I recently spent three days traveling from Nicaragua to Cote d’Ivoire. During those three days, I was in four different countries and three different continents. I flew for a total of almost 17 hours, and rode in vans or buses for I don’t even know how many total hours.
In Miami, I ate my KFC in shifts. I ate the chicken sitting on the floor in front of the security line. I drank the drink (which, much to my disappointment, was only Dr. Pepper, because they didn’t have sweet tea) while waiting in line. I put the sides and the biscuit in my pillowcase, and ate them after we had gone through security.
In Portugal, I spent around half of the layover sleeping, first cuddled under my airplane blanket in a chair in a lounge (because it was COLD!), and then on a wooden booth in a restaurant. We did go out to explore the city for a few hours (which I did wearing socks and chacos and my raincoat), and Portugal is definitely beautiful! I got to ride the metro for the first time in my life, which was fun for awhile. Then, I had to pee super bad…and there are NO BATHROOMS!
We finally boarded our last flight, and I had an aisle seat this time. I couldn’t get comfortable to save my life, plus I had a horrible sinus headache…so I cried. On the plane. Thank goodness for food, and eventual sleep!!!
WE MADE IT TO AFRICA (Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire to be exact)!!! Our hosts met us in the airport, and they were so nice! We all piled in to two large vans and a small car. This was my least favorite ride due to the fact that I was squeezed up front in the middle by the gear shift, I was holding my daypack and pillow, and I still had a sinus headache. We dropped off one team to catch a boat and dropped off another team to catch a bus. At some point we used the bathroom, and I had my first experience using a squatty potty (and something wet got on the bottom of my pants, not sure what). We bought bus tickets and proceeded to wait. I laid down on the bench to take a nap, and later I was woken up, and I was told I could move to a room inside. Our team all went into this room and slept on the floor (and honestly, it was good sleep!) We then rode one bus for awhile (I don’t know how long because I slept for most of the ride), and then we switched to a large van. We had a total of 23 people inside this van, plus a large array of bags. Thank goodness that I had a window seat!!! During the ride, I kept falling asleep and I hit my head on the metal bar for the window four times, one of which the people beside me noticed. No concussion, though (lol)!
We finally made it the village we are staying in called N’Douci! The people here are so generous and kind, and everyone shakes your hand! During the whole travel day in Africa, I hardly ever had to carry anything, because someone else always did it for me. The food we’ve had has been great! There are kids everywhere, and they follow us around like little ducks, all holding on to an arm or a finger or a hand. Their smiles and their laughs are contagious and full of joy. Also, holy patterns! They are gorgeous and colorful and everywhere!
The World Race is not always this grand adventure…very rarely in fact. This next month is going to be crazy and hard (sometimes to the point of me feeling like I can’t handle it), but I can’t wait, because it is also going to be beautiful and full of life! God will show up and, even more, He will show off!
