Goodbye (Blue Sky)

My island! I will be staying at the one to the left.

 23.05.12 Bergen, Norway

So, this is where the story ends. I have arrived safely in Bergen, the city where the whole adventure started, and I have even brought the good Weather. The drive from Germany to Oslo was cold and fairly unpleasing, but could have been worse. I did at least not have any rain. In Oslo I spend three days at my sister’s place, playing with my nephews and looking at the capital with Mparany.

On the 18^th of may I set of for a last small journey. I drove to Bergen, sleeping on a beautiful place in the forest close to Gol. The Weather was also not too bad, even if it was cold, especially over the mountains where I suspect that the temperature was around zero degrees Celsius.

Being back in Bergen is just fantastic. Yes, there are things about Norway I don’t like, and I will get bored eventually, but right now, it is just good to be back in a place where I have a network of friends and activities. I have been living with Trygve until tonight, but will move to my island tomorrow, having organized a boat today (or to be fair, Henning organized it for me). I would like to mention Andreas Støland, a good mate, who was a bit forgotten on the last post. He skyped with me regularly during the trip, and talking to him meant a great deal, so thanks for that, Andreas.

My plans for the summer is to work at Troldhaugen, a museum on Edvard Grieg, while living on a small island located only some minutes rowing from work. I will be living in a tent, but plan to build some kind of shelter to keep my stuff dry. If anyone would like to visit me on my island, they are very welcome. I will actually get a visitor all the way from America. Sonia, whom I met in Uganda, will be coming over very soon, so that’s something I look a lot forward too. When fall comes, I will be looking for some other job, and a place to stay.

Next sprig I intend to head off for some adventure again, but just what it’s going to be is unsure. I will come back to this when the time comes.

Everyone here asks me these questions of highlights and favorite country, and it is immensely hard to answer partly because I’m not much of a story-teller, and partly because Croatia is very different from Congo and Turkey from South-Africa. The country that left most stories, and was the scariest in many ways was Southern Sudan, but all the countries had things that made them special. In fact the only country I would not recommend you to go is Egypt. Zambia is a bit boring, but then again it was raining when I was there.

What I keep from this trip, rather than the great palaces, landscapes or monuments is the experience of traveling alone. It is an experience that I found really good. If you’re scared it is no good, but if you’re not, you get the possibility to dive into yourself. I feel like I have grown a lot, and become more radical in many ways. I guess that a soul lives a lot on new experiences, and traveling like that is just new experiences every day.

So, this is the end of the blog for this time. I will need to give you a last Pink Floyd wisdom today:

“Look Mummy, there’s no cloud up in the sky”

My camping-spot close to Gol

Mparany with Jakob

Colorful girls in Quedlinburg 

Sophie, my sister

Somewhere in Sweden. 

Markus!

Breathe Reprise

 12.05.12 Bernstein (Marktredwitz), Germany

There is not very much to report about this week. I arrived here at my grandparents place tired but safely and on time on Sunday. Monday was my days of rest, while the rest of the week has been spend primarily in the garden, planting, watering, grafting and just looking at the trees and flowers, talking with my grandmother. Apart from the garden I have done some renovation-work in the house. We are at the moment in the destruction-process, so I have had the pleasure of taking apart furniture, removing wallpaper and so on.

It’s been a fairly good week with plenty of good weather. This place in Germany has been a constant in my life. We have come here every summer as long as I can remember, so there is always something special about coming here. There is a peace and sleepiness here that I enjoy, at the same time as I have the slight feeling of not doing anything, getting filled by stuff I don’t support, like TV. Anyways, I recon I should enjoy and relish the opportunity to still be with my grandparents. They are getting old. 

This is most likely not of interest for the most of you though, so I’ll get to the main thing in this post. It is time to think about all the people that have made this trip such a success. First and foremost (and traditionally/boringly) I thank God for keeping me safe and healthy. Also I would like to thank all of those that have prayed for me during these months.

Secondly I would like to thank the people that helped me in the preparation of the journey. Patrick and Dani, who are the reason I got Wombosi, and also have been available on the phone whenever I have had a car-related question. You have made a big difference to my trip, giving me a sense of security, knowing that help is there any time of day. My grandparents, who not just supported with money, but also helped me packing and organizing, and my father who sponsored the car and the deposit for the CdP and more.

A big thanks goes to the visitors I have had, starting with Trygve in Bulgaria and Turkey, Wiebke later on in Turkey, Roger in too many countries to mention, Mparany in Namibia and Daddy on the final part from Windhoek to Durban/Johannesburg. Having you with me certainly made a difference. I hope you enjoyed it as I did.

I have met too many people along the road to mention (or remember) all, but I would like to thank you all. Most notably my mates in Istanbul (Turkey) for a good conversation, Ragnhild and her friends in Amman (Jordan) for a bed, pizza civilized conversation etc , Said in Cairo (Egypt), Ahmed and Islam in Aswan (Egypt), giving me a safe place to live for amazing two weeks. The group that crossed the lake Nasser with me, Jeldau and Michael, the Danes and the bikers, and of course Jeremy, who not just was a great support in the crossing and in Wadi-Halfa, but whom I had the pleasure of meeting over ten times in total, surviving grim Sudanese “police”, carrying the bike in Wombosi, waiting for Congolese visa and experiencing the power of the weather in Tanzania.

