Sara
“Hold a true friend with both hands” – Nigerian proverb
30 years ago there was a small knock at my door. I was in halls of residence, during the first year at university. I opened the door. I didn’t know the face looking at me.
She introduced herself. “Maggie. I’m Sara. The girls said you all meet here for drinks before you go into town. They said you wouldn’t mind if I joined you”. They hadn’t said a word to me. But of course, I didn’t mind. The more the merrier! And that was the beginning of a firm friendship.
Our antics began there, typical tales of student partying days. Sara was training to become a teacher at the time. I was studying film production and photography. Funny, years later, it was me who ended up working in the classroom. On many occasions, we ended up travelling together too.
Our first trip together was to Sweden. It was a post exams celebration. Three friends travelled for three days on a ship, to spend three hours in the port of Gothenburg. We feasted on food from the smorgasbord. Our friend Ele piled her plate high! A waiter took one look at all the food and said “Your eyes, big like stomach, ya!” Something was lost in translation there. When we docked in Gothenburg, we went ashore to walk about a bit and quaff expensive drinks in the harbour. Then we got back on the boat.
On the overnight crossing, the seas were rough. I remember the DJ playing the song “Rock the boat”, probably one of the tracks on his ‘stormy seas’ playlist! We managed to wiggle on the tiny dance floor as the ship swayed back and forth. But it seemed that the best place to be was out on deck. There we enjoyed plenty of fresh air and we continued dancing in the rain. We were unaware of the gale force storm stirring, busy singing SInatra’s ‘New York, New York’ at the top of our voices and doing high kicks. Some of the crew came out and encouraged us to go back inside the ship for safety. We ended up below deck, in sailors quarters. More whisky. More singing.
We took very different paths in life. Sara married young and had two fantastic children. I lived and worked in other countries. But we’ve always made time for each other and continued to travel together.
When we moved to Zambia, Sara was the first friend to get on a plane to visit, along with two other girlfriends. She didn’t shy away from the hard travel, wanting to see the real Zambia rather than the tourist version. So they took the bus over numerous potholes from Lusaka to our dusty town in N.W province. We have special memories from that trip; Walking to the nearby creek, passing through traditional villages on our way, sharing nshima and going to the local market. My intrepid friend embraced the whole experience.
We travelled together to Lusaka, then onwards, south to Livingstone. We did a sunset cruise on the Zambezi. Sara had carried a bottle of Jameson’s whisky for our favourite guide there, of the same name. Jameson gave us an unforgettable speed boat ride on the mighty Zambezi River, racing towards Mosi O Tunya, the smoke that thunders. We were screaming, all completely soaked with spray. And happy.
We took a game drive in Mosi O Tunya National Park, always a magical experience. And we enjoyed seeing our friends’ reactions at the wonder of seeing elephants and giraffes in the wild for the first time. On our last night together, somehow we all ended up at a party, dancing by a roaring campfire. Half pint cups of Amarula were consumed. We were ‘howling’!
The following year KP and I moved back to U.K. Sara would think nothing of hopping in her car and driving through Wales and the Wirral to Liverpool for a weekend together. More partying. More dancing.
And then the jollies went international again. In the UAE we took the road less travelled by tourists, driving through the emirate of Sharjah to reach Ras Al Khaimah. We stayed up in the mountains and soaked in the natural hot springs with local Emirati women and their children. Sara wasn’t bothered about the fancy 5* experience.
She came to visit us in Indonesia and asked me, “where do you recommend?” So we travelled together to central Java, to my favourite place in Indonesia, Yogyakarta. We ate Indonesian food and visited temples. We made our way to Borobodour, the largest Buddhist temple in the world. And there we got an unforgettable surprise. After we bought sunset tickets, we began our ascent up the many ancient stony steps to the top. And there we heard day trippers, with general admission tickets being asked to leave. And so we were left there, just four of us, effectively with ‘private hire’ of a world heritage site. It’s a phenomenal place with a unique atmosphere. It was made more special, having it all to ourselves.
There are friendships and there are friendships. Sara and I have travelled together a lot. And we’ve been there for each other through trials and tribulations too. Many. She has boundless energy and a generous heart; magnanimous to a fault. We share a love of cheese and the colour purple. Also sheep.
A year ago Sara was stripping wallpaper at our home and attacking our wild garden with a hoe. We travelled to Teramo on her birthday. And we popped Prosecco to celebrate. Today is her birthday but we can’t be together. Sara, I wish you everything that you wish for yourself and every happiness in the world. You are one in a million.
Do you have a friend that you treasure. Share this post with them. Tell them “I saw this and thought of you”. And let them know why they are special to you.
© Maggie M/Mother City Time