More 10 observations about Africa

This blog is horribly out-of-date, but the trip is still going very, very well. From a communication aspect, the internet links in East Africa have been shockingly poor.
But stories abound. For the moment, here are 10 more observations.

1. Rock hyraxes sound like terradactyles -- at least what they ought to sound like.
2. Lions are extremely lazy. You could probably have one as a pet as long as they get fed regularly.
3. Whitewater rafting is fantastic -- so is skydiving. Do both when you have the chance.

4. The Ethiopian calendar is seven or eight years behind. They celebrated their millenium not long ago.

5. The Ethiopian clock is out too -- it's six hours behind so the internet cafe I'm sitting in opened at 3 a.m. today.

6. The side of a taxi van may say it is limited to 14 passengers, but that's a fib. How about 21! And that doesn't count two enormous sacks of potatoes.

7. The most interesting restaurant in Africa is near Mount Kenya. It's called Trout Tree and is in a treehouse. The food is sensational.

8. On the topic of food, Haandi's Restaurant on the main street in Kampala, Uganda serves the best Indian food I have ever eaten. The Goan fish dish is a must.

9. Leaf springs can break. We managed to ruin the two on our truck in two days.

10. Baboons are thuggish.

A little lie down

In the Cameroon, we travelled from Yaounde to Ebolowa to Kribi. That last stretch of road -- Ebolowa to Kribi -- was horrible and the truck had a little bit of a lie down. No, it didn't fall over - the road actually caved in. It took more than three hours and a kindly passing truck to get it/us out. Almost 100 locals got in the act -- either digging, advising or observing.

Markets are magical places

I love the markets – big and small, well-stocked and empty. They are full of peope, animals, colour, noise and sometimes the truly bizarre. Some of the most enjoyable and lively markets have been in Ceuta (North Africa, but considered part of Spain), Tetouan and Marrakech (Morocco), Bamako (Mali), Kumasi (Ghana) which is the biggest market in West Africa, Lome (Togo) and Wuse (Nigeria).
Small markets may sell only onions and tomatoes and some unknown spice mixtures, while others are abundant with the weird and wonderful.
I'll post some photos. when I next have a connection.

Ten more observations

1. Cross-walks are where you race across the road when there is a slight break in traffic or if someone looks as it they MIGHT slow down.

2. You could make sturdy workboots out of most of the meat sold in Africa.

3. African women have a very clever and efficient way of carrying their babies (you can even dance while you carry them) -- see photo.

4. Everyone seems to have a mobile phone. They skipped the handset version and jumped straight to mobiles. It's not uncommon to see a telecommunications tower standing in the middle of a village with mud and thatch huts.

5. A vehicle is considered unroadworthy when the horn doesn't work. All other faults are ignored.

6. People don't die in Ghana -- they are 'called home' or 'promoted to glory'. Wonder what you have to do to define the difference. I hope to be promoted, but not too soon!

7. Grasscutters are a food -- look it up.

8. When you buy eggs in the market, find out whether they have already been hard-boiled. We lucked out the day we made egg salad sandwiches for dinner. Glad we weren't planning to do scrambled eggs for breakfast.

9. Some remote Nigerian villages give such a warm welcome that you might believe you have won the World Cup.

10. Border crossings are where you try to get rid of one currency before switching to another. That means you buy some weird stuff. I've bought roasted peanuts, laundry soap, bath soap, bags of water and coconut liqueur. All the peanuts and water are gone, but haven't yet used any of the rest.

Ten observations

After three months on the African road, I have some useful comments to pass on. Bet you never knew that --
1. Goats squat to pee -- both boys and girls, I think.
2. The colour green indicates a pharmacy/chemist shop -- usually a green cross.
3. Small medical problems quickly become big ones.
4. Mosquitos are just one of the many, many bugs that bite. In many ways they aren't the worst.
5. Fresh, good quality water is frequently available -- a big change from the 1970s. You can even buy clean water in a 500-ml bag (about 2 cups).
6. When water quality is uncertain, beer is a good, clean substitute. Wine works, too, but this is not wine territory! Way too hot.
7. Your personal thermostat changes in Africa. We think 25 degrees is cool now, and 20 degrees is freezing. Will someone please bring me my coat?
8. Even just a bit of French and Arabic can be extremely helpful in West Africa. Take classes before you go!
9. French-speaking countries in West Africa have excellent bread (and Cameroon has the best so far). Don't even ask about bread in the English-seeking ones. Blech!
10. I still really, really hate doing hand laundry and I need to do it all the time. Watch here for a laundry update which may depress you -- it will depress me!

