Years ago I traveled through southern Africa with my sister. After college she spent a year teaching in rural South Africa, and she plotted out a four-month backpacking trip for the two of us to undertake afterwards. We started in Cape Town – the southern tip of the continent – and traveled north to Nairobi, Kenya. Along the way we adventured as only a 21- and 23-year old can… rafting the Zambezi River, horseback riding in LeSotho, learning SCUBA in Lake Malawi, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.
During our four months we sisters traversed 3500 miles. We took buses; we rode in tiny, overcrowded shared vans called “combis”... and we hitchhiked. Once we rented a car. We carried a guide book (I think?) and tattered maps, and we followed our course. Looking back twenty years later, it seems crazy – even slightly impossible – but we did it. {And it was amazing - endless props to my sister.}
I thought about that trip a lot this summer as I navigated Space Available air travel for the first time. We’re privileged to be allowed to sometimes fly this way from our home in Crete, riding in military planes with vacant space to accomodate passengers. The cost is miniscule - a fantastic perk for large families.
Read More