Namibia

Namibia…

It was the quickest border crossing yet, and that is a really good thing because it was getting dark. Cecilie and I were the only ones who made a mistake and didn’t change our money across the border. We did this because A.) we had no idea it would be so hard later on, and B.) They wanted to give us 6 Namibian dollars for every Angola Kwanza (it should be 8-100). Hindsight is 20/20 because now nowhere will change our money. One bank teller tried to tell me Angola uses dollars, I said “no it doesn’t” and she said yes it does, I said no it doesn’t… She said yes it does. This went on for about 3 minutes, until I said have you been to Angola? She then said why would I want to do that? I then left shaking my head, and hoping we can change our money in Windhoek. After the border crossing Suse informed us that she is going to treat us and we are going to go to an actual campground (First one since St. Louis Senegal) so we can watch the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics. We arrived around at an amazing campground that had hot showers and a bar. Cook group made a quick meal and by 21:20 we were all drinking Windhoek beers and freezing our asses off watching the ceremonies. I stayed up until the US marched.

The next morning we took off around 0800 and drove to Etosha National Park. We paid for an extra day, so we didn’t have to be rushed. We arrived at the park around noon and by sunset we saw white rhinos, leopards, elephants, giraffes, zebras, and about 3 different types of antelopes. We struck gold by seeing the leopard. That night we stayed at Hallali camp ground. It was a culture shock at first because we saw about 5 other overland vehicles. All the campgrounds have waterholes, so that night before and after dinner myself and a few others went to the hole and we saw 4 rhinos before dinner, and after dinner we saw 4 hyenas, and two elephants. The coolest part was the elephants trumpeting before they arrived.

The next morning we took off for a morning game drive, but had to end short because of a flat tire. We had to drive to our next campground (Okaukuejo) this tire ended up taking from 1000- 1630 hours. It was the front right side, and the wheel lugs would not get off. I didn’t help everyone because my back was finally feeling better and I need to rest it for couple of weeks. They ended up breaking two bars, and a one socket trying to fix it. I felt guilty but I went ended up going for a freezing cold swim in the pool with Cecilie (we jumped in and got out), and then Jareb and I went to the watering hole and ended up watching an elephant and a giraffe bath and drink. It was pretty amazing actually. It felt like a zoo, but the realization was this was real life.  Denise ended up getting Jareb and I, telling us that the tire is fixed and we were going to head off to hopefully where lion sighting were. We all jumped into Rosie, and the excitement was in the air. We only had an hour total, but luck was on our sides when, 30 minutes into the drive, another vehicle flagged us down and told us a huge pride of lions was 2km up the road. 5 minutes later we watched 25 lions. Two males (one far behind the pride), 15 cubs, and the rest female lions. It was the biggest pride I have ever heard of. About 10 minutes into watching them a heard of zebras were approaching. The female lions started stalking the zebras and within minutes they were after the zebras. At one time one female lion got 3 meters away from them but they ended up out running them. We were so close to watching a real African lion kill. We left shortly after that to the sunset at our backs and we were all so jacked up with excitement. That night the waterhole was almost as exciting as watching the lions. All night we watched elephants (two of them looking like they were going to mate, but ended up being two males), black and white rhinos (probably watched 8  of them including a baby), giraffes, jackals, and even a lion. It was such an incredible day and night.

The next morning we left at 0630 for a morning game drive. We went out for 3 hours then came back to have breakfast and pack up our tents. We once again came across the same pride of lions from the previous night. This time we spent a good hour and a half watching them. It was truly spectacular! I loved Etosha, it was very very memorable for my first national animal park. That night we drove to Otjitotongwe (Cheetah sanctuary).We got there a little before 1700hrs, and within 10 minutes we all got on the back of a pickup truck that had a trailer on it. There were 30 total guests including us, and two pickups with trailers. We drove about 10 minutes into a fenced off land where there are 12 Cheetahs in the wild. Within minutes we were 5 feet away from watching cheetahs eat and fight over zebra meat. It was so very surreal. That night it was our cook groups turn to cook. We whipped up a yummy curry over rice, and called it an early night. The nights are getting much colder. Actually I really love the temperature in Namibia, warm in the day freezing at night time. 

The next morning we had a private showing of 3 cheetahs that are domesticated. We got to pet, and pick the brains of the guys who run the sanctuary. It’s run by one family, and it started 19 years ago when they captured one cheetah that was destroying and killing their farm animals. That cheetah had two babies, and before they knew it other farmers who normally kill the cheetahs were trapping them and dropping them off at their house. They are a certified sanctuary, and honestly a really great thing. No time ever did I think that I would pet a cheetah in my life. I can’t even cross it off the bucket list because I had no idea it was even a possibility.  After leaving, I couldn’t even think that today could get any better but it did. We ended up driving to the Himba and spending two hours hanging out with a tribal group who still acts like they are in the stone ages. Quite unbelievable! I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. My only regret was not having my nifty fifty camera lens (Sarah's friend Keith is going to bring mine and hers in SA). I also wish I would have paid more attention to Ben and Steph about lighting. The sun was directly overhead and between over exposure, and shadows I feel like I botched all my pictures. Don’t get me wrong I absolutely loved West Africa, but I feel like I have done more in these last 4 days then I have all last month. This is the part of Africa that excites me the most (tribes and animals)!

