My First International Trip

This time I want to take it all the way back…to my first ‘International’ Trip.

I’d really like to say I popped out of ‘Mama Wellwornheels’ with a map, passport, visas, and tickets and started gallivanting the world. But that’s not even close to how it went down. You see, the way our family economy was set up, we did not go ‘abroad’ for holidays. In fact, during what’s considered school holidays, we went to ‘lessons’ i.e. we took further classes to prepare us for the next school year, that’s what many other kids that I knew did. Any holidays consisted of a few weeks or days at home with cousins visiting, or us playing with our neighbours, or a trip to our hometown in Osun State.

I may have gone with my mom to Cotonou once by road, but my first big international trip was on August 25^th 2002.  I packed two suitcases (including a mug which I still have as a reminder of my journey, maths set, dreams, calculator, faith, clothes, goodbye speeches about remembering where we came from, emotional goodbye to our big sis, and excitement) and boarded that KLM flight bound for JFK in order to attend university in America. You see, it was my sister and I heading on the single biggest adventure of our lives as teenagers, we just didn’t know it yet. It marked the beginning of a coming of age of some sort.

All we knew was that after all the trouble of waking up at 4am to stand in line at the American Embassy in Victoria Island at 5:30am (gosh I hope the process is more humane now), we got our F1-student visas. We were on our way to independence, not just from mom and dad, but from each other. We were going to America! My sister is two years older than me, but we were always dressed alike, went to the same schools, and of course, we always fought!

I digress, this post is not about leaving Nigeria, or attending University/living in the US, but maybe I’ll write about this later. Plus, I want to talk about how we almost missed that flight. In this post, I’m taking it back to the first trip that really kick-started my globetrotting aspirations. So I started working in September 2009 and I had promised myself an international trip within a year. I started putting $75 a month aside and I was getting a one-time bonus for passing a certification so I also put that aside.

How did I decide on Greece and Turkey? I knew I had two weeks and I wanted to spend about a week in each country. One day, I saw one of those articles about best places to hot air balloon and there was a picture of Cappadocia Turkey. I said to my manager at work ‘I’m going to Turkey.’ I started looking into countries near Turkey and landed on Greece. I never meant to go alone but no one else was able to come along at the time. Now, I think it worked out for the best.

I got my first Schengen visa, got my Turkish visa and was good to go. I did so much research and decided to do a mix of hostels and hotels. The backpack was purchased. I learned to say ‘Merhaba’ in advance, I bought my DSLR camera that I still use today, and I even took cheap lessons to know how to use it.

Undoubtedly, I made some rookie mistakes like travelling to Europe during peak travel season (things are more expensive), not even considering sunscreen and getting a swollen face (yes, black people can burn I learned the hard way). It didn’t really dawn on me that I was going solo until I was in transit in Paris.

Istanbul

I started out in Istanbul, the only city in the world that straddles two continents. The first task was getting to my hostel in Sultanhamet without getting lost using public transport. I took in everything as I tried to navigate with my printed directions: the sights, the sounds, the different languages, the smells, the food kiosks, and the call to prayer. Luckily, I found my hostel and it was clean, the receptionists were incredibly nice.

That afternoon, I met two Brazilians and we hung out in Istanbul for a good part of the time. The first night we had dinner on a rooftop with a view of the Blue Mosque, the cook wanted to impress one of my new friends that he brought in our food with fire in it. We were impressed and it was tasty and cheap!

The next morning while sitting on the benches in front of the Blue Mosque, a man dressed in full on traditional Turkish attire walked up to ask me for a picture. Something didn’t quite seem right as people were paying him for pictures. I obliged and then it started, a line of people asking to be photographed with me. My extensive research had not prepared me for this. I thought it was hilarious so I took a few pictures on my camera too for proof later.

Thirty minutes later (okay maybe ten minutes but it felt long) I was overwhelmed by the attention my skin and braided hair was getting. I politely said no to the remaining people and ran to my hostel to ask if this was normal for black women visiting Turkey. They said yes because many people haven’t seen a person like me. OOOkaaayy, here comes the mobile Nigerian female museum!

Over the next few days I ate doner Kebabs, and got introduced to Turkish Yoghurt (did you know the word has Turkish origins and that Turks brought yoghurt to North America?). People stared and I got kinda used to it, one guy had a face of shock or disgust I couldn’t quite tell. Some fools folks took pictures of me without permission or a hello. Next time, I’ll charge!

I fell in love with Turkish tea and teacups; cruised the Bosphorus (the strait dividing European Istanbul and Asian side), explored the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi palace, and watched men fishing on the Galata bridge. I shopped and got lost in the Grand Bazaar. While buying scarves I met a guy whose brother lived in Minneapolis, it made his day! My scarf obsession was born here. While roaming Istiklal Cadessi (the Michigan Avenue or Times Square of Istanbul), I ate way too many doner kebabs and roasted corn. I tried Turkish delight and only liked the one with Pistachios. English was spoken here and there but I got by with gestures!

