Travels off the Beaten Path

This episode describes my continuing overland journey from Mauritania into Senegal as we crossed into the sub-Saharan zone. We travel to Dakar noting how the environment changes from wind-swept desert to the horizon, to grassy rangeland with the odd stunted tree and started seeing my first boababs and acacias. 

Spending the Christmas week on Goree Isand was both a sobering and inspirational experience. Here I contemplate the history of the West African slave trade, imagining the horror of the practice and the reprecussions for families, both remaining in Africa and the ones that survived the horrendous voyages and life on the plantations in the Americas, to start new families over there. 

I become immersed in African music, falling in love with the African djembe (drum) and the skill of the drummers playing each afternoon in one of the quiet alleyways. It spoke to a wild side of me as I soaked in the African culture and the atmosphere of the place and its locals, and I forever followed this music after this trip. It was a beautiful example of how music, song and dance lifts the soul and produces such positive vibes to carry on with life's fluctations. Don't be stopped by thinking people are judging you, be yourself and let what moves you come part of your life. 

What I got out of this section of my journey was the realisation of how cruel people in history have been and the value of human beings in this world has changed at least in most places. The slave trade to the Americas in the 17th and 18th centuries changed the spread of the world population and the global genetic pool. How different the US would be today without their slave history and the history of their freedom fighters still fighting for equality today. 

Slavery is still going on unfortunately in 167 countries in 2016 including Mauritania, Eritrea, India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Libya and Noth Korea being the main offenders. People are either born into slavery, become child slaves, sex slaves, have forced marriages or as forced labour in state-run projects, or become slaves from armed conflict. However, it is now an invisible issue. Even in the developed countries, slavery is known to exist, illegally of course but is still happens. I am one of the lucky ones to take our freedom for granted. However, many of these slaves are in low income-producing countries, where the cheap products that we buy come from these same countries and may be the product of slave labour.  Something to think about next time you are buying cheap goods......... 

Music: Kwassa from Afrodrumming (https://afrodrumming.com/download-free-djembe-mp3-ax234k2kf3gg/)

Photo: Goree Island by Geoff Weed on Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/155866837073578733/)

This episode starts in the southern part of Morocco and recalls the journey via soldier-escorted convoy through the minefields of Western Sahara and into Mauritania. I recount my ride on a black horse along a beach, sandmatting through the Sahara, my next attempt at killing or maiming myself again on a sand dune, swimming with dolphins, watching the local Arab populations fighting for existence on the brink of the desert, trying to dodge a locust plague and being accosted by officials in Nouakchott. 

These eye-opening life experiences led me to reflecting on how lucky we are with our freedom to travel and not be burdened by internal conflict in our country. We also take for granted the variety of food we eat, yet there are many countries with limited food resources that are hit hard by natural disasters or western greed. We need to consider others, how they can cope with current situations, and how we can limit their burden without just providing charity.  

On a personal note, I noticed the effect the weather can have on a personality. I had to learn to be more considerate and compassionate with people as everyone has different abilities and may or may not be good at everything or their body limits them. I also realised I need to make smart choices when seeking to be different and stand out from the crowd. Was this another way to prove I was good enough - Something I have been trying to prove all my life?   

Lastly, as a travel tip, don't take photos of bridges and major buildings in countries which can be slightly unstable and paranoid an enemy will get hold of these strategic points in conflict. If you see a lot of soldiers or police that is a general give-away that within-country tension is high.

Photo: the overland truck in convoy in the Western Sahara 

This episode continues the story of the overland trip into Morocco - a journey of non-stop action. From being dragged by the hair in Casablanca, negotiating for a taxi ride in a bar late at night in Fez, dealing with aggressive dogs and pushing the boundaries in safety and endurance at Todra Gorge in the high Atlas, exploring the medinas, bartering for great bargains in the souks and running away from water bearers in Marrakesh,  and finally relaxing at the seaside town of Essaouira, Morocco was a country of colour and contrasts. I came away with a number of lessons, including selecting your travel companions carefully, and realising sometimes you have to do a juggling act in choosing the path off the beaten track while taking a risk in the process. 

Photo: Myself on a donkey in Todra Gorge, Morocco.

This episode recalls the start of a supposed 6-month overland journey from London to Harare, Zimbabwe. It was a fateful journey from the start. This episode details the start of the journey from London to Gilbraltar. In that short period we already had a last-minute change in driver/leader and two passenger casualities - an ominous start to an eventful journey. 

Photo: similar truck diagram from the current Oasis Overland company. Hann Overland was an old Bedford truck similarly decked out but no storage on the side of the truck.

In this episode, I recall my difficult decision I had to make at a crossroads in life when I decided to leave my horse-riding job in Austria and travel overland. I discuss the decision I was facing, the steps I had to take and the importance of how these decisions at these pathways in life can change your life.

Note, I mentioned Isle of Wright but I correct myself as I should have said Holy Island off Angelsey in Wales. I stayed at Holyhead and also did a trip over to Dublin while I was there. 

Cover photo: Evelyn Mostrom on Unsplash

This trip was part of my journey around Europe. It was the year before the war broke out between Bosnia and Serbia when we caught a train from Vienna down to Thessaloniki in northern Greece. The train trip took over 24 hours and it was an eye-opening journey through a former communist state with obvious poverty and associated issues, visa problems and over-crowding. Apparently these days you cannot even do this journey by train as a result of the ongoing tensions.    

My first journey off the beaten path when I was in Egypt and I was invited to spend a week living at a local village close to the earliest step pyramids. Travelling around Cairo as a solo female traveller during Ramadan was a challenge, even when I dressed conservatively. I went to Giza, spent the morning going from cousin to cousin's shops but I only bought perfume and papyrus paintings. I also got to run a camel and a horse across the Sahara in front of the Giza pyramids. Something to tick off my bucket list.........

I met a couple of young lads up on the citadel overlooking Cairo and they invited me to stay at their mother's village. I was there for five days living in a one-tap village on the outskirts of Giza near the ancient step pyramids. I experienced Ramadan with them, dining with the family every night. At one stage I asked to find somewhere I could have a shower. Little did I know that the mother carried water to fill a tub in the stable, heated it up and proceeded to wash me. It was such a humbling experience that I have never forgotten. But cemented my desire to experience countries and cultures by immersing myself into their everyday lives. It was a wonderful journey and a great life lesson in expressing humility and humbleness, and be exposed to different religions and cultures.   

The first episode describes my slow introduction into travelling and how a quick decision to travel to Jamaica on a US vacation led to change my whole way of looking at travelling and experiencing different cultures through a traveller's eyes.