story so far

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I started this blogg for family and friends, but as I've given it out to a few people who don't know me well and I'm sure to many more as I travell. I thought that I would bring new friends up to date.

My name is Justin lowry, though many know me as Willie and anyone who met me in Africa know me as Irish.

I am single, no kids, almost a non smoker and I like a drink or two.

I was born in Belfast, N.Ireland on 12 april 1974 and lived there untill Iwas 18, I then moved to Luton to Study and after three years back to Belfast for a year. At 22 I discovered I had itchy feet and had to get abroad, I moved to Spain and lived there nearly 5 years. First in Malaga where I worked in bars and then down the coast to Marbella where I bought a bar. O'Willies Irish Whiskey Tavern (where the name Willie comes from). After 4 years in Marbella I had itchy feet again and went on an overland trip from Kenya to Capetown. An amazing, life changing trip. When it finally ended I was a bit lost as I had nowhere to go. So I hitched lifts back up to Nairobi to see if I could find work on the oveland trucks. After a week in Nairobi I learnt that this is almost impossible and I am by no means the first to try. But as luck would have it I ran into a guy who I met in Vic Falls. After a serious night out on the town he decided to phone london office of Bukima and get me work. Sure enough I was to start 1 week later. I went on to work for Bukima for 1 1/2 years. On the first day of the first trip I was christened Irish, a name that stuck, infact the only name I would sign on all documents in Africa.

After 1 1/2 years of overlanding I needed a break, Africa overland is great, but after a while some of the pain in the arse passangers get on your nerves. If anyone ever goes on a trip remember those tour leaders and drivers do back to back trips and have to deal with a lot of plonkers and stupid group polotics, thak god for alcohol. Anyway I went back to Belfast and as life tends to do unless you are carefull, I got pulled into the rat race and started a business and bought a house. After a few years I knew I had to go back to Africa to find myself, I had worked out that I must have left myself somewhere in East Africa.

After boring most people around me to death over the last year with my grand plans to return to Africa. I finally made the decision. So I sold everything I had, researched as much as possible and on 6th Feb I am off to start a new life in Tanzania.

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