A young Congolese man reached for my hand, as I climbed off the boat and onto dry land. I looked left, looked right, my driver was missing. I turned to the ranger, “Il est quelle heure?” He yelled into the crowd, a woman responded, “dix.” It was 10:00 a.m., and I was standing on the shores of Lake Kivu, drenched to the bone, having just fallen in on the ride from Tchegera.
I watched and waited as fishermen unloaded their catch and locals swarmed the market. All ages, shapes and sizes, humming about as the clouds moved in and the sky turned dark. Within minutes, the rain started to fall and the thunder roared, with nowhere to go.
The ranger radioed ahead – nothing. Although we were scheduled to part ways, he opted to stay, even though I assured him that it was okay. Despite the storm, I was drawing a crowd; he wanted me off the road, and quickly. Three police officers eventually emerged and signaled to follow. Where was my driver, and why didn’t he come for me?
We entered a small post with standing room only. The air was thick and muggy, and smelled of body odor and stale smoke. I counted thirteen men, fifteen guns, two machetes, only one smile, and zero chance of leaving any time soon.
Thunder and lightning lit up the sky and we all stayed quiet. Through a small crack in the door, I could make out the occasional vehicle off in the distance, but hopes were quickly washed away at the flash of their emblems, mostly UN. After three very long hours, the ranger turned and confirmed what I already knew: my driver wasn’t coming. Fantastic.
And that’s when it hit me – next time it’s two. No haggling alone, no pantomiming alone. No waiting, eating, sleeping, and suffocating on long bus rides alone. Nope. I’ve loved every minute of it, but it’s time for a change… at least temporarily.
Once home, though… time passed, seasons changed, and the idea of company slowly faded away. As I looked ahead, my thoughts were with many countries and I strongly considered Jordan, Ethiopia, and the possibility of attempting Egypt once more. But something inside kept leading me back to Sri Lanka… back to that island in the Indian Ocean.
And before long, my dream was put into play, as I started my travel preparations for another lovely adventure as one.
