Lish Earnest

New chapter announcement: I’m giving up working to travel the world indefinitely ✈️ follow along!! ❤️💃🏻 YouTube: Lish Earnest (@ lishalive)

🇮🇹 To everyone who has ever responded to me saying “I just haven’t liked big cities in Italy” by saying “have you been to Rome tho? Rome is different” to which I’d say “ok fine I’ll give it a chance”……. U were right Between this and the Vatican I’ve got the “eat” and “pray” part of this trip down pretty good… 👀

🇻🇦 We’re calling this chapter the “EuroMay micro-state run” (I’m liking this concept of “chapters” for my travels if you can’t tell) Somewhere between 15-hour minibus number 3 and 4 in Malawi, I decided I deserved a treat this summer. And what does “treat” mean to me? European high speed trains between weird, small countries 😍😍 Really though I completely underestimated how incredible St. Peters Basilica would be. The travel might be more “comfortable” for now, but the awe of this world remains breathtaking ❤️

When I flew from Oslo to Windhoek in January, I figured I’d probably stay in Africa for a month, head to South Africa and fly out to continue elsewhere. Thank god I met so many amazing people along the way that informed my journey and pushed me to explore much more than I ever thought I would. Several people have told me along the way “once you’ve backpacked Africa, everything else will feel easy.” I can definitely feel that now and can’t wait to see what my experiences here have taught me ❤️ Here are some (VERY ROUGHLY) summarized highs and lows! (Disclaimer: these are impressions from my own, very limited, subjective experience and they are NOT meant to represent these places as a whole. I decided to share the good AND the bad, as anything else would be fake af 🌍❤️) See you on the next continent! (also I promise I own more than 1 dress) (also also if you saw the typos…… no u didn’t) #africa #backpacking #solotravel #overlandingafrica #backpackingafrica

🗻 Kilimanjaro, Uhuru Peak 5895m: the tallest peak in Africa and the highest free standing mountain in the world Thinking back about summit night, I still can’t understand that I did it. The hike started at 23:00, to reach summit at 7:15. 8 hours with no light, no sound, just the crunching of gravel as I walked slower than I ever have, struggling to breathe, unable to talk. I want to be honest about what went into this summit. My body did NOT handle the altitude well. This picture was taken in the ONE minute my guide allowed me to stand at the top, before putting me on oxygen and immediately descending, calling for a car to pick me up and ending the hike a day early. I took all the precautions, chose a 7-day route with gradual acclimatisation, went for acclimatisation hikes every day, and took Diamox. Still, you can never underestimate the mountain. If you’re thinking about attempting Kilimanjaro, it’s worth the extra money to choose a reputable, experienced company with well trained (and well paid!!) porters and guides that have all the necessary medications and equipment with them. Your life could quite literally be in their hands at some point. I can highly recommend Altezza, the were a fantastic choice for getting up and down the mountain safely ❤️

Kilimanjaro Days 1-4: en route to the roof of Africa The situation I found myself in felt insane. I had a crew of 12 men for just me, assisting my journey up through 5 different climate zones to summit the iconic volcano. It felt so weird at first - I was supposed to be with a group of hikers, not doing this alone. That feeling changed quickly. Many things on this journey changed quickly. I’m still working on processing it all, and I probably will be for a while. But one night moved me in particular. At sunset I sat at 3600m, looking out over Kenya from my campsite on the north side of the mountain. To be concise, the wonder of this mountain hit me - to have all this, to experience it at all, made me feel like the luckiest person on the face of the earth, alone or not. I figured I’d cry when I reached the summit, I didn’t figure that the tears of joy would begin already on night 2. The first 4 days were easy hikes, with short distances focusing on adjusting to the elevation gain. Honestly, it was starting to feel like a walk in the park, literally. Unfortunately, this comfort made me quite the trusting and unsuspecting target for the intensity that summit night had in store. Little did I know what was coming…

🇹🇿 Wow. The madness of the TAZARA. Where do I even start. Maybe the 15 hours of waiting on the Mbeya train station floor? The 6-bunk room with a smashed out window I squeezed into when my room reservation “didn’t exist”? The impressive 37 hour delay arriving in Dar? The fact that it got me sick again? Or the fantastic people I met during this insanity? Buying samosas through the windows from street vendors in the tiny towns we passed through? Sharing a beer with new friends as we sped past a family of elephants in Nyerere national park? I’d like to say that seeing Tanzania by train was a dream come true - and it was… but maybe more like one of those strange dreams that blurs the line between fantasy and nightmare, and leaves you confused and disoriented as you wake up Let’s just say, I can’t WAIT to put together the video on this one and share the story 😆 (Which, in reality will be a while bc I’m very behind lolll)

🇲🇼 At the beginning of my travels, several people told me “Africa is one of the most challenging places for backpacking, but also the most rewarding.” I don’t think I really felt this… until Malawi After a rough 3-day speed run from Livingstone to Lake Malawi (where I got scammed at the border even though I KNEW about the exchange rate situation 🙄), I found myself sick at a flooded lodge with no electricity or drinking water, only accessible by kayak through water with hippos and crocodiles (where I think I also got scammed by the owner…) Malawi was intense. But it also gave me the most real and authentic experiences of this trip so far. I felt constantly scammed, unwell, and the transportation systems (little chicken mini busses for 15 hours at a time) were a challenge to navigate. I was also constantly stressed about money due to the currency situation. At the same time, it was the safest place I’d traveled so far, I was invited home by people I’d just met for home cooked meals, and jammed out with locals blasting music in the busses - not to mention it was absolutely gorgeous. The “warm heart of Africa” took me off the tourist path and into its chaotic, friendly arms. I’d been complaining that nothing much “exciting” (good or bad) had happened on my trip so far. I guess Malawi heard this and said “ok then, watch this!” #malawi #africa #backpacking #solobackpacking #backpackingafrica

Livingstone - other than vic falls 🇿🇲 Note: the overwhelming terror of the Zambezi rapids. Also train museum!!!!! 🚂

Now, you may think this is a series of pictures of rainbows. However, if you look carefully in the background, you’ll notice that there’s actually a very big waterfall there as well

Animals and sights of Chobe and Nata 🇧🇼 #kasane #botswana #chobe #nata #safari

Namibia Part I is up on YouTube! 🇳🇦Link in profile (Also apparently you can’t post a video as a normal post on insta anymore, only a reel, and I want it to be known I hate this) #Namibia #travel #solotravel #africa #technologywasmydownfalltodaybutwediditeventually