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On the evening of Sunday 26th January my best mate, Mark, drove me from London to the port of Felixstowe, where I was scheduled to begin my 9 month Trans Africa expedition! I entered the P&O Passenger Terminal and eagerly scanned the terminal for a likely looking crowd, sure enough there was a small group with backpacks and sun hats! Our boat was due to set sail for Zeebrugge, Belgium at 11.00pm, so I spent some time getting to know the group. It felt strange to think I would be traveling with this group for 20 weeks overland from England to Kenya! We boarded the ship and after a brief chat everyone decided to bed down. I soon realized the tone of the trip when I discovered that our 'cabin' was actually the floor of the lounge!
1992 Diary - Africa (Part 1)
Gjcmcclurg2005-12-23 14:19:09
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mountain hermitage of Pere de Foucauld. The morning sunrise against the pinnacles of the Hoggar mountains was quite unforgettable.
The general security situation in Algeria was slowly worsening and the next stretch of desert across the border into Mali was now supposed to be plagued with bandits. After much deliberation the trip leader finally decided it was too dangerous to attempt the crossing and we would have to find another way around! With heavy hearts we began to retrace a footsteps and head north to the Algerian capital of Algiers.
After a couple of days driving we arrived at the town of Ghardaia, which is famous for its Mozabite people who follow an extreme Islamic culture. The Mozabite women are totally veiled in black and are only permitted to show one eye! The town was fairly untouched by tourism and we enjoyed browsing through the authentic medina without the usual persistent 'guides'. The people seemed to take us in their stride which made the whole experience far more rewarding. After another long day on the road we arrived in the capital, Algiers, which was in a "State of Emergency". The political unrest had led to the situation, but overall the city seemed quite calm. Our trip leader forbid the group to enter the city, but I had other plans!
To me the trip seemed to be getting bogged down with the logistics of getting the truck down to Mali, so my plan was to fly. I worked out that flying to Mali would meant that I would be able to complete the trip and only miss the stretch of dessert from Tamanrasset in southern Algeria to Mopti in northern Mali - this loss would be insignificant. I realized that I would have to leave the trip and go it alone, but that seemed all the more exciting. Paula came to the same conclusion which was lucky as I probably wouldn't have left her - things were getting a little more serious between us!
Against the instructions
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See photographs from:
Togo Gallery
,
Morocco Gallery
,
Mali Gallery
,
Ghana Gallery
,
Burkina Faso Gallery
,
Benin Gallery
,
Algeria Gallery
Michal, 2006-05-09 12:35:21