2019-08-01 Essence

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

the second marriage for Wamuyu, who
is a proud mom to two teenagers, a
daughter, 19, and a son, 16.
Their connection was so strong,
they had begun making plans to see
the world together before they even
got engaged. Just six months into
their relationship, the adventure junk-
ies were bored with their day jobs in
Nairobi—Dos worked in finance and
Wamuyu in human resources—so they
decided to start saving for a more
fulfilling future together. “Dos came
home after having a bad day in the
office, and I’d had a bad day, too,”
Wamuyu says. “Then he asked, ‘What
if we took one year and traveled?’ And
I just said, ‘Yes!’”
After two years of fund-raising
and saving, they quit their jobs and,
in July 2018, set off for Uganda, the
first stop on their worldwide road trip.
It put them one step closer to their
dream of biking on every continent
except Antarctica. Since then they’ve
visited 15 countries and two continents
together on their bikes. They’re giving
themselves three years to complete
the journey. After wrapping up their


current sojourn in South America and
heading over to the United States, the
lovebirds plan to head to Australia,
Asia, Europe and finally Africa. With
one year down and two to go, they’ve
got their routine down pat. “We nor-
mally stay a couple of days at a time
in places, especially in the ones that
we enjoy most,” explains Dos, 33. “We
don’t just pass through. We love learn-
ing the culture of the people and just
enjoying the environment.” Spending

time in South America has really helped
Wamuyu perfect her Spanish, and she
credits her husband with allowing
her to get the most out of their time
on the road. “Dos is really the most
patient guy I’ve ever met,” Wamuyu
says. “He’s very accommodating, not
just of me, but of other people too. So
that makes life very, very easy. For me,
he’s a winner.” The best advice they’ve
received on the journey so far: “Make
sure the honeymoon never ends.”

Dos and Wamuyu love capturing moments from their travels and sharing photos on
social media, like this shot (above, right) of their first stop in Uganda.

He asked,
‘What if we
took one year
and traveled?’
And I just
said, ‘Yes!’ ”
—JOAN “WAMUYU”
NDARATHI

ESSENCE.COM I 147 I SEPTEMBER 2019
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