Al-Hakka (4) | When girls travel to Africa (1)

(1)

I hate the heat, and I am afraid of insects, even the trifle of them, and of course the animals terrify me, and the land travel makes me dizzy, and the camping procedures bother me, yet I am planning a 40-day trip in the jungles of Africa, with a group of people I meet for the first time, I am the only Muslim among them of Arab origin. We travel from country to country, and spend our days on the road, and our nights in tents, I do not know how that will be, nor how I will shower, nor how I will perform my prayers! However, that is not all. There is something more dangerous.

(2)

I had cancer, and after two months of chemotherapy, my father decided to take me to Vienna before the start of the third round of treatment, to take me away from London for a while, the trip was wonderful, not only because it was the first time that I traveled with my father alone; It is also because it is the first time in a long time that I feel the desire and the need to explore, I cannot describe it, but what I do know is that I have recovered the flash of life, and I know why it is worth living it.

I dreamed that I would participate in an animation course at Harvard University in America, and I achieved that, and then I returned to London to complete my last years at the university, I came back stronger and more open to new things, and travel was the dominant one in my thinking, this time my eyes were on Africa, the continent that I came from it, which I did not live in, nor did I build a relationship with.

Since that trip, I have clung to every travel opportunity I get during my treatment, even running to pack my bag and set off traveling right after the treatment session is over, oh my God, I have started dreaming again, what a refreshing feeling.

It is true that you become a different person when life challenges you. Before this, I had no passion for travel or exploration, I was related to unimportant things. This affected my studies at the university, and my thoughts were not distinctive, I could not open my eyes to see the bigger picture, I struggled a lot.

I dreamed that I would participate in an animation course at Harvard University in America, and I achieved that, and then I returned to London to complete my last years at the university, I came back stronger and more open to new things, and travel was the dominant one in my thinking, this time my eyes were on Africa, the continent that I came from it, which I did not live in, nor did I build a relationship with.

Throughout my last year at university I used any available time to watch documentaries about travel, about women traveling to see the world, searching for peace, or just to break out of the comfort zone they used to live in.

After a difficult year at university, and after I graduated with an honors degree, and after I finished chemotherapy, it was time to inform my parents about it, I was worried, it seemed a little surreal, and I don’t remember how I told them, my initial plan was to wander around the continent for 6 months. . My parents rejected the idea immediately, convincing them required a lot of negotiations and some real concessions, in the end I got their agreement to travel for two months, only the Arabs are the ones who bargain.

I spent countless hours between books and websites, looking for a travel companion who wanted to travel in Africa, at a time that matches my plan, all the responses were coming from men, I finally came across a travel agency that organizes special group trips to all parts of the world, no hotels No luxury, my sister escorted us, and we drove there to discuss the options they had to offer.

I cannot describe to you the terrible hesitation that followed, all my fears flipped through my mind, and it filled me with a feeling that this was the most dangerous adventure I had ever taken in my life (even more dangerous than the moment I signed the approval papers for chemotherapy that mentioned the risk of death among its symptoms), and at the time. The same, the life of London has become unbearable for me, as everything is related to the hospital and my previous illness, I have a phobia of crowding, and I suffocate from it in this city that most of the world's population wants to visit, it was necessary for me to leave, even for a short period at least.

I thought that the ideal and comfortable way to travel, regardless of its high cost, would not bear the desired fruits, and that it was time for adventure, I motivated myself that I will revive the flame of my old love for the art of photography that I abandoned years ago, and is there better than doing it in Africa ? Then I will not let anything hinder my plan, I will do it, I mean, I will do it, so I said to myself, and this is how I settled and bought a travel card.

Then came the day when I received my bags and my luggage at the airport, and went out of the gate to find myself in Cape Town, South Africa, that was the day when my fears disappeared, replaced by peace and tranquility that I had not felt before, to begin my journey.

(3)

South Africa was more pompous than I had imagined, I avoided searching for her pictures so as not to hold any kind of expectations before arriving, my heart beating with the excitement and nervousness I felt; I was on my way to finally meet my tent partner and the group I'm traveling with for the next 40 days.

The hair is dirty, the clothes are torn, and it looks as if they have not taken a shower for days .. This is how I imagined what my colleagues would look like, after I arrived early at the hotel that would be our starting point, I asked the hotel employee if the girl sitting on the sofa belonged to my group, so he smirked me With a frustrated look, he answered: "Yes, she's been sitting here since the morning, using the Internet. What happened to this new generation?"