The next day we had a relatively short drive day. Making two pit stops, one at a very stinky seal beach where there were thousands and thousands of seals. With thousands of seals comes a stink like you can never imagine. I learned a few interesting facts. The mortality rate of a pup on the first day is 30%. The pup needs to stay in the water and by doing that the sharks and whales have a buffet meal. The other is how they need to bask in the sun but too much they get overheated so they constantly go in and out of the water. Next stop was a sunken fishing boat right off the coast. I imagine that is why they call it the skeleton coast.  After leaving the skeleton coast we drove by a really fancy movie set with crazy vehicles (We found out later it is the new Mad Max film) By 3’oclock we drove into what would be one of the most relaxing 3 nights ever. We got to Swakopmund, parked the truck and stayed at an awesome hostel right in the middle of the town. We were told to meet next door at 5:30 for an introduction to Swak and the activities we could do while we were here. I threw my clothes on the dorm bed, and took off to walk the town. I found a Mr Price and 300 rand later ($30) I bought new jeans, t-shirt, sweater, and hoodie. Stopped by the introduction hall and decided to book a sand boarding excursion for the next day. There are 9 of us in total (The boys, Maria, Sarah, Brittany, Jareb, Talbot, and Cecilie) who booked that. Nico and Denise booked the sky diving. That night a few of us ate at Napolitano restaurant and had great pizza. I passed out pretty early; because of the weather changes I was feeling pretty crappy and knew I had a physical day climbing the sand dunes.

Next morning a minivan picked us up and 30 minutes later I had snowboard boots, helmet and was climbing the big sand dune that the standup boarders use. Sarah and Maria did the sit down riding (basically a 3X2 piece of particle board with one side smooth). It was so much fun, Rhys and I were the only ones who had previous snowboarding experience so we went on our own while everyone else learned how to board. I think if you have never boarded before you should do the sit down. A sand dune is not the best place to learn how to board. I haven’t been riding in years but it came back to me in no time. On the second run Rhys and  I were jumping on the jump and posing for pictures. That night Cecilie and I had our first proper date and ate at a Mexican restaurant. I had a vegetarian enchilada that was absolutely amazing. The next day I spent the day on my own walking around town. I ended up getting a haircut and at 1500hrs Maria and I went to go see “What to Expect When You are Expecting”… Terrible movie, we knew it was going to be, but we were hoping it would have some funny bits… Nope! The next day we took off at ten and drove all day to Namibia dunes Sossusvlei. These dunes are the highest, and arguable the most beautiful in the world. We camped that night inside the park, and the next morning we were going to be up early to climb the famous “Dune 45”…

Next morning came and we left the campground at 0540hrs only to be bogged in sun, and because of that we only got to dune 40. So Suse parked and Rhys, Jareb, Cecilie, Talbot and I ran about 400meters to the dune and started climbing it. We got about halfway when the sun actually rose. The dune was the highest dune I have ever climbed. It was not easy, but well worth the strenuous climb up there. We ditched Talbot behind, Rhys and I stuck together while Cecilie and Jareb made it to the  top with no problems. Once on the top we took pictures of us posing, jumping, diving and wrestling on the top. The next part we ran straight down the dune jumping and what seemed like flying. Once we got back to Rosie, Suse had coffee for us. We then left for actual Sossusvlei which supposed to be the number one tourist attraction in Namibia… Ha! What a waste of 180 Rand. So anyone planning on going don’t listen to the hype around it. If anything spend 100 Rand on a transfer and take the park shuttle service to Dead Vlei, hike 10 minutes to a dead river beds with trees in it, then take a transfer shuttle to Sossusvlei which is a small lake. Don’t bother with the guided tour. It’s a waste of 10 bucks. The guide was completely useless. He told us that Sossusvlei used to be a river (go figure) and millions of years ago winds blew and created dunes. Sorry I am a little bitter about it, I can’t tell you one guided tour that actually meant a damn! After warm showers we took off towards Fish River Canyon. We knew we had one free camp before we would get there. We dove until it was getting dark when Suse pulled into a farmers land to ask them if we could camp there. Low and behold this farmer had just opened up the day before a campground J… Suse couldn’t tell them no, because it’s against the law to free camp in Namibia and if we left there would be a good chance they would call the police. The campground was nice enough, the bathrooms were brand new. There was hot water (the farmer set up a fire burning water system). I called it a early night and passed out before breakfast.

Next day we drove to the very impressive fish river canyon. It reminded me much like the Grand Canyon. They have 5 day hiking tours that I would like to do one day. Its 5 days 80/90km hike. That night we stayed at the Ai-Ais hot springs. We had to cook dinner but the next morning at 8, we were soaking in natural hot springs. They made it look like Jacuzzis, and a spa, but the water was pumped from the actual ground. It was impressive and very relaxing. We took off at 10, and now heading to the border. We are going to leave Rosie for a week while we are in South Africa. Rosie doesn’t have a permit to get her in. So for the next two days we are going toget the truck clean, and organize for the next section of the journey. 

Angola

Angola… The unknown country, the country I was 95% sure I would have to fly over. It took us all day to cross into Angola. The problem was after we got stamped and officially let into Angola, the border guys refused to let Suse go into the country without a police escort. Not because of it being dangerous, or that the country was in a civil war four years ago. No, they wouldn’t let us drive on our own because they were not used to tourist so they weren’t sure how the local would react. Well the police escort took 3 hours to arrive and by that time it was after 5 o’clock and almost dark. Not to mention that the police that arrived were pissed drunk and ended up taking two piss stops within the first two hours. It turns out that the police were supposed to escort us to Luanda (ha) that was another two days away. We arrived at the first town we came to and the police treated us like we were the president of the United States. Telling any cars behind us they need to give us room. Cook group had to stop and do some shopping (what a joke) the police once again wouldn’t let anyone but the cook group to get out of Rosie. They basically escorted Jareb, Brittany, and Toni around while they bought bread and veggies. Not sure what the turn of events that happened but about 30 minutes after we left the village (it’s almost dark and past the normal time we bush camp). Suse either pulled over or we slowed up enough that the police stopped, but after a 5 minute conversation the police went one way and we went the other. Two minutes later we found a dirt construction turn off and we had our official free camp of Angola.