Cappadocia

After three days in Istanbul, it was time to head to Cappadocia. It was a long 12-hour journey via overnight bus but it was fine except for when people would stare at me while I was trying to sleep. I arrived, looked around and was just enchanted by it. The entire area is as a result of volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. There’s nowhere else in the world like it. Cappadocia means land of beautiful horses and it is known for its unique landscape, underground cities, cave churches, and early morning hot air balloon rides.

On arrival, I walked to the Goreme Open Air Museum, a UNESCO world heritage site and explored the churches. I visited the underground city in Kaymalki, went on an ATV ride and got all dusty. The next day,  went to the Pasabag (Monks) valley to see the fairy chimneys. I tried pottery and saw the process of ceramics painting. I went wine tasting and took more jumping shots. The freshly made orange juice in the streets were to die for, I had those on the regular.

I stayed at the Kelebek Cave hotel, a beautiful boutique cave hotel and at the time my room cost 60 euros a night including amazing breakfast. How cool, staying in a hotel carved out of a cave but with all the modern comforts you need. This hotel came with its own Hammam and I got to have my first Turkish bath here. Coming out of the hammam was the cleanest, freshest; softest my skin had felt in my life! They scrub the living daylight and every evil out of you 🙂

In the evenings one of my favourite thing to do was to hang out on a hammock in the rose garden to read while the dog ran around or to watch the sunset over the valley from the terrace of the hotel or any restaurant with a terrace. It felt like such a privilege to be there, and it was. Somebody needed to pinch me! Okay I’m totally reliving it and cheesing like an idiot as I type.

Now to the sunrise hot air balloon ride. No big deal, its only the reason I decided to go to Turkey in the first place. As we waited, we watched the preparation of the balloons and then we got on to the basket and took off through the valley as the sun rose for 60 -90 minutes, going where the wind took us. I felt safe throughout. When we landed we celebrated with a glass of champagne and I have a certificate to prove it.

 

 

 

Ephesus, Bodrum, and Kos

I got on another overnight bus ride bound for Bodrum. My time in Bodrum was short, I went to Ephesus to stand in places and walk on ground where the Apostle Paul once preached. You bet my parents appreciated that bit even though they didn’t get why had to travel by myself.

From Bodrum, it was sad to say goodbye to Turkey but Greece awaited. There was so much to Turkey I didn’t get to see like Pammukale and the beautiful beaches of Oludeniz. Turkey had exceeded every expectation that I had. I got on a boat for a short 1.5hour ride from Bodrum to Kos, Greece. I crossed borders by water for the first time. The captain let me take the helm for a minute too because they wanted a closer look at my hair. Works for me, win win!

I spent the day on Kos as I waited for my ferry to Santorini. The quintessential Greek Isle. It was also my first time on a huge boat and thankfully it was uneventful. Aside from Cappadocia, Santorini was the other place I stayed in a hotel. Greece was more expensive than Turkey and I felt it in my wallet.

Santorini and Athens

The hotel I stayed was in Firostefani, between Oia and the main town. Oia is where the world goes to watch the famous Santorini sunsets. The hotel was nice and the location was great. Behind it was a path into town that literally is out of postcards. White washed walls, blue domes, terrace restaurants set on a cliff with perfectly blue skies to round it up. Jaw-dropping beautiful. You take pictures and they don’t do it justice, so you stop and stand and take it in. I took a mental picture but more so stand amazed at the God that orchestrated this masterpiece. Side note, they must spend lots on paint each year but its worth it.

I went sailing on a tour, hiked a volcano and just kicked back on the beach. However, I didn’t get stared at in Greece. There were people that looked like me here, not many tourists but quite a few in the service business. First was Gabrielle, the housekeeper at the hotel. She was so happy to see me. She said something along the lines of ‘ma’am I’ve worked here for three years and I’ve never had a guest that looked like me I’m so happy to see you, it gives me hope.’ Her dad is Greek and her mom’s from Dominica in the Caribbean. Gabby would stop by to chat everyday and tell me about the island and her family. The day I left she gave me a hug and absolutely refused a tip.

On the beach, most of the black people I saw were selling souvenirs and sunglasses but this time it was different. They were trying to sell their wares to people lying in sunbeds like me, most of whom turned them down. This time, not one person came to me. It was an almost obvious avoidance. I don’t want to assume why this was the case and I guess Ill never know why.

These events in Santorini and the curiosity in Turkey made me resolve to travel more and to challenge the people in my circle to do so as well. I wondered why people of colour didn’t travel as much. Is it because of resources (money), or distance, or was it a lack of interest, or was it a perception that this was out of our reach? The very last possible reason is why I choose to share on a platform like this with the intent of showing that maybe it isn’t.

After Santorini, I took overnight ferry to Athens where I spent the last three days at a hostel before returning to the US. Now, everyone has their own views of Athens but aside from seeing the Acroplis and the Parthenon, I did not fall in love with Athens. Of the six cities I had seen, it was my least favourite. Now, please go to Athens and form your own opinion though.

 

 

That’s my recap of my first international trip. What was yours? What was your favourite memory from it?