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. 

Ghana

Ghana…  When life was hard traveling through Guinea and Ivory Coast we all dreamed about Ghana. We heard about the white sand beaches, the other travelers, cheap beer and English speaking. Crossing the border was again very easy. We had to get out fill some paperwork, get stamped and our picture taken. All in all it took around two hours to cross. From the border we drove about three hours to Busua. We were going to stay two days at Alaska beach resort. So far the only difference Ghana is to the rest of West Africa is all the hundreds and thousands of churches and English signs. The locals speak their own dialect and most of them don’t speak English at all so that was different then I thought. I thought it would be like Belize. Don’t get me wrong it was still nice to be able to know what I was ordering and how much it cost. The beaches in Busua were absolutely amazing. We were told to live it up here; these will be the best beaches in West Africa. No rips, no litter, and fun waves to body surf. The two days went by pretty fast. Just down the beach was a restaurant we were told had Mexican food J J J. We spent the day body surfing and in the afternoon we all got our first burritos which were to die for. I could tell I was really going to like Ghana.

We left Busua and drove to the famous Big Millys. Arriving at Big Millys was a huge culture shock for all of us. We had spent the last 3 weeks being the only tourist or white people and now we arrived on a Sunday and the place was packed with them (finding out they are all volunteers). Myself, Ben and Steph upgraded to a 3 person a/c room for $10 U.S. a night. Since I was sharing the room with them we had to come up with some ground rules hat or towel on the door handle means for me to come back in 30 minutes or so. For the first two days we stayed there the people who didn’t get the Nigerian visas spent the day in Accra (40km pain in the ass to get to) trying to get them. Everyone was successful thank god. Now all along West Africa we were told Angola doesn’t issue visas and most likely we were all going to fly over Angola. Suse who just spend 4 years in South America (speaks Portuguese fluently) was able to basically get on her knees and sweet talk them in issuing us. We had to deposit money ($160 US) into their bank (that way the money is there account and it would be hard to refund us) then get a letter from our embassy with a stamp as a letter of invitation or introduction. Myself, Brittany and Jareb took a taxi to the bank then went to the American embassy. The embassy was closed from noon to 2pm for lunch so we waited and ate lunches ourselves (fufu-Ghana dish which made me almost puke). At 2pm getting into the embassy was easy. We were the only American with 200 Ghanaians trying to Visas. After 30 minutes of waiting we talked with a lady who looked at us like we were insane and was no help whatsoever. She said they don’t do those types of letters. I asked her if she could write a letter stating they don’t do those letters she said WE DON’T DO LETTERS! We left with no help at all. We later talked with Suse and she said not to worry. Basically everyone but the Aussies was unsuccessful. Suse said we could try again on Monday before we meet with the Angola embassy. That night Steph had chills and was really cold. Brian also spent the whole night puking his guts out (he was drinking the water) the next morning we were going to leave for Kumasi but both Brian and Steph were in no travel shape. They decided to go to the clinic down the road. Brian was going to get a something so he could hold water in and Steph was going to get tested for Malaria. Noon came along when Suse got the phone call. Brian basically had food poisoning, and was on 5 bags of trip and they wanted to keep him overnight. Oh yea and he had type 1 Malaria. Steph had type 2 Malaria and the doctor had no idea why she was as chipper and she was. Needless to say we were going to stay at Big Millys until Monday. On Saturday we did the previous mentioned centurion. Jareb lost, but beat Brittany so I lost $20 buck but didn’t have to pay the bar tab. Nico won the whole thing with little Rhys coming in second with 97 shots, everyone got pissed and it was a lot of fun… The next day Jareb woke up and said he wasn’t feeling good at all. He said he had a fever and chills. I thought it was him being hung over but after a trip into the doctors he now has Malaria as well.

On Monday we dropped off our passports at the Angolan embassy and then headed to Cape Coast. The drive to Cape Coast only took a few hours and we stayed on the beach again at this nice campground called Oasis. We ended up staying there 3 nights. The first night was our cook group again. We whipped up some stir fry and called it a night. The next morning Brittany, The boys, Ben, Steph and me when to the largest slave port in West Africa. It’s what cape coast was known for. We spent about 45 minutes walking through the museum then took the guided tour. I was really affected by being here. Seeing what the slaves had to go through before they were even slaves was very emotional. There was one section called the CELL where the bad slaves who tried to escape or resist it were put. They were locked 50 people deep in a pitch black cell. They were left there with no food, no water until they died. There are still marks where the slaves tried to grind their teeth against the cement to try to escape. While we were there, there was a African American women from Florida who was extremely emotional making a bad name for herself and every American. She was yelling at anyone who was on the tour talking about her ancestors and black rights. She was absolutely out of control. I believe in being passionate about something you believe in and at no way do I condone slavery or thing what our ancestors did was right. She was being a hypocrite because if she went into the museum she would know that tribes would capture other slaves and sell them so they can take over the land. Not only that but she made comments about Brittany (who is Asian), and other black people on the tour (saying how they forgot their roots)… The rest of the evening we played a 3 on 3 game of basketball in the 95 degree temperature with 90% humidity. It was Ben, Rhys, and Toby vs. Nico, Brittany, and me. We lost, and we all almost passed out from heat exhaustion (not my brightest moment). The next day we took a taxi to Kakum national park. This park was known for its canopy walk basically 10+ rope bridges stretched across the canopy of the rain forest. It was a little disappointing and probably the first time this trip I could have saved my money and not done it. It was okay but we had two large groups of American student with us and I felt hurried the whole time… We left for Kumasi the next day. Kumasi is known for the biggest markets in West Africa… To try to explain these markets in writing or pictures doesn’t do it Justice. They are massive, with endless rows of shops and stalls. It made for locals and not tourist. You can get anything from dried fish, to used underwear. We stayed two nights there at a Presbyterian church that had rooms. Everyone paired up double occupancy except me I was the lone man out which was good because I got the room to myself… We left Kumasi to go back to Big Millys again. It is once again our time to cook. We are also going to meet the two new people joining us on the trip and unfortunately loosing Brian then later in the week my best mates Ben and Steph.