The next day was a long day, and I was going on day number two of severe back problems. Sometimes I not sure what I was thinking having a bad back overlanding. Most times a little pain is well worth the beauty and adventure of overlanding. The day was mostly dirt roads, they were good to standards of dirt but my back was giving me sharp pains going after ever bump. That night we arrived at the best free camp spot yet (only thing lacking was a water hole for a bath) we arrived at sunset with one huge baobab tree  and so much room we all got to get away from each other and have some privacy. For the last 3 countries we have completely lucked out on bush camps. Every place has been from road construction. I guess I have to thank the Chinese for building a road and completely raping beautiful Africa of its natural resources (I say this sarcastically, 5 years from now there will be a super highway through Western Africa and all of its national resources gone or depleted)! This free camp was great, we built a huge fire, had a great meal, I took a flexural (muscle relaxer) and passed out.

Woke up with more pains, and really needed a few days of not traveling to rest my back. We had a half day and drove to the capitol of Angola Luanda. We arrived at 3 at a marina that overlooks a stunning skyline of Luanda. The skyline of Luanda is completely covered with skyscrapers and heavy machinery building more skyscrapers. I felt like I was at a marina looking at San Diego. Turns out I was completely mistaken about Pointe Noire, Congo… Luanda is the most expensive city in Africa, and ranked second most expensive city in the world (Tokyo being first). We all had different experience over the next 3 nights while staying there. First night, we showered and chilled. The next day was Sunday, and everything was closed. I mean everything! It was our turn for cook group, and Cecilie and I told Maria to relax and we will walk into the main city and see what we can find (ha). We stopped at a pizza place for lunch and after water and a large pizza to share ($30). That’s about $10 bucks more expensive than back home, but I figured that’s what you get for western food in a big city. We lucked out and found one lady on the side of the road selling onions, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and green peppers. It cost us $15 for all our veggies which was barely enough to make a soup. We bought a box of cereal for $5 bucks and that was our budget. Once we started cooking we found out that on Sundays there are no taxis and Toni who was supposed to leave at 11pm had to leave at 6pm. We all said our goodbyes, it was really sad, we are all going to miss Toni (aka the godfather). 

The next day was laundry and internet day. Did all my laundry in the shower, and by 11 Talbot, Cecilie and I were walking to the internet café. It coast $6 for two hours, but I was able to get all the research I needed to do for South Africa. Booked a room for 6 nights, and super excited. After two hours Cecile and I got completely raped, bent over and f*cked (no lube, no reach around). We were hungry and on our walk back to the marina we stopped at a local food buffet. You fill your plate then pay depending on weight. I really didn’t want to eat there but looking at the food, and the fact that only business locals were eating there, we thought it would be cheap. I put a small salad (lettuce, carrots and beets), rice, beans, French fries, and mash potatoes (all of this ¾ of a plate)… $23 dollars later, Cecilie salad $17 dollars. We were so pissed!!!! It was time to leave Luanda! When we got back to our campground we found out some shocking but yet understandable news. Carlos, who I don’t talk much about (because we don’t see eye to eye or get along) was asked to leave. For privacy that is all I will talk about the subject.

We left for the border of Namibia, we knew it would be at least two days of bush camping (equals long days), but most likely 3 bush camps until we were in Namibia. Not going to lie, the mood and energy of the truck after losing Carlos and Toni was good. We are all going to miss Toni, and hopefully he will meet the group in Ethiopia. No longer having Carlos we lost the feeling of walking on egg shells. People were laughing, playing cards and the mood and tempo was great. That night we free camped at another great spot with lots of wood. We made a kick ass bonfire, ate some great soup that Jarebs group made and called it an early night.

The next day was one of the hardest for me. Not because it was another long day, but ¾ into the drive the road crews were in full force and we had to take many detours off of the main road. One detour we stopped for a good 15 minutes, there was a construction vehicle blocking the way. We had no idea what was going on until 50 meters in front of us they blew up the road with dynamite. Fuck me I thought I was back in Iraq. The rest of the day brought not so good memories and that night I was cursed with many nightmares. Not to mention my back was still sending me sharp pains. Great bush camp again! We have now reached cold nights and warm days. It’s time to bring out the extra sleeping bags. I can’t believe I am saying this, but I am actually going to miss bush camping. Before I left on this trip, that was my biggest concern was camping part of the trip. After the military I was completely burned out of camping. I love it now!

After a 0715 take off we drove to the city Labango where there is one of the three statues of Jesus. The other two are in Rio, and Lisbon. The story goes that the guy who built the statues was an artist and his wife and son were sailing across from Portugal when a storm sunk the ship and he lost his wife and child. The statue in Angola represents his son, the one in Portugal represents his wife, and the one in Brazil represents himself. All the Jesus statues face the location where his family died... 

Gabon, Congo, and the DRC

Gabon, and Republic of Congo

Both countries were basically transit countries. We stayed 4 days in Gabon and didn’t do much. The highlights of Gabon were driving past the Equator. It’s the first time since Equator that I have been in the southern hemisphere. Everything seems a little different, a little turned around, or just opposite. The starts and the weather have all changed. The whole time in Gabon and Congo we free camped. Every spot was a previous spot where construction workers would use to take gravel for the road. In Gabon another highlight was Albert Schweitzer museum. Albert was a leading doctor in West Africa for elephantidous and leopardcy. His hospital had crazy old instruments, and work areas. We spent about 3 hours walking around.

