West Africa. It's not a region that is high on the list of many backpackers, and I think that's a real shame as there's so much here of interest. I've recently been posting blog posts and written a travelogue about the adventures I had in the region a few years back, so it made perfect sense to do a podcast on it too. This is the first of two episodes about the region though, as when I was writing it I realised I had so much to talk about, plus of course contributions from other travellers to the region, that I felt I'd be better off splitting it out. So, in the follow-up episode next time, I'll talk about a couple of specifics before handing the pod over to my friends and followers who have recorded their experiences for me. In this episode though it's pretty much entirely me (sorry!) and I talk a bit about travel, accommodation, food, scenery, and religion.