I immediately realized she was from Australia because of her accent, and after we chatted for a while she invited me to join her and her friend to see Table Mountain. I brought a bottle of water, all my photography gear, and chocolate too (as if this is so important); But I was filled with a strange energy that seemed to come from that I had not slept in two days.

"Joe" - another girl from our group - had just returned from diving with sharks. Her story seemed crazy. She is one of the kind of girl who seeks adventure wherever he can. She has traveled to more than fifty countries. As for "Lindsay" (The Australian girl), on the contrary, is an introvert who loves calm, enjoys the surrounding scenery, and maintains her personal space.

Table Mountain is 1085 meters high, and the queue seemed to be about the same length. It took us a long time to wait, to the point that when we reached the highest point on the mountain we spent only 5 minutes together, before we had to go back down again. Another for attending the induction meeting with our group.

But suddenly while I was on the top of the mountain, a thought lit up in my mind: I am really here, I am finally traveling, far from everything, and I am alone, without family or friends to depend on; It's with strangers I get to know for the first time.

(4)

Later on I met my tent partner, who is an 18-year-old Canadian girl. My first reaction was that I would share a tent with a girl of my younger brother’s age; But suddenly I realized my first misstep: judging someone without knowing them well.

We were at different ages ranging from 18 to 35, among us a group of couples who had left their jobs for this trip, and couples who had been on travel for the past few months, and this trip is just a stage, and there were friends who met on previous trips, and others like me at the beginning of the adventure.

We were 14 girls and 7 boys of various nationalities: among us were the Germans, Australians, Austrians, Swiss, British, Canadians, Americans, and Danes, and after that I was there: the only Egyptian British in the group, and of course I was the only one who wore a veil among them, and I wished it hadn't been issued. One of my judgments was due to my appearance. In the first meeting, the administration announced its rules, and among them was that no form of discrimination could be tolerated, so my heart reassured.

We left the hotel at 7 in the morning, and got out of Cape Town within an hour, headed to the Highlanders Vineyard, run by a good man named "Sparky", his wife, and their two sons, the scenery was incredible on the way to our journey, miles and miles of pristine landscapes that It seemed to last indefinitely.

"Colin", who comes from South Africa, is the tour guide for our group, and "Lozinda" is our truck driver, and she is from Namibia. They have similar accents and the way they dress: short pants and T-shirts, and they stand and talk in a very confident and a little masculine way, I feel proud, And I'm not at all worried that two women will lead us through Africa for 40 days.

The next day we woke up at six in the morning, then started unloading the tents, putting our backpacks in the truck, eating breakfast, then packing up our luggage and heading to the road.

"Augustus" is the name of our truck. I had imagined that it would be much smaller than that. I had not imagined that it would contain so many compartments: one for luggage, another for tents, and the rest for kitchen utensils and food.

We left the hotel at 7 in the morning, and got out of Cape Town within an hour, headed to the Highlanders Vineyard, run by a good man named "Sparky", his wife, and their two sons, the scenery was incredible on the way to our journey, miles and miles of pristine landscapes that It seemed to last indefinitely.

We learned for the first time how to set up tents, and I'm not going to tell you how heavy they are! It took a long time and a lot of practice to get the job done, and thank God we were camping on grass, not in sand, but I was the first person to get sick on the first day of the trip.

In this place the bathing area was wonderful, as it is a square-shaped hole, as if it were a window without glass, and the bath will be enjoyed under the water that overlooks a wonderful view of the mountains and landscapes, and we were told: These are the best shower places you will see throughout the trip, It was.

"Colin" and "Lulu" prepared for our group, tonight, a fire that warms us; Because the temperature had gone down a lot, and it gave us some information about what would happen the next day, and after dinner we circled around the fire and ate "marshmallows," that traditional dessert.

Before going to sleep I looked at the sky and realized that this was the first time that I had seen so many stars .. What was all this beauty that I was oblivious to?

I went to sleep in my tent, and I entered what is known as a special sleeping bag (sleep bag) that is supposed to keep me warm when the temperature is zero, and I can say: It did not. But for a moment I realized that this was the beginning of my adventure officially, and that the first day had already ended, and later I knew that the real adventure was next, which I will tell you next time.