Congo there was no real events. The first two days were on dirt and dusty roads. Everything we owned was covered with dust (moon dust) The first two days we didn't even go through a town that sold bread. On the 3rd day we hit pavement (I could have kissed the ground) and drove to the most expensive town in West Africa, Pointe Noire. We stayed two nights in Pointe Noire. The first night we arrived late, and the second day we spent shopping and messing around. I found a nice ice cream spot that I must have spent $20 on 3 different kinds of ice cream. First time in months I found cookies and cream (my favorite)...

The next day we spent four hours crossing into a 100km stretch of Angola owned land. We arrived at the border at 10 and left at 2. We spent it reading and filling out paperwork. We drove to Cabinda which is a pretty big city. We stayed at a Catholic mission which surprisingly had hot water. There was an ocean out in front of the mission and the boys and I decided this could be the last time we swam together so we took a very cold and refreshing swim in the ocean. We were supposed to spend just one night here, but ended up spending two. We woke up to cross into the DRC. We stopped at a market for food, and bought two days’ worth of food then drove an hour to the border only to find out that the DRC border is closed for a holiday. We drove back to the mission and had a unexpectedly relaxing day. The boys and I swam again. A few of us walked around the city of Cabinda, but being Sunday everything was closed. I did find a super market, and before I knew it I spent $12 on 3 bars of toblerone candy. That night we find a local bar that reminded me of a block party. It was on a dirt road with music blaring and locals dancing. I along with about 5 other unexpectedly got DRUNK… I broke my cardinal rule of no drinking on travel days especially border days.

I woke up to a pounding headache and the reality that I may be throwing up while crossing the border. Good thing is that I had 5 other companions sharing the same feeling. By the time we got to the DRC border I was feeling better, but not great. Note to self (I should not drink I get hung-over way to easy).  The border crossing to the DRC was long, and the people were more hostile than any other border. Most people who see my tattoos want to touch it or ask me about them. Here it seemed that they all wanted to fight me. I decided after 20 minutes of drunk locals talking shit to me in their local language that it was time for me to stay on the truck.

 Crossing into DRC was nothing like I imagined. For the last 4 months we heard stories of the DRC being the worst roads imaginable, taking 6 days to go 60km. I guess the good news is the roads weren’t bad and we made it to Matadi in two days rather than a week with only one free camp. To be hundred percent honest I was really looking forward to be stuck in mud on a one lane road with huge bogs and each truck pulls the next one out. Oh well, I guess its not rainy season so maybe next time. We spent two nights in Matadi, and our next stop in the actual Angola. I am actually looking forward to this country that I know absolutely nothing about. 

Cameroon

Thinking back now it feels like we have been in Cameroon for months, but really its only been two weeks. We crossed in Ekok, and the roads were luckily not as bad as anticipated they were bad really bad, but we were very lucky because there wasn’t serious rain. We had 80km until pavement so keep our fingers cross it wasn’t going to take 8 days like the previous trans. We actually made it about 60km with only one hiccup (a very serious one that is) we were passing another truck when they pushed us off the road into 2 feet of mud. Our bed of the truck was at a 45 degree angle and we almost rolled. The truck honked and drove away without helping us (assholes). We spent about an hour trying to dig Rosie out of her predicament and we finally got a road construction truck to get pull us out. That was the only real answer. Unfortunately it cost us 10,000 CFA ($20). We bush camped that night at a really cool place. It was a clearing for the road workers to get gravel (China is building a super highway through Cameroon, in 3 years it will be finished and China will reap all of Cameroon trees). Once we arrived it started to pour down rain. Myself, Maria, Cecilie, and Toby all stripped down in our undies and washed ourselves in the tropical rain storm. There was also a ankle high river close by that we washed our hair in.

The next morning myself and Talbot road upfront with Suse, I felt honored that she trusted me because of the roads. About an hour before we took off it started to rain again. Once it stopped we attempted to drive off and once again Rosie started slipping. We tried several attempts but the only thing happening was our back end was sliding and we were eventually going to slide into the river we washed our hair in. A couple locals, Suse, Talbot and myself carried buckets and buckets of gravel and tried to get traction for Rosie, but after an hour of her still slipping we had another 4x4 road semi-truck to pull us up the hill. He only wanted a beer. Suse said she will always pay someone for offering to help no demanding it. If the situation was reversed she would pull them out for free. She also slipped 5,000 francs to the driver. The rest of the 20km was a muddy mess. It was only one lane road and many times we had to stop and let oncoming trucks go first. After the 20km of mud, the roads turned to pavement. We ended up finding a shortcut missing 100km. This shortcut was at one time a dirt road, but recently it was converted to tar. We ended up free camping in a small unknown village. All the locals came out and watch our cook group cook a rice and tomato dish. We bought some wood from the villagers and made a nice fire everyone could stand around while we cooked.

The next day we had a short drive day and arrived at Limbe around 2. We stayed at a really nice hotel that had a pool, and a restaurant. The place to camp was small but it worked out because Sarah, Denise, and Suse upgraded. I wasn’t planning on it because I was planning to climb Mount Cameroon. The rest of the day I spent it finding a ATM (I had to pay back $200 because my card wasn’t “smart” in Nigeria). I also found a bakery and ate chocolate covered croissants.

The next day I spent the day preparing to go up to Mount Cameroon. It was going to be Nico, Cecilie, Jareb, Talbot and myself. It was 40,000 francs ($80). That included the hut at camp 2 (if you called it that), guide, and 3 porters for all of us. We brought warm clothes, rain gear, and enough food and water for two days. The plan was to leave at 6 from Limbe to the town 45 minutes away were we started the hike. Day one we walked to 2,700 meters spend the night then wake up a 4 in the morning and hike 5 or so hours to the summit which was 4,097 meters.

