On Monday, we said bye to Europe and hello to Africa. Travel days on the Race are a unique experience. We always pick the cost effective route, which also means it tends to be the least efficient route as well. Here’s a look at a travel day on the Race.
Monday, August 28th
6:45am – Wake up in Sofia, Bulgaria to finish up packing after a restless night of sleep before grabbing breakfast 7:30am – Enjoy one last guaranteed meal (apples, watermelon, and cucumber for me) at the hostel before heading back
8:45am – Meet my other 50 squadmates on the street, everyone with at least one big pack and one day pack
9am – Start walking to the metro (subway)
9:15am – Get all 50 of us on the metro for a stop or two, switch to another line, and then ride to the airport in about 30 minutes, bumping into all the Bulgarians on the metro during rush hour on a Monday
10:00am – Check in to our flight and wander the airport until it’s time for departure
11:00am – Grab some lunch (turkey sandwich and aloe vera water)
11:30am – Sit in a dozen in-the-way locations, catching up with old teammates and getting to know new ones
12:20pm – Begin boarding for our flight. Have a middle seat between Nick and Abby, my alphabetical travel day companions, but switch with Nick for the window and a good nap
1:20pm – Take off for our 5 hour flight to Doha, Qatar
6:30pm – Arrive in Doha, Qatar to a surprise layover! Because our layover was more than four hours long, Qatar Airways booked us hotel rooms in Doha for the 6 or so hours we were in the country
8:30pm – While the surprise layover is amazing, it takes a lot longer to get through customs and baggage claim with 50 some people than it does with one or two, so our layover is cut a bit short
9:00pm – Step foot onto Qatar! Leave the airport by bus to head to our hotel for the next handful of hours
9:45pm – We’ve arrived at the very nice hotel provided for us and are finally checked in for the night. We have two hours to enjoy the luxury until we have to head back to the airport.
10:00pm – Take the best shower ever on the Race, grab some friends, and order room service that we then eat in bed (burger, fries, and Turkish coffee). We couldn’t get out of those beds with their satin sheets and amazing pillows. Take a 6 minute nap before heading back downstairs to bus back to the airport. Short, but incredibly restful and nice layover in Doha. Definitely the most luxurious experience we’ve had on the Race.
Tuesday, August 29th
1:00am – Board our flight for Johannesburg, South Afric
2:00am – Depart on our 8.5 hour flight to Joburg. Something I ate along the way made me sick, so I sleep for 8 hours of the flight, waking up only to deal with a nosebleed and throwing up in the bathroom
10:30am – Arrive to the airport in Joburg. Head through baggage claim and customs. Next up is a train to the bus station, but first we have to wait 3 hours.
4:30pm – Say our goodbyes to our squadmates and head to the train. We’re in Africa! Load onto the train, get off a stop later, switch to another line, and end up at the bus station. We have about 30 minutes before our bus leaves and no clue where it is.
6:00pm – We find our bus with the help of many kind South Africans. Get on the bus and settle in for the next 15 hours on our way to Zimbabwe. Promptly fall asleep after little the last few days.
Wednesday, August 30th
1:00am – Woken up at the border of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Get off and wait in line for our visas to Zimbabwe. Get back on the bus 2 hours later, thinking we’re done. Get off 10 minutes later to take our bags off and put them back on. Bus drives across the border and we walk.
4:00am – Continue our journey to Zimbabwe.
10:00am – Arrive to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Said goodbye to the rest of our friends meeting their hosts, while we waited for our next bus.
11:00am – Wander around trying to find food (a package of saltines for the sick one) while realizing that we are once again very much the minority. It’s great to be in Africa.
2:00pm – Get on our last bus to Kadoma, Zimbabwe.
6:00pm – Dropped off by bus at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Try to call or text our host, but our phones aren’t working. Laugh for a few minutes at the absurdity of our situation. Month 1, this would have been scary, but now we know it will always work out. Meet a woman who used to work with our host who makes a phone call to let them know we’re in country.
8:30pm – Arrive to our oasis in the bush.
9:00pm – Bed.
60 hours
50 people
4 countries in 3 continents
2 planes, 4 trains, and 2 buses
1 World Race travel day
