Tag Archives: Africa

New Video – Niono and the Entourage

Just after editing this video, I found out that I had malaria.  Since many strains of malaria, including the one that I contracted come on somewhat slow, you just start to feel more and more weird and look worse and worse over time.  I realize now that I never actually wrote anything to go along […]

Some people are really doing some good stuff.

With all the organizations and people we met and talked with around the world, often it felt like people were just wasting time and money with silly ideas for aid. Often these ideas provide little to no real lasting help to people in the world in need. This story is genius.

Should I take Malaria medication?

There are a variety of different medicines that you can take to reduce your risk of contacting malaria in endemic areas and if you are traveling to some of these places for less than a couple of months you may want to consider taking the medicine. However, we decided against taking the medicine because of the amount

Keeping It Clean and Somewhat Dangerous

Traveling around the world gives you an unparalleled view into the daily lives of people in countless cultures around the globe. In many ways, people throughout the world do a lot of the same things, but the interesting part is how they go about accomplishing those things. Take for example the simple task of taking a shower.

New Photos – Congo (Pointe Noire)

Our original plan was to leave Dolisie and head directly to Brazzaville, however, our sources in Dolisie said that the road to Brazzaville was not safe and we would most certainly encounter rebels along the way. The only other alternative was to head west to Pointe Noire and get our Angola visas there. From Pointe Noire, we could cross through the Angolan province of Cabinda before heading south into the DRC and then continuing on into mainland Angola. This was the same route our friends the African Surfers had taken so we headed west without hesitation considering it would save us a lot of driving on poor roads, we had been offered a place to stay in Pointe Noire and assistance with our visas and I was still extremely ill with malaria.

New Photos – Congo (Road to Brazzaville)

The road to Brazzaville was probably one of the worst stretches of road we had encountered on the entire expedition for multiple reasons. It was the time of year when the rains were subsiding, but not yet completely over which meant that the roads would almost certainly be inundated with water and mud making the journey difficult at best. None of realized how bad the roads would be and how exhausting driving them would be. The stretch of road from Pointe Noire to Brazzaville is about 350 kilometers and it took us about four days to complete the journey. We were constantly getting stuck in mud that came up to your thighs, navigating seemingly impossible sections of road and at one point, having to rebuild an entire bridge in order to continue on to Brazzaville.

New Photos – Congo (Brazzaville)

Brazzaville also shaped up to be a new exercise in patience for The World by Road. We came into town expecting to get our Angola visas without to much problem, but instead spent about two weeks dealing with probably the most incompetent and confused diplomatic corps in the world. Again, we were forced to push on after a long and frustrating time ultimately without any Angolan visas in our passports. Unfortunately, upon entering Kinshasa in the DRC on the other side of the river, we were promptly deported for not having onward visas… a regulation that had only recently been put into place. Forced to return back across the Congo River to Brazzaville, we enlisted the help of the US Embassy. The embassy staff was outstanding and helped us to get into the DRC in a very round about way which included getting signed, sealed and stamped letters stating that our final destination was Zambia even though it is essentially impossible to travel overland from Kinshasa to Zambia.

New Photos – Congo (Road to Dolisie)

Everyone was a little anxious heading into the Congo. We had been told that the roads were bad, that there were some potentially dangerous areas in terms of rebel activity and instability and that things in general would be a bit more difficult compared to what we had already experienced in Africa. Immediately after crossing […]

New Photos – Cape Town

Cape Town, South Africa is a great city. It is a very international and cosmopolitan city with shades of Sydney and San Francisco, but it has a culture that is definitely unique …

It Never Gets Any Easier

When it comes to shipping our trucks overseas, it definitely ranks high among the least desirable activities associated with our expedition. I would even go as far as to say that it is the worst part of driving around the world. You would think that after doing it three times on three different continents, the […]