The next day we all were extremely excited and couldn’t wait the adventure we were about to embark. It was so early that none of us got coffee (which turns out couldn’t have been my biggest mistake). Next thing I know we have 3 porters (one of them wearing flip flop sandals) a guide (wearing shower shoes) and the 5 of us hiking Mt. C… Within 30 minutes I was cursing myself for being stupid enough to want to do this. Finding out later that every one of us was feeling the same thing. The first day we hiked little less than 2,000 meters. The journey was tough, but I felt good. I knew that the next day I would be sore, but I couldn’t wait. Day 1 was about 15 minutes of hiking straight up then a few minutes break. Day 1 myself, Jareb, and Cecilie were the best hikers. Nico is about 50 pounds heavier than the rest of us, and Talbot knee was giving him problems. We arrived at our hut around 3pm. This hut was a shithole and looked like something off a horror movie. Completely rat infested. The weather was getting cold, so I changed out of my shorts and put on long underwear, pants, and a hoodie. Put our sleeping bags on this elevated planks of wood that was completely miserable to sleep on. We ate an early dinner and by 7pm we all called it a night. I was starting to get a headache. I thought it was from not drinking coffee. That night was one of the worst night sleeps I have ever had. My sleeping bag is a summer one not made for cold, and the wood planks we slept on were uneven causing my back to go into spasms. It was absolutely awful and my head was pounding worse and worse.

 We woke up at 4:30 (a little late) that is if you call it woke up. Most of us minus Talbot slept horrible. He was the only one who brought an air mate. Our guide told us the sleeping area was suspended and we didn’t need to take one. We all threw on warm clothes and within 10 minutes we were hiking. Our guide Mattious was a complete ass this morning. He told us no way Nico will make it and that if it rains he will turn us around. He said that Nico will slow us up. That and he kept asking Cecilie if she was alright (like she was the weakest link). After 20 minutes of basically running up the steep hill. I stopped and waited for Nico. I also needed a break because my head was pounding so badly, and I felt like I was going to throw up. Every time I drank water I thought I was going to hurl. Mattious told us to stop further up the mountain. I told him he can, but I am waiting for Nico. After Nico caught up with us, I approached our guide and told him I didn’t know I needed my running shoes. He told me that Nico will not make it. I told him that Nico hasn’t complained once and he WILL make it. I then told him that we are a group and we will make it as a group. I told him that if he had a problem with that then he could go ahead of us and forget about his tip. He said he was worried about the rain. At this time there was an electrical storm below us, and stars above us. I told him if it rained then so fucking be it. Mattious said he understood, and we continued mission. Everyone smiled at me, and said I just went ARMY on our guide… I was still hurting and feeling worse every step I took closer to the summit. That rest of the hike was terrible. I haven’t felt that sick in such a long time. By the time we reached hut 3, I was freezing and still on the verge of throwing up. The summit was 45 minutes away and there was no way I was going to give up. 40 minutes later (40 minutes of digging deep, very deep) we all made it. It was extremely cold, and I finally hurled on top of the summit. 30 minutes or so later we were done taking pictures and we were going as fast as we could to hut 3 to pick up our stuff and head down the mountain. By the time I reached hut 2 I was even sicker, stopping every 200 meters to puke. When I reached hut 2 I collapsed, to sick to pack anything up. I was the second person to arrive. Cecilie being very nice packed up my stuff while I tried I feel asleep. At this point I wasn’t sure if I was dehydrated, coffee withdrawals, or altitude sickness. Once everyone got back to hut 2 and packed all their stuff it started to torrential pour down rain. We had no choice but to start our treacherous trek back down the way we came back. Cecilie carried my stuff and even gave me her water. That 3 hours back down was one of the hardest hiking ever. There is no real trail, and the grass and rocks were so wet that all I kept downing was slipping and falling down the mountain. By the end of the decent I couldn’t lift my feet and I was a falling idiot. By 5pm we were on a taxi back home to Limbe. After 30 minutes and a redbull I realized my headache was gone and I was feeling so much better. Turns out I don’t do well in altitude, and I had altitude sickness. On our way home from the trek, our taxi got stopped by police who wanted to see our passports. We didn’t have them with us so I told them they were in Yaounde getting visas for Gabon and Congo. The cop started yelling at me so me being tired and irritated I started yelling back to the point in which everyone thought I was going to be spending the night in Cameroon prison. He wanted a bribe and I wasn’t going to give it to him. I was tired, hungry and not happy. Our taxi driver gave the cops 1,000 francs and they let us go. That night I slept so great!

The next morning we drove to Yaounde… I loved Yaounde!!! It was the 2^rd of July and we arrived pretty late. We had our first blow out of a tire. It was the back passengers inside tire. Our cook group made a stew which Cecilie added a little too much local spices and Toni gave me a yelling. Good old Toni, you almost got to love him. He is German and says what he thinks but doesn’t hold a grudge.

3^rd of July I spent shopping and eating at the bakery that we found close to missionary we were staying at.

