Dont get hit by a shooting star

So i believe the trick to good blogging is honesty. There is no point in me writing about an 'awesome' trip thats not happening. Thats boring - no one is interested in fluff. So here is honesty. I was nervous about this trip. Seriously nervous. For those that know me averagely well, you will know that im not exactly iron man. So cycling up Southern Africa is quite scary. Like Seriously scary.

From the moment i left Afrika Burns i had this uneasy feeling in my stomach. Nerves, fear, thoughts of regret. We spent four days driving from Cape Town to Blom, to Joberg and to the Komatipoort on the Moz border. And the feeling wasnt going away. The honest truth is that i was shit scared of what we had decided to embark on. I had spent so much time getting gear together and saving money that i hadnt actually thought about what we were setting out on. Was i in over my head?

On Wednesday morning we left SA, crossed the border (only costing us R10 for a peice of paper and 30 minutes), and drove another grueling day to Tofu. We found a backpackers, set up camp and cracked a bottle of Tipo TInto to unwind. Then over dinner for the first time, we began to speak about the route, the plans, the method to this madness. The three of us huddeled round the map book and scoured our lonely planet (which is in German for some reason), and started the make our plans.

Im not sure if it was the Rhum or the planning, but for the first time in days, my stomach began to feel like my own again. That day off started of at 6 am in Makatipoort on the South African side of the Mozambiquan border and ended at 3am in a heaving moz hut club in Tofu, doing the chicken and bumping and grinding to amazing afro house. And the journey had begun.

Since then we have been living the dream. Flying our two handed kite on the white beaches and body surfing waves in the blue blue sea. We have been cooking great rice and veggie meals for dinner and eating freshly baked bread with avos the size of my head for breakfast. We walk through markets, talk shit to locals, play with dogs in the sand.Throw a few cool British doctors and a delicious, foul mouthed traveler with a red dress and a smile that could kill a unicorn into the mix, and things are not going too badly at all.

So we start cycling on Sunday. Right now im sitting in an internet cafe in Inhambane, we are in town to pick up a few supplies which we will need for the road. Five kilos of rice. New peddles for my bike, because the ones i had didnt fit (maybe i should have stuck to Barnetts bike guy). A bucket for washing dishes. We just bought a massive Baracuda and tonight we braai for a bunch of people. Then tomorrow we pack bags, surf and sun. And Sunday we hit the wide open road towards Maxixa.

The nerves are almost gone, the vibe is good and the excitement for the journey ahead builds with the sight of every palm tree. But its a long road ahead, so we will see where this honesty thing takes us next.

I miss you all and love the messages and good words.

Big love,
Big Eazy. (we have all taken on Moz names - Big Easy, Julian Jellybean and Ricky Pots and Pans)

ETA: Fish braai in 30 mins