Right before Big Millys there is a place about 30 minutes away called “the barrier” Suse dropped myself, Ben and Steph to go food shopping. We took a taxi 10 minutes from there to a market called Mally Market. We were buying supplies for dinner (Steph and my famous coleslaw) when Ben looked up and saw the darkest clouds ever. We had all the supplies minus breakfast so we decided it was time to get out of dodge. We negotiated with a taxi to take us back to big millys right before I got to observed up-close and personal my first insane tropical storm. Once we started driving the wind blew like a tornado and tin roofs, garbage and even a half sheet of plywood landed in front of the taxi. The taxi sign even blew off his car. It was pouring down rain with massive wind. We even had a palm tree collapse in front of the taxi. We were driving on the smaller road to Big Millys when a huge coconut palm tree collapsed about 50 yards right in front of our vehicle blocking both sides of the road. By the time it hit the ground every kid close by came running to cut the coconuts and free the road. There was one boy no older than 7, butt naked, and after he wrestled a coconut free from all the older kids he danced a very comical celebration. You would have thought he kicked the winning goal in a soccer match. Once we passed the tree there was a maroon Nissan Xterra that passed us. About 5 minutes later around a corner the Xterra and another vehicle had a head on accident. Both drivers looked bloody but were walking so that is a good sign. Shortly after that we say another taxi went around a corner and didn’t turn and rode off the road. We eventually made it to Big M safe and only a little wet. It was one crazy drive. Our plan is to be there until Wednesday so the two new people can get their Angola Visa…

We met the two new people Cecilie (23 Denmark), and Yoshi (73 Japan).  Both will be a great addition to our family. I instantly bonded with Cecilia. She has been volunteering at Ghana a month before and is really excited to join the trip. Her original plan was just to go to South Africa but after a few days she decided to go to Istanbul with everyone else. On Sunday 20^th of May I was feeling really tired and not myself. I thought it was just the heat but I didn’t even have the energy to pick up my Kindle and read it. The next day Monday I told Steph I would go to the hospital with her to keep her company while she got tested to see if the malaria is gone. I talked Denise to go with me and within two hours I was looking a sheet of paper that said I had + 1 malaria… WTF! I guess the anti-malaria medicine I am on was fighting it but that was the reason I have been so exhausted. The next two days I took it easy and took their prescribed medicine. I only had one fever night, but it passed within a few hours.

On Wednesday we drove 5 hours to Aylos bay right on the largest manmade lake. We stayed at this awesome little hotel/campground right on the lake with a rope swing. Myself, Ben, Cecilia, Rhys, and Toby spent as much time as possible swinging and playing in the fresh water. We had to get out because it was getting dark and the mozzies were coming out. That night we slept under mango trees and around 0200 in the morning monkeys decided to climb the trees and throw mangos at our tents keeping us up for most the night.

