One year ago, I would never have thought that I could write about this while experiencing my African dream.
Such an expedition is definitely unpredictable.
In my case, the great escape has led to a constant inquiry about the meaning of life, of personal growth, of Africa’s intensity and past, of being human, and of craving such an expedition on my own.
Today, after almost a year alone on the road, I now feel the expedition will definitely not last forever, and like all good things in life, will come to an end.
Currently posting about Kenya, I’ll be heading back South again, to where I left my heart 3 years ago…somewhere between Namibia and Botswana, where the oldest civilisation in the world remains my favourite philosophy, the reason I believe in humanity still, somewhere burning hot and transcendent, and where silence worth a thousand words; the powerful Kalahari.
Why am I heading back South? Ethiopia has drastically changed the past 3 years and recently amended some of its entry conditions. It’s almost impossible to access the territory with a foreign car, except if you’re insanely rich.
While on the Western coast of the continent, it’s not possible to enter Nigeria if you don’t apply for a visa directly from your home country.
Also, I do crave freedom and the more I spend time on my own the more I need time on my own. It’s a vicious circle which leads to so many contradictions: for instance, I sometimes feel the need to be surrounded and once I am, I just want to get away. But after 30k km on the road, alone but not lonely, I have to admit that indeed ‘happiness only real when shared’.
I do not want to pursue a life on my own forever although I absolutely needed (and still need!) this time with myself. I need to realise this dream of mine, to get to know who I am, to open my mind, my eyes, and my heart, to learn, and to become.
This solo overland expedition across Africa is essential to grow.
I can’t wait to reach Southern Africa again and to see how I feel down there. I’m not here to realise strangers’ dreams, to assume their regrets or to fight with their own projection of fear, but to follow my heart beats, blindly.
But don’t worry, the expedition is not over until I disappear in the Kalahari nurturing my heart with the purest philosophy in the world.
Do I want to keep a nomadic life? Hell yes.
Will I be able to leave Africa? Probably.
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