Always in the deep woods when you leave familiar ground and step off alone into a new place there will be, along with the feelings of curiosity and excitement, a little nagging of dread. It is an ancient fear of the unknown and is your first bond with the wilderness you are going into. What you are doing is exploring. -- Wendell Berry

The TRIP: GUINEA - wonkifong --> MALI - bamako, djenne, douentza, Dogon Country --> Burkina Faso - ouagadougou, bobo-dioulasso, bala, ouagadougou --> GHANA - tamale, mole national park, tamale, yeji, volta lake ferry, akosombo, accra, green turtle lodge, elmina, cape coast, accra, hohoe and wli falls --> TOGO - kpalime, atakpame, lome --> BENIN - cotonu (transport stop) --> NIGER - niamey, tahoua, agadez, camel trek in aiir mtns, niamey --> BENIN (abomey, grand popo, ouidah, ganvie, cotonou) --> CAMEROON (douala, buea, top of Mt Cameroon, limbe, sangelima, yaounde, kribi, douala) --> MAURITANIA (nouakchott, atar, chinguetti, camels into the sahara, terjit, choume, ride the coal train, nouadhibou) --> MOROCCO (western sahara, dakhla, agadir, essaouira, marrakesh, imlil, summit of jebel toubkal, fes, chefchaouen) --> cross the Strait of Gibraltar --> Malaga, Spain --> fly to Geneva, Switzerland --> Les Grangettes, France
Click for a map. Updated April 30, 2007

jeudi, mai 17, 2007

In Mauritania

After a long day of travel on the "bush taxi" plane, Patrick and I reversed climates from the increasingly humid and wet Cameroon to the dry, sunny and hot Mauritania. Our travels included leaving Douala, Cameroon early in the morning to return to Cotonou, Benin. There, the "nice" border official did not even pause to notice that our Benin visas were expired and let us into the country. We had 12 hours to burn and sitting in the airport would not have been fun.

The next leg of the travel including getting back on the plane and making short, hour-long jaunts to Bamako, Mali followed by Dakarm Senegal before finally arriving in Nouakchott, Mauritania. We are currently stuck here trying to get a visas. Next stop is hopefully a trip into the dunes of the Sahara.

posted by Frank @ 4:25 AM