When I landed in Cairo, I finally reached a goal I set for myself long ago – to visit six continents by age 30.
Geographically, Egypt is part of the African continent. But that’s like saying geographically Florida is The South. Just because it’s technically there doesn’t mean it necessarily has all the same characteristics of the region, or continent, at large. Florida and Egypt are just… different.
So, while I technically reached my goal (by a month! whew!), I still didn’t feel like I’d stepped foot in the real Africa which I’d dreamed about since I was a kid. That’s why the next stop on my RTW trip was so special.
Departing the Nile’s sandy banks, I journeyed south — away from the vast, dry sands of Egypt and into a culture of contrasts in Kenya.
If Egypt had me feeling like a modern-day Cleopatra floating down the Nile on a felucca, Kenya was a jarring return to reality.
At times breathtakingly beautiful, mind-numbingly inefficient, awesome, terrifying and gut-wrenching, Kenya fulfilled my expectations on multiple levels, surprised me half to death (literally!) at every turn and ultimately left me with a (figurative!) bleeding, hippo-sized hole in my heart… and a desire to do something about it.
Pull up a cozy chair, put the kettle on and get ready… it’s story time!
I want to read more. Where’s the rest of your story. I’m on the edge of my seat…
Coming soon! Thank you for reading =)
Oh my… I am excited to hear about your experiences in Kenya. I am a little nervous to go to Africa as a solo female traveller… so thanks for taking one for the team!
You’re so welcome! I was nervous, too!
Oh great… you’re going to write about another fantastic place that I’m going to be dying to go to now! 🙂
🙂
Ooh, looking forward to it…
C’mon already!
Can’t I have a day off?!?! New post coming Monday…
Oh come on, Egypt is still Africa. Visit the south of Egypt (Nubia) and its almost Sudan 😀 People are dark and they barely speak Egyptian Arabic and all their culture is similar to Sudanese!
Plus the Egyptian deserts (Great Sand Sea) and the oases, its not the African jungles but it’s still different, adding to the diversity of Africa 😉
(I am a bit biased when it comes to Egypt(A))