The next morning I woke up a little home sick, and really wished I was on Matt’s house boat watching the fireworks. Found out that during the night someone snuck up in the truck while Toni was sleeping and stole two bags off the seats. Sarah’s, which had her hard drive (all her pictures) Camera, $300 worth of money, charging equipment, and Talbot who got his iPad, journal, wallet (with his name embroidered by his father who died, one of two things he has of his fathers) and $150… I was lucky that that evening I grabbed my laundry that was hanging on the line and threw it on my seat with my bag…   That afternoon, Cecilie and I were walking towards a super market called Casino when we noticed a Asian restaurant. We stopped in and the next thing I know we were sitting next to an American chief warrant officer named Erika, and a local restaurant owner named Phi. He was from LA and Erika was from Ohio. By the end of the meal I wasn’t homesick and we got invited to show up around 1930 hours to celebrate Cecilie birthday (which was the next day). At 1930 we showed up and I ended up meeting a Spanish lady who works at the International Red Cross, two marine soldiers, a navy seal, Erika, and Phi. We had a great night eating cake, and shooting the shit. I felt like I was at home, and it was a well needed break from everyone. Erika husband was on vacation and she invited C and I to her house to spend the night. We refused but the selling point was she had 2 extra bedrooms, all with baths and hot water. SOLD!!! By 2300hrs I was sitting inside this gorgeous military/ embassy issue 5 BD, 6 BR, 2 living room house watching the Armed Forces channel watching Texas play Chicago. I was in hog heaven. I slept in the most comfortable temperpedic bed.

The next day for Cecilie birthday she just wanted to chill and watch movies all day. So we did, and had a mini vacation from our vacation. We woke up to Erika's homemade bread, and her leaving for the day to go to work. It was such a relaxing day.

The next two days I spent getting caught up on blog, buying groceries for the next part of our adventure, and just relaxing. I must have eaten two more times at Phi's restaurant. I took everyone else there and we all had quite a feast. Between Erika and Phi, Yaoundewas one of the best places I have been to.

The next day we made it to Gabon…

Jareb and myself

Nigeria

Nigeria…

So before we left we heard that our trip will once again be altered. We now cannot go north because the week before, there were 27 killings, Churches getting bomb and just civil unrest. We crossed the border and it only took a few hours. We had a pastor with us who we met in Benin. This pastor helped Cicilie get a visa. The day we were supposed to leave for Nigeria Cecilie found out that she was issued the wrong visa. It took 2 days but she was able to get one with the help of Emanuel (the pastor) he gave a letter of invitation.

The border crossing wasn’t that bad. It took about two hours. While we were filling out paperwork a truck hit Rosie (she didn’t get any serious damage) the truck just hit our spare wheel. Once on the road we took off for about 2 hours. We stopped on the side of the road and this is where shit started to hit the fan. Out of nowhere 2 guys got out of a car and started demanding money. They were shouting at Emanuel trying to get into the vehicle. After I got done pissing I ran to my bag and grabbed my SOG seal pup knife and unsheathed it. I kept it down to my side. Once everyone got on Rosie one of the guys came running towards Suse and looked like he was going to hit her. I kept the door open ready to attack if I needed to. Everyone started yelling at me to put the knife away. I told them all to shut the fuck up and let me back up Suse. I saw her look at me so she knew I was there. After a while Suse got into Rosie and took off leaving both men behind. The men flagged down a vehicle and drove in front of us to the closest town. They got out of the vehicle screaming demanding something (my guess is money). They ended up causing a road block and within a matter of minutes we had 50 guys all around us. I thought instantly of being ambushed. Luckily one unknown guy witnessed everything and flagged down a local police officer to help out. It turned out he was an off duty military person. About 5 minutes later Suse was driving to Abeokuta. We arrived in the evening at the golf club where we set up camp for the night. We were all on edge and Suse just informed us that it was some guy who was just pissed drunk trying to show off in front of his friends. I didn’t believe that for one moment but I kept my mouth shut. Later that evening after a few beers with Suse I informed her that I had grabbed my knife, and a few people thought I could have put them in jeopardy because of my actions. I also told her I thought they were profession thieves. Suse pulled me aside and told me she knew I grabbed the knife and had her back, and she trust my judgment. Also that these guys were thieves but she didn’t want the rest of everyone to know because she didn’t want one dudes actions to ruin their opinion of Nigeria and the people.

The next day was Sarah birthday and Emanuel had set up a driver to Lagos (the biggest city in Africa) Our plan was to drive into the city and get dropped off, then eat dinner in the evening and then come home. Well we were all excited and crammed into a minivan. This day turned out to be completely disastrous and not like anything we wanted or expected. We spent all day driving around and after begging from Suse we stopped at the market and got an hour at the market. Then we drove another 2 hours to Emanuel house. By this time it is 4:30 and besides an hour for lunch and an hour at the market we spent all day cramped in the van. We were all hot, sweaty, and upset. We all felt so bad for Sarah, who just wanted a nice dinner, and a fun time in the city. The driver was told only 4 hours of driving and for some reason Emanuel had other ideas for us. We ended up driving to Abeokuta and finding a Chinese restaurant that screwed up my order (this seems like a regular thing now days for me) I felt really bad for Sarah who kept apologizing to all of us. After dinner we waited an hour for taxis who never showed up. We ended up asking around and getting locals to take us to the Golf Club.

The next morning Suse, Nico and I splurged and hit 18 holes of golf. It was kinda of expensive, but so much fun. I had a caddy, and a decent set of clubs. The course was a shithole but you could tell they were trying. The greens and the fairways were like our rough at home. I had a really good time. We left at 1:30 and took off towards Oshogbo. We arrived about the usual time around 6. We arrived at the most random craziest place ever. We stayed at a guy named Okonfo house. It is called African Communication Center. This guy was around 60 and probably a few fries short of a happy meal. His house was on this dirt road about 5km from the main town. His family has been there for generations and everyone called him father Okonfo and would do a small bow. We stayed there two nights and both nights we had live drumming and dancing. It was so random and a lot of fun.

