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NOMADIC LIFESTYLE, EARTH, United States
After getting my first passport in 2006 and traveling to climb Kilimanjaro in Tanzania my life changed. I began the process of getting rid of all my possessions and traveling the world. Traveling to over 125 countries and all 7 continents, hostels have been my home. This "new life" has taught me what is important and it was NOT accumulating money or possessions. Traveling is the best education. I hope my blog will encourage others to travel. My World Tattoo was a way for me to express my PASSION FOR TRAVEL.

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LESOTHO

Left the amphitheater Lodge for a day tour of Lesotho, the highest country in the world according to its lowest elevation of 3200 feet. It is completely surrounded by South Africa and one of the poorest countries in the world.

We stopped at the border to receive our visa stamp and then preceded down a horrible dirt and rock road to a school house that had recently been built. The nearest school before they started this school was over 100 miles. Before the building was built they used to have classes under a big tree even in the winter when there was snow on the ground. (I guess snow days were not a good thing for children then)  We went to the classroom and spoke with the children. Only 4 out of 8 children have an opportunity to go to high school and only 2 out of those 4 have an opportunity to go to the university. The families must pay for high school. We then hiked up to view the beauty of the back of the amphitheater Mountain and surrounding valleys and mountains of Lesotho. 

Then we hiked down to a village where we tasted local beer which was made and fermented for 4-5 days. Not bad. Then we visited a local medicine who uses local herbs to help simple illnesses and uses basic first aid. Lastly, we visited some locals who gave us some of the local dishes to try. I tried it but not really my thing but most really liked it.   

























SOUTH AFRICA, Drakensberg Mountains


Drakensberg Mountains

2/14-2/17

My most anticipated stop on the route from Cape Town to Johannesburg, the Drakensberg Mountains. Our home for these 3 nights was the highly recommended Amphitheater Lodge. It was beautiful but not in the mountains but at the base instead. The first tour involved going to the small but highest country in the world, Lesotho. It is the highest country because its lowest elevation is 1000 meters (3200 feet). It is completely surrounded by South Africa. We drove up to the border, got our visa stamp and headed to a local school to meet the teachers and children. Afterwards we hiked for 1.5 hours up to view the back of the Amphitheater Mountain and surrounding valleys. Then we hiked down to a local village where we drank the local beer that had been fermented for 5 days. Okay. Then we visited a local medicine man and had some local food. Enjoyable day.

The next tour involved hiking to the highest waterfall in Africa , the Tugela Falls which fall for 3100 feet, claimed to be second highest in the world. We began our day of hiking in the rain and it rain, not hard but constant, for the entire 5 hrs. We finally made it to our summit of 3121 meters or about 10,000 feet and were able to stand near the top of the falls. Unfortunately we were not able to see but a few hundred feet of the falls. The highlight or low light of the trip was when we had to climb down 2 steel ladders in the rain on the edge of a cliff. The first one was about 25 feet and while scary, it was not too imposing. However, the second one was 75 feet long on the side of a very steep cliff. The only other way to get back down was to go all the way back by yourself. Not really sure how I did it but concentrated on the moment and making sure my feet and hands were secure at all times. Did I mention it was still raining.  

















SOUTH AFRICA, Durban (Aquarium, largest in Africa)


Durban, South Africa


February 13, 2013

Spent the night in Durban on a mandatory Baz Bus stop. Durban is one of the largest cities in South Africa with a large Indian population. Beautiful beaches and the largest aquarium in Africa, which I took advantage of. The aquarium that housed all of the sea animals was built inside a huge ship that now on land and had been refitted to house the aquarium. The outside venues included stadium pools for dolphin shows and seal shows. There were also other exhibits such as the penguins.