Thanks to my family in Addis giving me a good Christmas. The friendly man in Boma (South-Sudan) who was like a salvation for me and Roger coming out of the wilderness after two days of sweating in forty degrees, who gave us a place to camp for free where we had showers and all. Margo who hosted us in Juba (South-Sudan) and Ekke and Hendrik who did the same in Kampala (Uganda). Sonia and the other girls in Kisoro (Uganda), giving us a different evening with singing and playing and conversing for hours. Jack in Kigali (Rwanda), letting us camp on his lawn. Monde with family in Lusaka (Zambia) not just letting me sleep on their grounds, but spending the evening together with me around the campfire. Morne in Ongwediva (Namibia) for having me around his office for a whole week. Tracy being very friendly and helpful in Durban (south-Africa). Thank you all for the kindness that you have shown.

I think that also my friend Jørgen (Haaland) deserves to be mentioned. If there would be some kind of best blog-reader/commenter-prize, this prize would certainly go to you Jørgen. Also, thanks to the rest of you reading this blog. Sharing my experiences and knowing that someone cares has maybe been more important to me than to anyone.

All of you that have been forgotten here are remembered. This is the second to last Post. I will give you a last report in a Week when I am back in Bergen, before this blog takes a break for some time, until there is some other crazy adventure coming up.

Time

Big aloe...

...and small aloe in bloom

 05.05.2012 Johannesburg International Airport, South-Africa

This is the last post coming over from Africa. Yesterday was a sad goodbye to Wombosi. He was put in a container, waiting for the vessel taking him to Madagascar in a week or two. I don’t know how he felt about it, but I’m going to miss him a bit. I’ve lived in him and driven him every day for the last eight months, and he has really been a good partner. It’s a bit hard to put words on the feeling I am carrying at the moment. It’s a bit sad to suddenly be finished in Africa. I have had such a good time, and have no regrets using a year of my life (if including the time I used earning the money) for this trip.

At the same time I am glad I had such a good time. There are so many things that can go wrong on an overland-trip through Africa (or anywhere), and I feel happy about the achievement of having managed to come through it all so well. It’s nothing I take much I take pride in myself. It is much about luck. Sickness and disease that often can ruin a trip is nothing I control, and damage on the car as well. Imagine I have had zero punctures during the 43 000 kilometers I have been doing with Wombosi. There is plenty to be thankful for, but I will do the thanking when the trip is really over. Today I have a fascinating week to report about, so I better get started.

After having posted last week we went straight to the border between South-Africa (ZA) and Botswana. At first, coming to ZA felt like coming to Namibia with big farms and fences and no people, but after some hours things changed. ZA is a country of huge contrasts. Nothing I have seen so far can compare. It is not just the contrast between “black” and “white”, but the huge contrast between rich and poor, clean and dirty etc. It’s not like being white means that you are rich and live in the clean “sorted” part of town. Amongst the beggars you find people of both colors and among the rich also. Towns seem to have a “tourist-area” with malls, banks, very clean paved roads, but then they also seem to have a back-side, a part of town where no one ever comes, where the streets are full of garbage and dirt, and ragged people wander along (and you probably better not stop your vehicle, and keep your doors locked).

On the first evening we intended to sleep in a town now named Polokwane. As the road was long, it was well after dark before we got there, and then we stumbled right into the back-side of town, and I must admit that both I and my father were slightly shocked. That night we ended up in a rather expensive hotel, because searching for a place to sleep in a big town where you’ve never been and have no map of, it being dark and all is not too easy.

The following morning we cruised out of town, and headed to the Blyde-River-Canyon, a beautiful piece of nature. The landscape is very mountainous and green, even though much of the forest is planted monocultures of pine. The next two days consisted hugely of driving. ZA is big, so even with good roads it takes time. We mainly staid in backpacker-places but wild-camped one night without being eaten or killed in any other way.

We arrived in Durban on Tuesday-afternoon, the first of May. We had two missions in Durban, and did not look too much forward to either of them. As “everything” on this trip, though, things turned out to go much better than expected. Not only did we get our tasks done in a satisfying way, we actually also enjoyed Durban.

The first task was to get Wombosi in a good shape for Madagascar. Finding a suitable garage took us half a day, but when we had found one, the service was excellent, the people competent, and even if it made me many rand poorer, I am very happy with the work they did. The main issue was the brakes, which really made a terrible noise the last 5000 kilometers, and were hard to drive with. Now Wombosi brakes like a goddess. There were also a couple of minor issues that were dealt with, so I think Wombosi will arrive in Madagascar almost as good as he was when I bought him in Germany back in September.

The second task was of course the shipping, and it turned out to be really easy. Tracy, the lady from the shipping-company had everything prepared and ready, so all it took was a short meeting, customs taking two minutes and putting the car into a container.

As things went so well, we had time to drink coffee, stroll along the beach, visit the botanical garden and take the cable-car to the top of the stadium. The time with my father has been very good all over, and especially in Durban it was very good to not be alone. I am happy he could join.

Friday after having said goodbye to Wombosi the waiting started. After the waiting we took a night-bus arriving at the airport here in Johannesburg ten to five. Then the waiting continued. My father left around noon, my flight is at eight-thirty.

Now I have written a lot. Africa is over for this time. The trip is not all over yet though. I will pick up my bike in Germany, and finish as I started, driving back to Norway. Today is time for some more Pink Floyd wisdom. Youngsters get out there and do something. You won’t regret it!

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain 
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today 
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you 
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

Not everyone lives in a villa in South-Africa

View over the Blyde-River-Canyon

In Durban botanical garden

Zulu-Rickshaw in Durban

Durban city. Note the fancy stadium to the right

Fall in South-Africa

Farewell and goodbye

Durban skate-park