The next day we drove 6 hours to Wli (a national park) we got there around 4pm and quickly hurried up a 35 min hike to one of the most spectacular waterfalls ever. All of us minus Carlos, Maria and Denise went up. The water was little higher than waste level and the waterfall was 100 feet plus. It was so powerful that we felt like we were getting beat up by the water. Rhys, Toby, Ben, Nico and I linked arms and walked right through it. We were all laughing and having a great time. By the time we got back to the truck we got stuck in a torrential downpour. After the rains past we all set up camp and spent the night at the foot of the national forest. The next day we drove a few hours to a endangered monkey sanctuary. The monkeys are called the Mona monkeys. We walked about 10 minutes into the forest when our guide started making this weird noise. Rhys and I looked at each other when all of a sudden 100 of the cutest monkeys came out of nowhere. The guide gave us bananas and the monkeys would crawl all over us and eat the bananas. The guide told us that there are only 400 Mona monkeys left in the world and they are called the god messengers. They were so adorable; I could spend all day watching them jump from tree to tree. We left the monkey sanctuary and drove back to Aylos bay (the manmade lake) this was going to be Ben and Steph last night here with us so we canceled cook group and everyone but Carlos ate at the hotel restaurant. Ben and Steph went around the table and gave a speech about everyone. It was really sweet and they are going to be missed. I instantly became best mates with them. I told them that because of them I am still here. I told them from the start I was second guessing myself and really concerned of this trip and the fact I made the wrong decision. After meeting them everything turned great and I am so happy that I am on this trip. I will miss them deeply and hopefully one day I will see them again. The next day we took off to Big Millys (again). We will pick up our Angolan visas and spend 3 days there. It will also be my birthday (which I could of spent it in a whole lot worst of places) not sure what I will be doing. Because of the malaria I can’t drink because malaria eats your liver. Anyone that knows me also knows that I have a very high liver count (unknown reason) the VA hospital has been trying to find out for years why my blood test comes up high. So I will be sober and enjoying my 31^st birthday in GHANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ivory Coast

Arriving into Ivory Coast was extremely easy. At the border all the guards were toasted, completely hammered. The looks we got were priceless. We were told we were the first tourist they have ever seen. They said almost no one goes to that particular border crossing. After seeing the roads I can completely understand.  We free camped about 5 km away from the border in another small village. We set up camp and once again we were the local village primetime entertainment. We were all emotionally and physically drained that we didn’t do much conversing with the locals. After dinner we hung out on the truck and drank a few warm beers and tried to wind down. My back was spasming from 11 hours of getting bashed around the truck. Someone told Suse I was in pain and she requested Nico and I in the front because the roads were going to be bad for the next 50 something km.

 The next morning we started off and within minutes we had to cross a broken bridge. Nico, myself and Suse built the bridge with logs we found and got the truck over safely. Within a few more km there was no bridge, and water up to the waste. Rosie air filter is under the truck and if water gets in the truck blows up. Suse took out the air filter, and bunch of hoses. An hour later we successfully crossed our first river. Rosie made it with no problems. At this time we knew we were in for a very long day. We drove over rivers, broken bridges, and ruts the size of a VW bug. We were traveling around 5-7km an hour. These roads were miserable, in the back of our minds we remembered only being 4km yesterday away from the better border crossing and only 15km from tar roads. TIS (this is Africa)! Around 4pm the rains started and we had to stop and let them pass. After the rains we had to walk couple of km because the roads were so muddy Suse was afraid Rosie would slide into a rut or roll. It took us a few hours but eventually we got to a tar road 38km from Man. Suse got out of the truck and kissed the tar road. We all cheered and were extremely happy. Next stop Man!!! We drove into Man and luck would have it we found a great little hotel. People who wanted to upgrade could for a room with a fan for $10 or A/C for $20. Nico and I shared a A/C room. They hotel didn’t have running water but they staff who worked it kept filling bucket of water for the toilets and showers. It was my first time in 9 days that I felt clean. The hotel also had cold beers. Suse told us that we would stay tonight and the next night. She also said that the hotel can arrange to see stilt dancers in the morning. We were told that watching the dancers is a privilege and it is very rare to see. Not many locals have ever seen them. They usually only perform for royalty.

The next day was a relaxing, it was the first day in nine that we didn’t have to wake up early and take off on an all-day drive. Most of us went into Man to get CFA currency. In the afternoon we were told about a waterfall that had water and we could swim and bathe if wanted to. Majority of us took a taxi about 2km away then walked 30 minutes up a very bad road to a water that I could imagine being very beautiful if it had water in in. Yuup we are now two for two for waterfalls and starting to give up on the thought of cold flowing water to rinse and swim in. Around 1600hrs 15 of us minus Carlos all piled into a very old beat up minivan and drove about 7km away to a village. In front of us was a pickup truck loaded with 9 local drum players and 1 stilt dancer. When we got out of the van all the villagers came to see what was going on. The music and singing started and the stilt dancer got out of the truck and that’s when all craziness started. The villagers ran away scared until they figured out what was going on. Everyone started clapping and singing the children became less scared. We slowly made our way up a tail into the actual village. There were two seats for the chief and his son. We all sat on benches and the rest of the villagers circled around us. The dancer honored the chief first then he danced for a while. We found out later that the dancer is the equivalent to a shaman. I was the first one picked to dance with the stilt dancer. I had no idea what I was picked for. At first I thought I was to kneel down because he told me to take off my shoes. Then I realized I needed to dance. I danced a very short dance then had to fork over some money. It was well worth the $4 us dollars I paid for a chance of a lifetime to do something so unexpected. Next came Nico, then Ben did a booty shake and the whole town erupted in laughs, Rhse did a dance off, Toby did the dancing bull (don’t ask J), Steph did the shuffle, and Denise did an Irish folk dance. All of this the stilt dancer tried to mimic. It was a imaginative and original night to say the least.