Category: Getting around

Parting is such sweet sorrow. Phooey.

Nora McNamara

Leaving Tonight I leave my family and friends to go back to mmmBELLYmay land. 

I am heartbroken.

Yeah, I know Jesus said "All who have given up home or brothers and sisters or father and mother
or children or land for me will be given a hundred times as much."

Not really consoling me right now.  I know it should, but it isn't.

It reminds me of my reaction to the end of this story where the guy who lost all his kids had more to replace them.  I was like, "Fine, replace the cattle, replace the sheep, replace all the stuff, but you just can't replace the kids.  It's not the same."

Leaving is hard.

Luggage!

Nora McNamara

Lgge
I've always wanted a set of matching luggage, and now I have one!  Perfect for mmmBELLYmay land-they can be thrown into the back of a pickup truck, they keep rain and dust out, and they fold down really nicely.

These plastic bags are the best.  Ok, I don't use them for airplanes anymore, but for everything else, they rock.  And, the whole set cost less than $5.  Anyone else want a set?

Making tracks

Nora McNamara

Tracks
Ok, it's pretty hard to see, but if you look closely, especially if you click on the picture to see it in a separate window, you'll see the muddy tracks coming off the side road behind me, messing up the blacktop.  When I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the proof of having ridden over rugged terrain before getting onto the paved road, I had the strange urge to roar and pound my chest.   I felt strangely proud of the mess I was making on the paved road with my great big manly truck.

Yeah, I know.  Strange.  As my dear friend Chris used to tell me, SMSP.  Simple minds, simple pleasures.

Don't worry, I had a passenger take the picture.  I'm not that simple minded.

Cadeaux

Nora McNamara

Pile Every time I come back from a trip, it's very polite to have inexpensive gifts for all my friends.

I was driving out of Ouagadougou, with just enough time to get home before dark, when I realized that I hadn't bought any gifts.  Oh no!  Catastrophe!

Then I drove past this pile of watermelons.  Watermelons here rock.  They have so much more flavor than the ones in the States.

So, I filled all the empty spaces in the back of my truck and brought watermelons back to mmmBELLYmay land.  They were a big hit.
Friends

You know you’re back in Africa when…

Nora McNamara

Mud
…you have to use 4WD just to get out of your parking space.  You know you're me when you have to pull out the owner's manual because you forgot how to get into 4WD.  Have I blogged yet about how happy I am to be able to switch into it without getting out of the truck and standing in the mud to lock the hubs in the rain?  Well, even if I already did, share my joy again over modern mechanical marvels!

I'm hoping that I'll be able to drive back to mmmBELLYmay land tomorrow, but there's some paperwork that I need to be able to cross the border, so I might be stuck in Ouagadougou for another few days.  Hmmm, hot showers, electricity all day, and air conditioning for only $1.25 an hour…it's going to be hard to tear myself away.