people who were traveling as far as Keetmanshoop, but after hours on the roadside, we were just happy to be on our way.

Luckily, the man dropped us off at a petrol station, where a guy with a bakki was happy to take us the rest of the way to Keets. Rachel rode in the back while I made four hours worth of small talk up front. The sun was blazing and needless to say, Rach wasn't wearing sunscreen (she never does). We made a quick stop at a Wimpy's for milk shakes and then our ride delivered us to the outskirts of town, where we waited for a ride that would hopefully take us to Cape Town.

At first our prospects seemed weak. A mac truck offered us a lift for R100 each, but it was after 4 and he didn't have working headlights, which meant in a couple of hours we'd be forced to pull off to the side of the road and wait until morning. So we decided to roll the dice and wait a while longer. Which worked out in our favor. A brand new air-conditioned Mercedes with a nice South African driver who bought us cool drinks and snacks, pulled up and offered us a lift all the way to Cape Town. A six-hour journey directly to our hostel door. The perfect Nam send off!