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Listen "From London to Lagos - How Solo Travelling Built Strength And A New Life for Pelumi Nubi"
Episode Synopsis
Pelumi Nubi might just be the inspiration you need to go on your next adventure alone.
She is proof that you don't need much to go far, and doing it solo can build strength and resilience.
Recently, Pelumi drove from London to Lagos, connecting the two places she calls home.
She undertook this 6,200 mile journey in her tiny, 12 year old, Peugeot 107, passing through 17 countries, taking on some difficult border crossings and regularly sleeping in her car.
She wanted to show what could be possible by a black, female, solo traveller using the things she had, even if her car was not exactly designed for such a journey.
Her story is proof that anyone can go on a grand adventure using what they already have.
In our conversation we discuss how Pelumi originally pursued a career in science, how solo travel helped her navigate a new path in life, how she views her life in ‘chapters’, how she felt sleeping alone in her car in foreign lands, how she managed the many border crossings in Africa, riding the ‘Snake of the Sahara’ in Mauritania, surviving a horrific car crash, and why she chose to spend her time and money fixing a car that should have been written off.
Follow Pelumi:
https://www.instagram.com/pelumi.nubi/
Mentioned in the Conversation:
Unplugged Cabins: https://unplugged.rest/
Pelumi’s Travel company: https://www.oremitravels.com/
Deo Kato: https://www.instagram.com/deoruns/
Borderless Africa: https://www.africansrising.org/borderless-africa/
Arise Africa: https://www.ariseafrica.org/
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
Get a whopping 65% off your first Gousto box at: https://www.gousto.co.uk/raf/?promo_code=TOM42277653
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
03:11 Global Solo Traveller
08:31 Dyslexic mind found solace in travel
12:12 University weekend travels abroad
14:24 Breaking through our foreign perceptions of countries
15:52 Committing to a life of science
14:44 Living life in 'Chapters'
18:36 Walking away from science career
20:29 Trying different things in life
23:23 Processing a change of path
28:13 First car trip in Namibia
30:39 The beauty in car travel
31:25 Inception of London to Lagos
32:11 A 'practice' trip to Italy
32:54 Pelumi's Peugeot 107
38:23 Conversions to the car
41:25 Sleeping alone in the car
42:52 Being safe travelling abroad
45:16 Travelling as a solo black woman
48:01 Women's reaction to Pelumi's adventure
49:27 Social Media Explosion
53:41 Pelumi's 'passenger'
55:56 Struggles at the start
57:27 Finding strength and resilience alone
01:01:06 Border Crossings
01:04:11 Borders as a woman
01:06:13 Dodging fees
01:09:54 Borders that shouldn't be there
01:13:47 Riding the 'Snake of the Sahara'
01:21:45 The car crash
01:25:16 Getting the car fixed
01:30:08 Homecoming party
01:33:40 Becoming a symbol of hope
01:36:45 Power is in the doing
01:39:43 The value of time
01:41:46 Lessons from the road
01:47:19 The unconventional career path
01:51:47 A future Great British Adventure?
She is proof that you don't need much to go far, and doing it solo can build strength and resilience.
Recently, Pelumi drove from London to Lagos, connecting the two places she calls home.
She undertook this 6,200 mile journey in her tiny, 12 year old, Peugeot 107, passing through 17 countries, taking on some difficult border crossings and regularly sleeping in her car.
She wanted to show what could be possible by a black, female, solo traveller using the things she had, even if her car was not exactly designed for such a journey.
Her story is proof that anyone can go on a grand adventure using what they already have.
In our conversation we discuss how Pelumi originally pursued a career in science, how solo travel helped her navigate a new path in life, how she views her life in ‘chapters’, how she felt sleeping alone in her car in foreign lands, how she managed the many border crossings in Africa, riding the ‘Snake of the Sahara’ in Mauritania, surviving a horrific car crash, and why she chose to spend her time and money fixing a car that should have been written off.
Follow Pelumi:
https://www.instagram.com/pelumi.nubi/
Mentioned in the Conversation:
Unplugged Cabins: https://unplugged.rest/
Pelumi’s Travel company: https://www.oremitravels.com/
Deo Kato: https://www.instagram.com/deoruns/
Borderless Africa: https://www.africansrising.org/borderless-africa/
Arise Africa: https://www.ariseafrica.org/
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
Get a whopping 65% off your first Gousto box at: https://www.gousto.co.uk/raf/?promo_code=TOM42277653
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
03:11 Global Solo Traveller
08:31 Dyslexic mind found solace in travel
12:12 University weekend travels abroad
14:24 Breaking through our foreign perceptions of countries
15:52 Committing to a life of science
14:44 Living life in 'Chapters'
18:36 Walking away from science career
20:29 Trying different things in life
23:23 Processing a change of path
28:13 First car trip in Namibia
30:39 The beauty in car travel
31:25 Inception of London to Lagos
32:11 A 'practice' trip to Italy
32:54 Pelumi's Peugeot 107
38:23 Conversions to the car
41:25 Sleeping alone in the car
42:52 Being safe travelling abroad
45:16 Travelling as a solo black woman
48:01 Women's reaction to Pelumi's adventure
49:27 Social Media Explosion
53:41 Pelumi's 'passenger'
55:56 Struggles at the start
57:27 Finding strength and resilience alone
01:01:06 Border Crossings
01:04:11 Borders as a woman
01:06:13 Dodging fees
01:09:54 Borders that shouldn't be there
01:13:47 Riding the 'Snake of the Sahara'
01:21:45 The car crash
01:25:16 Getting the car fixed
01:30:08 Homecoming party
01:33:40 Becoming a symbol of hope
01:36:45 Power is in the doing
01:39:43 The value of time
01:41:46 Lessons from the road
01:47:19 The unconventional career path
01:51:47 A future Great British Adventure?
In God we trust