The next day we drove all day, it was a normal traveling day. Cards, lunch, cards, reading, and napping. We free camped right outside a village who has never seen white people. Nico and Suse had to ask all the elders permission to spend the night there. That night we had many visitors from the town. Only one person spoke English, and everyone else just watched us.

The next day myself and Jareb road upfront and we had somewhat of a long day. We were going to drive as far as we could. We either had one free camp or two to get to Calabar. Just as we entered Benin City we got stopped by 3 guys wearing regular clothes and a 2X4 with nails on it. They demanded a 10,000 Niras to enter the city for all trucks. We told them to see the receipt and they refused. At this time two trucks drove by and slowed down and gave them 100 Nira. We told them there was no way we were going to pay 10,000 when everyone else is paying 100. They made up some excuse that they would receive the rest of the money on the way back. Suse being Suse refused to pay and the guys being guys refused to let us pass. This lasted a good hour maybe an hour and a half. They guys kept telling us they were going to get off at 5 and we would have to spend the night we told them no problem. Then they insulted Suse about showing her a good time. Suse did a fantastic job of acting saying “how she has never been treated so bad before (yeah rightJ)” After an hour of the Mexican standoff, we remembered them wanted us to move over off the road. So we thought let’s move to the middle of the road. Once we did we stopped all moving traffic, and the first Infinity SUV stopped and told us we were free to go. Mission success! We free camped that night at a school that was being built. Two local guys stayed at the school (the owner and the builder) they got stoned all night. Not only was it a muddy mess but it smelled like skunk from the weed.

The next day it was a short day while we drove into Calabar. Suse got extremely sick, and spent the previous night with a fever, and hot and cold chills. We arrived at Calabar and stayed at the paradise hotel. This was no way a paradise. It looked like something from a horror movie. It was built in the 80’s and its owner died a short time after it was open. No one has touched a thing on it, and everything is so run down. We spent a total of 4 nights here, originally it was only supposed to be two days but it turned out that Suse has Cholera, and Typhoid. The second and third day at Calabar I spent at the Drill ranch animal re-habitation center. They had 3 chimpanzees and about 60 Drill monkeys. Drill monkeys are the monkeys that have rainbow butts. The alpha male has the brightest butt and once he loses his alpha status his butt colors fade and the new alpha take over. The drill ranch also has another place in the Afi Mountains which we are going to see after we leave Calabar.  The second day I decided to go and get tested for malaria to see if it's gone. I got tested and found out that I am malaria free but I now have typhoid… WTF eh? They gave me this medicine that clears everything from typhoid to the clap.

We left Calabar and Suse was feeling a little better not great. She said this is the sickest she has ever been in her entire life. She thinks she picked it up from Okonfo house. The first night he gave her a homemade drink which she was the only one who drank from it. We drove most of the day to a turn off to Drill ranch. We only made it about 1km when the road was impassable. Our original plan was to spend two nights up there then head to Cameroon. While we were parked on a muddy hill, Rosie decided to die again (fuel filter). An hour and a half later we were reversing down the muddy hill. We decided to find a free camp spot then have drill ranch pick us up at 0900 the next morning. We found a free camp with no problems and at 0920 the next morning all 14 of us were crammed like sardines on a back of a range rover truck. By the time we made it up the mountain which is 12km of the worst muddy roads I have ever seen my back was seizing but I was able to stretch it out. We first took a walk around the sanctuary which was like the one we saw in Calabar but 1000X bigger. Each drill monkey family had 30 acres of free roaming. When we got to the chimps we all stayed there in complete awe looking at the size of the Alpha male, and 8 other chimps. What was really cool about this place was they combined species of chimps, and there is a total of 30 in this lot of land. There was a female chimp named Jackie who I fell in love with. She was the class clown of the chimp park. She would make noises, do push-ups, and make hand jesters. While I was watching her in awe (5 feet away), another chimp I didn’t get his name threw a stone at me and nailed my arm. They he had the audacity to laugh at me… I kept the stone for good luck.

After we walked around the sanctuary, we walked on another canopy walk (it wasn’t too special, but Ryse, Cecilie, Nico, and Toby decided to time ourselves running on the small walkway 100ft high). After the canopy walk we hiked 30 minutes through the jungle to an absolutely stunning river with a very small 5 foot waterfall, but there was a swimming hole that was so refreshing. The water was so clear, and beautiful. Once we finished swimming, we piled into the trucks again and drove back. About 6km back I realized that I left the bag of wet swimming shorts on the table. This is an ongoing theme in my life. The bag not only had my shorts, but Ryse and Toby’s. I stopped the land rover and paid a bike to take me back to the ranch, then 12km to where the truck was. It was the worst drive in my entire life. I sat on a wooden piece of wood on the back of the shittiest bike ever, while a local guy (who was cross eyed) speed way to fast up and down muddy roads. Not to mention we broke down 3 times on the way there. After an hour I made it back safe to Rosie, with the bag of shorts and 1000 Nira less then when I got on the land rover… That night we free camped at the same place we did the night before…

The next morning we got an early start, and we were going to cross in to Cameroon. Suse said the last time she took this road, it was dry season and it was the worst 80km of driving she had ever drove in. Let me remind you that it has stormed every day and night for the last 3 weeks… We are officially in the wet season. She said there are ruts the size of trucks. That one truck gets stuck while another truck pulls you out.  Then you pull the next truck. We were all a little nervous and excited about what we were about to face. Part of me wanted to be in knee high of mud digging Rosie out… 

Togo and Benin

Togo… We crossed the border into Togo pretty late. We ended up getting a late start from Big Millys because of a torrential rain storm. Right over the border is the capitol city Lome we drove to a hotel with camping in their courtyard. We were supposed to stay one day but Talbot got really bad case of Malaria and we ended up staying two nights. Chez Alice (campground) was a really nice place, it was run by a German lady who absolutely loved animals. She had 5 dogs, 2 monkeys, a baboon, African Parrot, and 3 kittens. I ended up bonding with a monkey. We spent half a day grooming each other looking for fleas. The monkey didn’t understand why the black marks on my arms (tattoo) couldn’t be removed. The rest of the time we visited the fetish markets. I thought the fetish markets were whips and chains but it ended up being for Voodoo. It was really educational and I highly recommend it. Myself Cecilie, Maria and the boys went to the big center market and I spent a hectic few hours buy sandals and underwear (which size xxxl was too small) their sizes are crazy and my big booty doesn’t fit any undies I have bought.

