Page 3 of Avila Travel Blog Posts


Africa » South Africa » Gauteng » Pretoria June 24th 2010

June 24th The morning smelled of victory and the evidence was everywhere to be seen. Americans littered the hostel once again, remnants of face paint were left on our faces as we talked about the game over breakfast. The energy that morning was really special and optimism was at a high, everyone was thinking we could make it to the semi finals of the World Cup. After starting out the day I met up with Trevor to venture into Pretoria and buy some essentials for the trip. I planned on buying a tent because the cost of South African dorm rooms were getting ridiculous, $50 for a dorm bed is insane and despicable if you ask me. So we headed for Hatfield and another area called Brooklyn, walking a total of close to 10 kilometers to ... read more
2-Tent city
3-My tent!
4-Chileans being interviewed by ESPN Deports Chile

Africa » South Africa » Gauteng » Pretoria June 22nd 2010

June 22nd Story of my trip so far: Losing things. I’ve lost more things than I can count. A few things really meant a lot to me, but a lot of the other things are just small and luxuries, not necessities. Like my pocket knife or my cell phone, I don’t really NEED them but they are nice to have. So when I realized (as I went through airport security) that I left my cell phone at Kieron’s house I kicked myself once. And when the airport baggage security saw that I had left my pocket knives in my carry on, I lost those, and kicked myself twice! It was almost 2am when I had woken up at the Lanseria Airport, in between Johannesburg and Pretoria. I was tired and a bit grumpy and when I ... read more
2-The tower in the city center
3-This way to the stadium!
4-Loftus Versfeld World Cup Stadium

Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Cape Town June 21st 2010

June 21st I woke up in an apartment I didn’t recognize and it took me a second or two to figure out that I had slept on Kieron's couch and not in a tent! After having some tea Kieron gave me a ride back to the hostel so I could meet up with them and spend the day hanging out with them. Also it was the day that Farron and Nicio were going out to the Greenpoint Stadium to watch Portugal take on North Korea in the group stages of the World Cup. After the two of them came back from breakfast the five of us headed down Long Street, the main drag of Cape Town. A quick stop at Luke and Hayley’s rental apartment and then we were all in a minivan taxi on our ... read more
2-Farron and Nicio heading for their seats
3-Crowds outside Cape Town Stadium
4-First view of the stadium

Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Cape Town June 20th 2010

June 20th The last day in the truck. The last day on the tour with African Trails. What a long journey and amazing journey it has been. I can’t believe it’s already been 7 weeks, it seems like yesterday I was at Karen Camp in Nairobi meeting Farron and Nico, Xuxa and Rachael. I guess the saying is true, time flies when you’re having a blast! My day started as most did with African Trails, a cup of hot tea while wiping the sleep from my eyes. We all jumped on the truck, albeit a bit behind schedule, and headed for Cape Town. Most of the drive I avoided thinking about it being my last time driving in our mobile home, I sat with Mitch in my lap and a beanie that Nicio had given me ... read more
2-Entering Cape Town, Table Mountain in the background
3-After finishing sowing Mitch together
4-Ashanti, our final destination

Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Stellenbosch June 18th 2010

June 18th Woke up in the morning feelin’ like a drank a gallon of wine the night before..but that’s probably because I did. The first hour was a bit brutal but I think I found a new cure to a hangover, washing dishes! Only kidding but it wasn’t as bad as it sounds, I promise. After everyone had managed to get some food in their stomachs and pay off their bar tabs, we packed our things in the truck for what would be one of our last drives in the truck. The whole valley we drove through on our way to Stellenbosch was incredible, the landscape was like nothing I’ve ever seen. We passed vineyard after vineyard and lake after lake. At one point we drove through a pass and out of the valley. In the ... read more
2-Wine Farms of Highlanders
3-Roses and wine
4-One for my Mommy!

Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Nature's Valley June 17th 2010

June 17th Breakfast supplies were on low and to top it off there wasn’t a lot of gas left so it was another morning of tea and oatmeal. While the group was having their breakfast we had found a small size soccer ball to kick about and we had a good laugh trying to shoot it into each others tents while we were taking them down. After leaving Felix Unite (our campsite on the Orange River) we headed for South Africa, the border being 10 minutes away. We stamped out of Namibia and while Farron took care of the paperwork for his truck we kicked around the football some more. After getting our South Africa stamps we kicked it about again until Luke lobbed it over the fence and into no man’s land! I jumped in ... read more
2-Goooooo USA!
3-The quick drive to South Africa
4-Crossing the river into South Africa

Africa » Namibia » Fish River Canyon June 15th 2010

June 15th It was the normal morning routine for us before we left with me on dish duty, Kelly and David had let me off of cleaning up the night before so I could watch the rest of the Italy versus Paraguay match. So after the dishes were scrubbed and the tents were packed away we jumped in the truck and headed towards South Africa. The terrain had changed after the first hour and it wasn’t the most interesting or intriguing of drives. The sleep was contagious as the land passed us by, mostly flat plains without much wildlife to see. After a few hours went by we had reached a small one horse town to stretch our legs and empty out bladders. I stayed on as truck security and had my lunch while the rest ... read more
2-After turning Mitch into a hat
3-On our way to the Naute Dam
4-Strange coffee shop adverts!

Africa » Namibia » Sossusvlei June 14th 2010

June 14th After four days of waking up when we liked, getting up at 5am was quite the chore. But we did it and got our things loaded in record time, and the truck left Swakopmund on time at 6am. Right behind us was the African Travel Co. overland truck, another group of passengers but on a sub par version of the trip we are on. (African Trails Rocks!). In all seriousness there are many other overland truck companies, Dragoman, Nomad, GAP Adventures, the list goes on and on. Most of the other trucks are filled with 20 or more people and our small group of eleven aren’t envious of them at all, we’re a pretty tight knit group and being smaller allows us to get to know eachother pretty well. One of the main reasons ... read more
2-Going through the Kuiseb Pass
3-After going through the pass
4-The Tropic of Capricorn

Africa » Namibia » Swakopmund June 12th 2010

June 12th What a day we had in store for us! Everyone in the group apart from Wendy had signed up to go sandboarding and we all looked forward to it in high anticipation. After having a huge breakfast we piled into the van that would take us to the sand dunes about 15 minutes outside Swakopmund. We met the owner and creator of sandboarding in Swakopmund, a woman named Beth who was originally from San Francisco. She is a really nice lady and very knowledgeable about the area, having been there for 17 years. Before we knew it we were at the sand dunes and mesmerized by the size and quantity of them. We all got our gear situated, basically regular snowboards and boots. We were also very lucky, the weather was on our side ... read more
2-Luke and I
3-Pretty big sand dunes to climb!
4-Sandboarding dunes!

Africa » Namibia » Swakopmund June 10th 2010

June 10th Sleeping on the truck sounds like such a great idea before you goto bed, and it really is, but the sacrifice is waking up in the morning covered in morning dew. It’s not the most pleasant, it’s cold and wet and you don’t feel like you’re going ever be dry again. So after a semi-miserable morning wake up we sat around the remnants of the fire and tried warming up with tea and toast while talking about what the day had in store for us. To make the morning that much more…experience-filled the truck was stuck in the sand again. That meant that Farron, Nicio, Luke and I got a thick layer of sand on us to compliment the morning dew that was still drying. No big deal though, just not ideal morning labor ... read more
2-The road ahead to the Skeleton Coast
3-The scenery just got better and better
4-Namibia




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