Getting around – pedaling as fast as we can

All this talk about the truck, I should probably explain how we are powered. There’s enough sun around that we could/should be solar-powered, but we aren’t. Instead we carry 1500 litres of diesel. There is a main tank and two auxiliary tanks. The first big fill (in Ceuta which is in North Africa, but considered to be part of Spain) took more than an hour and cost a fortune in euros (see photos). We have ‘topped up’ several times since then, but no fill has ever matched the first one in terms of time and expense.

Supplies – what’s for dinner ma?

Ceuta is also where we did our big shop for food. It also took hours to complete, filled several huge trolleys and cost a fortune. There was a mad flurry to get it all packed into the truck and it was a day or two before we got it organized into some sensible pattern.
So what does one buy for an expedition? We got plenty of non-perishable staples and tinned items – rice, pasta, instant mashed potatoes, baked beans, mushrooms, tuna, tomato puree, corn, lentils, chickpeas, couscous, packets of soup, honey, jam, cereal, powdered milk, instant coffee, teabags, sugar, salt, pepper, herbs and spices, mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, tomato sauce and oil.
Eleven weeks later, the supplies are quite depleted. Everyone needles me that there are still plenty of lentils, couscous and chickpeas. I asked to buy them and I am about the only person who uses them, but I swear they will be gone before the trip is over. Heck, I used a kilo of lentils the other night and everyone wolfed them down.
But our main source of food are the markets – large and small – where we can buy fresh food. Some markets are colourful, well-stocked and wonderful to wander through, while others have next to nothing.

Low hanging wires – getting in a tangle

Wires (electrical, telephone, etc.) are supposed to be strung five metres high – and the legal ones usually are. But a vast array of low hanging ‘pirate’ wires zigzag across the roads, making it very hard for us to pass by without leaving a certain amount of destruction in our wake.
We are more likely to down wires at night, when we can’t actually see what is going on. But during the day, we usually have people with brooms hanging out each side of the truck, ready to prop up the offending wires so we can scoot under. We still managed to bring down an important wire in a village near Green Turtle Lodge along the coast of western Ghana. The locals were very aggressive about it (not surprisingly) but Chris, who is also an electrician, promised to return and fix it. He is a man of his word and they were all most impressed that he honoured his promise. He did better still, by creating a connection that was stronger and telling the villagers how to maintain it.

More storage – but is it enough?

Is there ever enough storage? Probably not. But we are traveling in a customized truck, so there is space dedicated for the many things needed for a trip of this length and the occasional remoteness.
Below the seating level and from the outside only, we can get at the plastic crates for condiments, herbs and spices, breakfast items and fresh foods.
Other compartments hold cookware, cutting boards, hand and dish washing basins, utensils (yes, Chris did buy decent knives for the journey), cutlery, cups and dishes, kindling, jerry cans for water, and an array of truck tools and supplies. Wood for cooking fires is carried on top. There WAS a wood tray on top of the back until it was unceremoniously biffed off by low hanging tree branch in Nigeria. We agree the forest must be getting back its own. Chris plans to replace the tray when he has a chance.

Under the floor – buried ‘treasure’

There are six storage compartments under the floor in the back. Three are used mainly for food and some books and the odd can of beer – remember we are riding around in a beer truck. One compartment is for our unused/not needed luggage and backpacks, while another carries general equipment such as camp stools, spotlights, laundry tubs, shovels, axes and some other tools. And the last houses Trevor, a large esky (cool box) and some bulk staples such as rice, sugar and the like. The missing extra black pepper is supposed to be there, but I can’t find it.
Access to most of this storage is from within the truck and from the outside, too. For the inside access, we have to lift large planks of plywood and keep them propped up so they don’t crash down on your head or fingers.

More truck details

Given that the truck – along with our tents – is ‘home’ for about 11 months, I think it needs more than a passing description.
The inside back has 14 seats down each side. Seats are on two levels, with the forward eight being referred to as ‘first class’. The seats are pretty firm and the bottom of every two seats covers a storage locker. Each person gets half of a locker for their possessions – clothes, shoes, toiletries, some food and WATER (we have 12 liters of water in our locker). Luggage is stored underneath the floor and is not all that easy to get at.
The truck ‘windows’ are tarpaulins that can be rolled up when weather permits. We leave them up most of the time, unless it is cold (happened in Morocco) or raining. When the tarps are down and secured with bungee ropes, the truck is reasonably secure.
There is a safe (Trevor) for the most precious belongings – money and passports. Trev has two separate locks (and four keys) and people take turns being a ‘friend of Trev’. I had hoped to make the trip without being Trev’s friend, but got outwitted the other day. I managed to pass the key on to someone yesterday, but I fear it will be back soon. The problem with being a friend of Trevor is that people want to get access at odd times, and never usually at the same time. So it makes for constant traffic in and out of the truck and under the floor.

