From London to Lagos - How Solo Travelling Built Strength And A New Life for Pelumi Nubi

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/

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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?