Category: Africa 2009 Overland in Des

TOMBOUCTOU! Update on the library in Timbuktoo Desert came immediately after leaving Douenza. Camels and thorn trees. We were warned about the road but for the first hundred or so kilometers, it was not unpleasant washboard. Then, inevitably, the groves deepened, the sand drifted, and we veered between vibrating washboard, deep sand track or off… Continue reading Africa 2009 – 07 Mali TIMBOUCTOU

A fragile moment just before the frontier when we realised our car insurance had run out. Having never been asked for proof of it before, the document is demanded by two customs officers. B negotiates a bribe with one. Anger, followed by bananas, solves the other. We are blown away by the colours. After the… Continue reading Africa 2009 – 06 Mali

Conversing with two English engineers working here, 6 weeks on, 4 weeks off. They'd worked with each other 30 years, and were like a married couple with their swift responses. One, the operations fixer, down to earth, canny bright, was married and could not imagine being otherwise. The other, the geological brains, was separated, and… Continue reading Africa 2009 – 05 End of Mauritania – Matmata and Nile Crocodiles

  Forms and Frontiers - Name, First name, fathers name, mothers name, date of birth, place of birth, numbers of identification each time recalling the colour and texture of another time, place and person. What does Norwich mean here, or Ross my fathers name? At the Morocco frontier the playful customers officer offered me a… Continue reading Africa 2009 – 04 Mauritania

ALGECIRAS / TERRIFA - Land of Wind Ferry or no ferry? Unseasonal dramatic weather shows no sign of abating. Edmund gives news of snow in UK unseen in 18 years; Marlon says worst ever coupled witih recession, means no business coming through B&P door. As we drive the coast to Teriffa, we pass hills deep… Continue reading Africa 2009 – 03 Morocco

Arras Let us forget about our first nights rest at the Holiday Inn, Arras. It was a natural consequence of our late departure from the shores of England  that we finally set foot in France at 11, driving on dark and unbelievably empty roads, taking the wrong turning and ending up in Arras.  A lone… Continue reading Africa 2009 – 02 France and Spain

Delayed and Darwin We’re delayed, as usual. The journey south, however, has begun: I’ve moved from Suffolk to London and historically, in our relationship, I am staying with Barry at 121 Windsor Road, east London. It’s two years since his divorce but still I am a secret, awaiting the delayed (as usual) and extended build… Continue reading Africa 2009: 01 Romford Road