William Cheptoek and Brenda María Urbina Chávez. Photos | Courtesy
The tips on where you’re likely to find a life partner might be within your circle of friends, social spaces, at work and if you’re to cast your net wider, a dating website, may be.
When Brenda María Urbina Chávez booked for a travel excursion to Sipi Falls in Kapchorwa, she didn’t expect that it would be more than seeing the picturesque mystic falls cascading down but love would be smiling her way.
But destiny had it that she would meet a passionate tour guide whose passion would wow and melt her heart into an emotional web of feelings.
While William Cheptoek took her around and through the Sipi Falls trek, they both enjoyed the travel experience that turned out quite memorable.
Her heart skipped a beat when he smiled. To her recollection, it was a very gorgeous smile. And while he made sure she had a memorable experience on her trip, he couldn’t help falling for her because her captivating eyes and enthusiastic love for nature expressed with doses of humour, set his heart racing so much that he kept hungering to hear from her, time and again.
“We kept in touch after my trip, and he was just so incredible and romantic. It was in some of our conversations that he let me know he liked me,” Chávez, a Mexican-born gynaecologist, recounts.
She was already lost in his world and the reciprocation of emotional warmth clicked right to excite Cheptoek, a tours and travel guide and operator based in Kapchorwa, Eastern Uganda.
Indeed love knows no boundaries. And like that, when the souls bonded, borders seemed to melt away as technology fortified their hearty connection.
“His honesty, perseverance, and the love and passion he shows in every aspect of his life. He is kind and funny, committed and respectful. He has done so many good things. He’s intelligent. I admire him the most,” Chávez lists out the traits that triggered her to fall in love with Cheptoek.
To profess his love for her, he confessed how much he liked and admired her, and did not know if the feeling was mutual. What started on a trip in Sipi was surely leading to more fruitful conversations and laughter on delightful dates far from each other’s home areas.
Chávez narrates, “We had a romantic dinner at the beach in Zanzibar, and it was pure magic. We also had a proposal ritual at Spice Island. We were dressed like kings and queens; the locals arranged it. It was awesome.”
And while the lovers had fun and created everlasting memories, they got to talk and interact, and ultimately know each other even the more, for example it was during their visit to one of the hot springs at Chemka, near Mountain Kilimanjaro that they both felt romantically connected in a special way, and embedded his love for her.
“She's just kind-hearted. Her passion for swimming and teaching me how to float gave me all the trust to do anything with her, even in the ocean,” he elatedly recollects. He proposed and she felt joy. She adds, “I already knew we were gonna get married at some point, since we're meant for each other.”
He had gotten a ring and kept it in a red box. During her flight to Uganda, he had already planned for the place; the first hotel where they met, and the staff there willingly helped him to make the proposal go as planned.
They had a civil marriage which is legalised in Uganda and Mexico. The plan to keep it simple. For now, absence is making the hearts grow fonder as Cheptoek and Chávez live miles apart.
He says distance is the biggest challenge, adding that it has not been easy and they are working on finding a solution to curtail the hurdle. “Honesty and respect to this relationship, always having time to be in touch is important to preserve the commitment,” he explains on how they are keeping their love strong.
They also share their visions.
They keep their money together and take decisions about their investments together. If you’re planning to tie the knot or enter into a committed relationship, Chávez attests that loving honesty, commitment and respect are good founding qualities in their relationship.
She adds, “Good communication and handling ego has worked for us. Knowing that no one can expect perfection but that there is always gonna be a way to fix the outcomes, as long as we remain loving, respecting, committed and honest to each other without judgment.”
The couple plans to live together and grow together with shared dreams like the Cheptoek Foundation that they plan to start and achieve. They are hardworking and believe they’ll get there.
CHALLENGE
He says distance is the biggest challenge, adding that it has not been easy and they are working on finding a solution to curtail the hurdle. “Honesty and respect to this relationship, always having time to be in touch is important to preserve the commitment,” he explains on how they are keeping their love strong. They also share their visions. They keep their money together and take decisions about their investments together. If you’re planning to tie the knot or enter into a committed relationship, Chávez attests that loving honesty, commitment and respect are good founding qualities in their relationship.
