Picture this (no, really, I finally have pictures uploaded so make sure to look)

Do I really have to go back to work? I’ve been battling this question for the last 24 hours as I reacclimatize to my surroundings. I had my first African vacation and it was truly amazing. Let me explain.


As a Peace Corps volunteer, you arrive in a country and are whisked away to a small village (in the middle of the night in my experience) and this village didn't quite represent the Africa I had in mind because, of course, nothing ever is like you imagine. So this means that, although I have been in Africa, I have not seen any of the places that have lions, giraffes, or elephants. I have been in a village, with no running water, dusty streets, goats, cramped taxis, ants that never die...you get the picture. But last week, I took my first vacation here and saw a part of Africa that was truly amazing.

Now, I did not do a 5 star luxury tour. I still took public taxis and stayed in backpackers (dorm rooms where you share bathrooms – kind of like being in a college dorm room) but it was being a “tourist” which made it feel different. That, and the amazing places we visited. My fellow Peace Corps Volunteer companions (husband and wife, Chuck and Michelle) were gracious enough to let me tag along with them and we had an amazing adventure. Complete with a few mishaps (and mistakes) along the way but I don’t know that I would change a thing. Okay, except the fact that I did not purchase one single thing?! What?! No souvenirs?

Kruger Park was fantastic. We slept in a tent in the park (in a protected area) but still had a hyena stalking us just outside the fence. We saw 5 leopards (apparently unheard of) and one was stalking an impala while elephants and water buffalo wandered by...giraffes, rhinos, and hippos were also abundant. Amazing. There were a few moments of boredom (because you spend a lot of time waiting to see animals) but we took pictures (as you can see from our photos) and were sufficiently satisfied with our adventure.

Then it was off to Mozambique. We decided to save some money and arrived via public taxi – we walked over the border and were asked if we were “scared” to arrive via public taxi. Huh?! It was a horribly hot day but once we found food and a cold drink all was better (and it even hailed the afternoon we arrived which was quite surprising). Sleeping without mosquito nets proved interesting (poor Chuck) but then I had bigger problems when we arrived at the amazing beach town of Tofo where I was eaten alive by some unknown bugs. But, it was again worth the long bus ride and bug bites because the beach here was amazing. Truly. Miles of clear, blue ocean where diving is superb but running along the beach was even better and relaxing was by far my favorite pastime. We even paddled sea kayaks and rode in a traditional dhow boat.

On the way home (sweating in my taxi packed next to my fellow South Africans) I realized why Africa is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Well, because it is.