Our last morning as a group….

August 29, 2024

I don’t think any of us slept last night. Marghe made a comment “it’s not very windy” and about an hour into being in my tent the INSANE winds started. And they never ended. We had to delay our departure, give up on breakfast and work as a team (each little team did something else) to clean up the camp site and get on the road. Everything I own is coated in sand and dust. It was a true goodbye from our outdoor adventure on this trip. 

We had to stop back in Solitaire to get people coffee and some breakfast pastries, use the bathroom and get an opportunity to “start” our morning. I used the bathroom and then just hung out inside because it was cold outside and I wasn’t hungry for anything they had. 

Back on the road Promise spotted (we still don’t know how) some mountain zebra. Who knew there were two kinds?? (Well we found out about a week ago) And now we’ve gotten to see them both! 

It’s our last day with the guides because they have work to do tomorrow to be ready to hand the bus off to another group. We are all very sad about the trip ending. We break up as a group today as well. Two are going to a different hotel (it’s their 15 anniversary), others are looking for some quiet pool time, and then there is me and I want a shower. 

We convince everyone but Britt and Michael (the anniversary couple) and the guides to join us for lunch. It took FOREVER. The girls and I went to grab a table, it took them 15 minutes to figure out that we wanted us to all sit at the same table. Then it took over 90 minutes to get our food. And NOTHING was complicated. It was mostly salads in fact. Giacomo asked them to hurry because the guides had said the tshirts we ordered the other day (I got a hoodie and a T-shirt) would be here between 3-4pm and it was 4pm by the time we were done!! Giacomo, Eli and I headed across the street to get drinks, snacks and cash. Things are so cheap here. I got (12) ciders, (3) beers, some tequila drink, crisps, and a haribo gummy bear – it was $18. (To those asking, no I didn’t drink all those things, I had the tequila drink and a cider).

After the store we found out the shirts would be later so I went to shower. I also organized the rest of my clothes to make the next week a bit easier. I keep finding sand everywhere. It will be with me for months – WORTH IT.

After my shower I head to the pool to hang with my Danish friends before I go play games with the Italians. It’s nice to have two little groups of friends on this trip. They all make me laugh and feel welcome. I’ve been very lucky to meet such wonderful people. 

At 630 I head to the girls room to play card games. I made us dinner reservations at 8pm (since lunch was so late) at a place that Michele had found earlier. The girls organized the shuttle. However, Marghe (because it’s fun to blame things on her) didn’t tell me what time the shuttle was, so at 725pm I had to call Promise and tell him we were leaving at 730 – oops! 

Dinner was awesome. Promise was the only guide that got to come, but it was so wonderful to be able to enjoy some one on one time with him. The place we went – Joe’s – was awesome. It has all sorts of huts and each hut had a different decorations – all African themed of course. I got a mushroom burger, the others got game burgers, game cuts, etc. Giacomo agreed to let me pay for some of Promise’s dinner, though it took some convincing. 

When we got back to the lodge, we all followed Promise to his room so we could get our shirts (they didn’t actually get there until like 8pm, African time in its truest form). I LOVE my shirt and hoodie. The guy that makes them basically has a bunch of screen print options you can put on shirts. So I got our trip’s route, “not all who wander are lost,” Africa is not for sissies, and “it’s not a holiday, it’s an adventure” on my hoodie. And on my T-shirt I got the map on the back, but had him put the animal butts on the bottom hem line as well. It’s very fun. 

The girls and I went back to their room to play more games, Promise came to play as well and then Michele and Chloe joined as well. We had our last couple games of jungle speed. While everyone wanted to stay up late, the fact we didn’t get much sleep last night ran us down pretty quickly. 

I got back to my room around 1140 and packed up my bags best I could for tomorrow morning. The Italians and I are meeting at 930 for breakfast and I depart with the Danes at 1030. I’m saddened that this was our last night together laughing, playing and being ourselves.