Beast 2

Beast 2 is Chris -- the man behind the wheel and a cantankerous old sod – sorry Chris, but I couldn’t resist. Actually, he is a very gentle soul with nerves of steel (just watch him in traffic) and what seems to be never-ending patience. Chris is a brilliant driver, and he doesn’t know this blog address, so he can’t accuse me of buttering him up. He’s the only fellow I know who could drive a truck through the eye of a needle.

He's also good at finding water and has a hat that might make the Bush Tucker Man jealous (see photo).
Chris did his first Trans-African tour five years ago (as a passenger), and now he’s addicted – or something like that. He’s doing this trip – or so he says – because he is still cranky that he (as driver) couldn’t get visas to Angola on the trip he did in 2007-08.
In fact, our lingering in Abuja Nigeria now is because we are waiting for the Angola embassy to even open its doors to us to get visas. Now that I think about it, the visa matter makes me cranky too, but I digress.

Beast 1

Beast 1 is a 1990 Mercedes truck that has been converted to carry up to 30 people. This year it is carrying 28, including driver and sidekick and 26 passengers – many of whom are still trying to figure what in the world they are doing on this trip.
Some details for the petrol-heads. The truck is a 10-metre-long, V8, 1400cc, two-wheel drive, left-hand drive number, that is painted (according to its documents) green and ‘straw’. Those colours are going rather well with the flags that are getting painted on the side of the truck as we enter each new country. Chris (driver/expedition leader) started adding flags when he picked up the truck in Jordan, so it is a history of its travels.
Chris says the truck is ‘growing’ on him and that he appreciates its power, but he is still a Scania fan. I’ll let you know what he thinks as time goes by.
The truck remains nameless, which doesn’t seem to bother anyone. I’ll pass on any name suggestions, but can’t imagine one that might appeal to Chris.
Oh, and Chris thinks the truck might have been a beverage delivery vehicle in a previous life, so just think of us driving around Africa in a beer truck.

The man and the machine (the two beasts)

Let me introduce you to the two beasts. hehehehe

Where to start

I’ve finally figured out a direction to take with this blog. Forward would be nice, but I have settled on logical (at least logical in my mind). Obviously, the whole success of the trip depends on the truck and driver, so I’ll start with them.

Time for some updating

We have several days in Abuja, Nigeria – camping on the edge of the Sheraton Hotel’s staff carpark. There are internet connections around town and I decided it was a great opportunity to either a) update this blog, or b) run an internet scam. Guess I’ll do a), unless of course you are keen to send me all of your banking details. Let me know!

Best camping
Chefchaouen and Fes have great campgrounds – level ground, lots of space, sheltered, warm showers, enough trees to tie clotheslines to. We’ve also had some amazing bush camps – one in a pine forest, a beach and several in the desert. You ‘chew’ a lot of sand all night when sleeping in the desert..

Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauratania

We had almost four weeks in Morocco, the Western Sahara and Mauratania, so here is a rundown on some of the highlights.

Best scenery
Toudra and Dades Gorges are sensational. So are Ait Ben Haddou and the High Atlas Mountains. In the Dades Gorge, we drove through some rushing water. The water was sort of sandbagged to keep it off the road, but we plowed through anyway.
Essaouira is a lovely beach town – all blue and white. The desert of Mauratania is breathtakingly desolate.

Interruption to programming

We are in Morocco now. Country is gorgeous; but internet connections are very unreliable.
I will update when I can.
It is especially frustrating that blogspot does not let me cut and paste from a word file. So I have to always type new. Am looking for a solution. Do not give up on me please.
Cheers and love
Peggy

Wisconsin -- the Big Cheese

Wisconsin has a special place in my heart -- and it was our last proper stop in the USA.
I spent most of my childhood summers in Lake Geneva -- and now my oldest niece, Katie, lives there. Not in Lake Geneva, but in Wisconsin. She is in Madison -- home of wonderful lakes, food and some quirky art.
It snowed while we were there, and we were mighty relieved that we were taking the bus back to Chicago for our flight to Europe.
I'll be back tomorrow to update this space.