The next day we drove towards Balanka (a village in which Toni owns an apartment building in Germany and the family that runs it is from Balanka.) We didn’t make it to Balanka but stayed at Sokode, right next to Sokode tennis club. Seeing a tennis court in West Africa was the last thing I was expecting but we found ourselves the next morning challenging the locals to a doubles tennis match. So far we have played the locals in Soccer and now Tennis.

The next day we made it to Balanka and met with two German volunteers who run a library and school that Toni’s German friends have set up.  The library was very nice, and the kids were great. It was a Sunday so most of the villagers were there to show us around. That evening the kids were a different story. They were all cheeky buggers who tried to get into our tents and spent all night keeping us up by hitting the tents and running around.

We left early the next morning and drove to Kante we arrived early afternoon and found what seemed like another decent camping/hotel where there was one room with A/C for only 3500 CFA ($7). Sarah and Brittany wanted it, so did Cecilie and I, but we ended up giving it to them. That afternoon we drove to this village where the houses are built like the Baobab trees. Basically 3 generations ago the king of Benin would take these villagers as slaves so they built their houses looking like Baobab trees and could be completely self-sufficient. After we toured the housed we took a small drive to an actual sacred Baobab tree. With a small fee you could climb inside the tree and climb up the middle and out the front of tree 30 feet high. Myself, Cecilie, and Jareb climbed into it and once halfway up the inside of the tree I knew it was a big mistake. The humidity was at 75% and there was no place to hang and climb. I thought for a second I was going to fall to my death and break my neck. I had to yell to Rhys to get everyone away from me because I was going to fall. I ended up getting one good grip and pull myself to the small opening up top. I was extremely freaked out by the time I got back down. When we got back to the campground the owner of the hotel was extremely drunk and tried doubling the camping prices and the room price. Sarah and Brittany said hell no and camped while Suse renegotiated with him.

The next day we were taking off at 7. Once we took off, Rosie's front right tire fell through an underground drainage drain. We were officially bogged. We couldn’t jack the truck up because there was nothing stable enough. Every villager from a square mile tried to give their opinion and all of them sexist pigs who basically told Suse she doesn’t know what she is talking about. After 3 hours of this and multiple attempts a local police chief called a tow crane and hauled us out also collapsing the cement holding our back tires. We got out safely and cost us 50,000 CFA ($100). Once we were about to leave the still drunk owner wanted us to pay for the drainage breaking. We explained to him that he is an idiot and we will pay for the drainage if he pays for the tow. (He was the original person who told us to park where we did.) We finally left around 10:30 and took off to the border of Benin.

Benin… Crossing the border into Benin was relatively easy. It took us about 2 hours. Suse did all the work while we stayed in the truck and played cards and read. We drove until 6 and free camped on the side of the road by the city Ndoli. It was our first free camp in a while so it was nice. The next day we drove most of the day to Abomey where we stayed at Chez Monique. It was a really nice place, Cecilie and I wanted to upgrade so we got a room for about $10 bucks a night. It was nice, no air conditioning but a great fan. It was just nice not setting up our tent and able to shower and not worry about people waiting for you to finish. 

The next day we started at 9 and took motorcycle taxi’s to couple of ruins where previous kings lived. When the kings left they would burn the palaces down so there wasn’t much to see. We then went to a voodoo village where we watch a traditional chief explain voodoo and also did some crazy voodoo chant and blessing. I have to admit Voodoo is nothing what I thought it is. I thought it was black magic like I watch on TV but really it’s mostly fetishes and blessing. Once a year they sacrifice a cow or chicken. Once a year they do a 7 day to 41 day Voodoo celebration from all the villages around the area. We were luckily enough to fall on day 4 of that celebration. We took moto taxies to a village and spent two hours watch a Voodoo celebration and voodoo dancers dressed in huge reed costumes. They even sacrificed an animal behind a sheet but we didn’t see that. Thank god.

The next day we drove a few hours to Lake Noukou where we took a boat taxi to stilt villages of Ganvie. We spent about 3 hours on boat going through the way of life of a stilt villager. The kids are given a canoe at the age of 5 and by 7 they are by themselves fishing on the lake. The village is very primitive. They have one well and all the toilettes go into the lake. After we finished with the tour we drove to the Point of no Return where we camped next to the monument. The Point of no return is a 5km walk the slaves had to walk. They would pass a tree of forgetfulness where they would forget who they were and who their families where before they would load up on boats as slaves and be shipped to the Americas. It was again a very emotional day. Myself and the boys walked to the tree with was 4km from the monument. Once we got there the locals explained what the tree was. I couldn’t believe how nice they were to us. If roles were reversed I don’t think I could be nice to white people.

The next day we drove to Cotonou the capitol and we stayed at El Dorado beach resort. It was nice, we ended up staying two days here and the next day we drive to Nigeria.