When I posted about Itchy Boots' adventures in early February, she was in the Central African Republic. Since then she made her way across several other countries, and finally concluded her ride, but not in the way anyone hoped. Here is the final post about her trip.
February 5, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, 15, 28
We watched episodes 79-86 which were in the Central African Republic, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, and Angola
While crossing a river in the dark, Alaska fell in the water. A mechanic took 3 or 4 hours to fix it in the dark. (ep. 80)
Interesting to see Noraly wait over an hour for gas and for her to ride on the nice Chinese-built road (ep. 81). In order to avoid the Democratic Republic of Congo, Noraly sailed around it into Angola which was very nice and had cheap gas. In Angola, her motorcycle got a nice service. Noraly enjoyed how the locals called her amiga, but felt old when the kids called her tia even though she said she was an "auntie." (ep. 84). Angola is a lovely country with a huge waterfall especially in this rainy season, and a rushing river.
March 3, 6, 10, 13, 18, 20, 24, 27, 31
We watched episodes 87-95 which were in Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia (airport and hotel only), and Madagascar
Noraly was frightened to be caught in a thunderstorm with lots of lightning, but in the next episode she continued on to the border with Zambia crossing some sketchy wooden bridges. We laughed at pigs enjoying the mud puddles in the middle of the road. She also rode through thick sand before reaching the border (ep. 88).
I enjoyed the nice people in Lusaka (ep. 90) and the wild animals on the safari in Zambia (ep. 91). Noraly decided to fly to Madagascar where she rented a KTM Enduro bike in order to explore some of the paths. She also took along a guide, Didier, for most of this visit. There were many rough roads, but the scenery was pretty. She mentioned being there during hurricane or cyclone season.
April 3, 7, 10, 17, 21, 27, 28
We watched episodes 96-103 which were in Madagascar
During a nighttime forest walk, we saw some lemurs and giant snails. (ep. 96). Noraly's Enduro bike did well in the sand, but her guide had a Chinese bike which made the trails tough, and he ended up falling quite a bit. (I read a comment that he was given that bike because all of the other Enduro bikes were rented for an event taking place around this time.) I enjoyed the children Noraly saw around episode 100, and absolutely loved her time with the fishermen and videoing them underwater (ep. 101). In episode 102, Noraly traded bikes to a vintage African Twin due to her being more on tarmac as she rode towards the capital. Also, she said goodbye to Didier who guided her throughout her Madagascar adventure near the western areas.
May 1, 5, 8, 12, 15, 19, 22
We watched episodes 104-110 which were in Madagascar, Malawi, Tanzania, and the Netherlands
Noraly declared Madagascar to be one of her top 5 countries after having visited over 100. She ended her time there with food poisoning that left her racing for her destination in order to leave the country. Back in Malawi, she was reunited with her bike, Alaska, and we saw beautiful views and a huge lake. She was also able to meet up with her best friend Mandy who was visiting Malawi at the time. Unfortunately Noraly left her rain jacket at the last place she stayed, and because the roads were tricky, she decided to not go back for it. One day she saw local college students out fixing the road (ep. 108).
Unfortunately in Tanzania, something happened that caused her trip to end abruptly. She was going to tour Tanzania and end her journey in Kenya, but things didn't go as planned (episode 109.) In the final episode she told everyone about her rescue, leaving Tanzania, and her surgery and recovery prospects. The surgeon punctured her lung during surgery and they didn't realize it so she's also dealing with a collapsed lung. Note to self: the x-ray in Tanzania indicated that her crash was on April 17th. Based on other things she said, I think her surgery was in early May. It was rather emotional seeing Alaska loaded up. Noraly has already said she is getting a new bike for her next adventure. Alaska carried her through many states, provinces, and countries.
I really enjoyed her time in Africa, and look forward to seeing where she goes next! I hope she rests this summer and heals, and we'll see her on YouTube again in coming months.
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