Brushing off the cobwebs...

So I am back from South Africa!! 

Holy guacamole it was genuinely life-changing. And I am not just saying that because that is what everybody says when they come back from 'travelling' anywhere. But it really did change my life.

*Cliché alert*

I know that when people return from trips abroad with friends they come out with all these phrases that I am about to say, and before I came home, I thought that they were all generic, no originality and surely couldn't accurately represent the trip. Now I realise that the reason that such phrases exist, is not because those speaking them are uninventive with their vocabulary, but more because sometimes even the most dedicated wordsmith can find no words to describe the beauty of the scenes laid before them.

The sights I have seen are beyond beautiful/stunning/miraculous/majestic. This trip did change my life, and gave me (what I now see was much needed) perspective. Not just on my life, but on people and their aspirations and the importance of having an open mind - and so much more besides. I will do a proper post on South Africa though, for now, all I will say is (I warned you) it was:

• life-changing
• inspirational
• an adventure
• an emotional journey
• pure laughter
• confidence-boosting
• skill building
• incredible
• made friends for life
• sensational views
• reverberations
• investment in myself

I will stop there, as the last one was a BIT much even for me. I will finish by leaving you with Ibn Battuta's words (the Medieval traveller and scholar) who beautifully captured the essence of my trip by saying “Travelling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”