Driving a Tacoma around the world

Thanks for your continued sharing of this adventure! I keep a tab open with Google Maps to follow along, wondering what route you guys will take. Looks like it will be a coastal route, as heading inland through Mali and Burkina Faso sounds like a terrible idea (Level 4 Travel Advisories). Hopefully things will chill out a bit in Nigeria by the time you get there, but looks like Togo might be a safe place to hang out for a bit.

 

That’s correct. An inland route is a definite no-go. Not only is Mali and Burkina Faso bad, but so are Chad, Central Africa Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo, all in the interior. Right now getting visas for Ivory Coast and Ghana have been really difficult, but ultimately successful. But our greatest challenge now is Nigeria which are not issuing visas until at least February 25th due to anticipated violence due to national elections. Just today we went to a Nigerian embassy who said that they simply aren’t issuing visas other than to local people. Worst case is we’ll have to fly to the US and get Nigerian visas. We’re also considering “carpooling” with other overlanders and hiring police to escort us while we drive across Nigeria. We’ve heard that the numerous police checkpoints can be aggressive and time-consuming. Stay tuned, this will come to a head in about 3 weeks

 

The Gambia


Karang border crossing from Senegal into The Gambia

This was one of our easiest border crossings yet - about $10 for our vehicle passavant and visas on arrival. Dawn with UK passport was free, Andy with US was $100.

As soon as we left the border, the check points began. The first police check point we were greeted with friendly smiles and a request for a gift which we politely declined. Second stop was driver passport review and waving us on our way. The third stop was more aggressive, asking Andy to come into an office with a strong ask for some money. Again he politely declined (it’s actually very cute, he gives them a huge smile and says “no thank you” when they ask for a gift). In all, the police stops in The Gambia were friendly and people had a sense of humor about asking for a bribe. We never paid one.


Banjul where the ferry crosses The Gambia, streets alive with people and activity

Arranging for the ferry was a little bewildering. We entered Banjul and were immediately surrounded by fixers promising us VIP access to the ferry. We explained that we were just normal people. We accepted some help in parking the truck and navigating the confusing scrum of people and vehicles to find the ticket office and bought our passage. Then, having declined VIP ticketing waited in line for three hours. It was fine, we didn’t have anywhere else to go and learned a lot from conversations with the Gambians in line either side of us.

Dawn’s favorite Banjul story is that coming back from the line to buy a ferry ticket her Teva flip flop broke. She was limping her way when a young man came up and offered to have it sewed. She asked how much and he said, “You just pay what you want.” Since it was useless as it was, she handed over her shoe and he disappeared. Ten minutes later he re-appeared with a perfectly fixed shoe. She gave him $3 and they were both very happy. Problems in Africa always seem to have human solutions delivered with kindness.

In general, we found the people of The Gambia we encountered to be some of the most outgoing and extroverted people. A small, highly populated country, people lived in close community with each other. It also helped that we were able to speak English for the first time in a long time, a bit of a welcome relief and it definitely made conversations easier. Everywhere we went, people came up to us and wanted to know our story. Children would gather around the truck and just watch what we were doing (even if we were just reading books, we really were not very entertaining for them). We even found that for a couple of countries after we left The Gambia, the people who came up to us in the street or along the road to start a conversation were most often from The Gambia.


Finally made it onto the ferry across The Gambia river


Very busy ferry, pedestrians coming on board


Fishing boats along the shore of The Gambia River

We had been in Africa for over a month without seeing any native wildlife (didn’t feel like we could count domesticated camels in Morocco and Mauritania, although we loved seeing them). So despite it being touristy we headed to Bijilo National Park (known as Monkey Park) to see some wild (but very habituated to humans) monkeys.


Walking into Bijilo National Park with our guide


Andy the monkey whisperer






After some convincing from our guide Dawn agreed to the monkey on the shoulder picture


Baby on board





Then to complete our Gambian wildlife adventures we went to visit the crocodile pool in Bakau

Our final and favorite stop in The Gambia was Galoya. With Dawn’s dual backgrounds in the arts and economic development, a village engaged in developing tourism through art - The Wide Open Walls project -couldn’t be missed. Although hard-hit by COVID and a lack of funding, it was clear the village leadership had a vision and entrepreneurship galore.





Mural by Sickboy depicting the juxtaposition of the Baobab tree and the village well, connection of nature and humans and a plea to leave the old tree standing.






Battle of the mongoose and the snake. Andy wanted to know which was better and should win but our guide told us that we got to choose.


Themes of Africa and peace throughout the murals in the village


In addition to the murals, many of the houses participated in the project





Our artist guide, Amadou Bah posing infront of the mural he is working on with his friend and artistic partner Musa Bah


While Dawn takes in the art, Andy gives a geography lesson to some of the kids with our hood map


Our tour group


A very rewarding cultural visit to Galoya

For our final night in The Gambia, we worked our way down the coast to the end of the road where we were welcomed to camp on the beach.


Evening light on the endless white sands of the southern Gambia coast


What a place! Resort coming back to life after Covid but welcomed us to camp for free on their beach


But of course we sunk in a little overnight and deployed the Maxtrax again in the morning

 

Where in the thread is the page on Baja, Mexico?! Did I miss that post?

If not, when are you headed to that part of the world?

It's a must-do for this kinda trip. You guys are crushing it!

Add this spot to your list: Las Animas, Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/driving-a-tacoma-around-the-world.585792/page-49#post-25529098

 

I see - April 2021 - https://www.roguewanderers.com/blog/exploring-baja-week-7-mulege-to-mexicali.

Nicely done! Any particular favorites? We live in San Diego and try to frequent Baja on the weekends and holidays as much as possible.

 

One of our favorite spots was Aqua Verde on the Sea of Cortez. We spent hours just watching the pelicans dive.

 

Guinea-Bissau


Dugout canoe in progress in the jungle

A small country, Guinea-Bissau still made a huge impression on us. Once again we felt the immediate cultural shift as we crossed the border. People lived in more traditional settings, villages were smaller with houses lined up along the ubiquitous red dirt roads. Outside of of Bissau we never saw an ATM, an indoor market or another tourist. People in the country obviously worked hard, washing clothes in the rivers, hand grinding grain, cooking over charcoal fires and carrying daily water in buckets from the communal wells.

Communication was difficult for us. The official language is Portugese so we were back to knowing our ubiquitous two words, “hello” and “thank you.” The culture was much more reserved than the more northerly African countries we had just travelled through. Gone were the crowds of curious children and teenagers seeking conversation. People stared but kept away, trying to figure out who these strangers were driving by their homes.

As always, our first challenge was the border crossing. On our way to the border we stopped off at the consulate for Guinea-Bissau in Ziguinchor, Senegal, where we were able to pick up visas for $40 each, our easiest ones that were not “visa upon arrival” (VOA) at the border. It was our most remote border crossing to date, just a few buildings. We exited Senegal, drove a brief no-man’s-land, then came to a rope where we stopped and completed the Guinea Bissau entry process. No insurance office, no sim cards, no change makers. No other tourists. Just onlookers resting in the shade smiling and pointing to each consecutive office for us.


Police building to check out of Senegal side of border


Customs building for exiting Senegal


First check-in building on Guinea-Bissau side: stop at the rope barricade, one door to check passports, next door to check vehicle. Then we were directed to another building to pay a 5000 CFA ($9) road tax (we got a receipt and were told police would ask for it later but no one ever did).


Guinea-Bissau side: recorded passports and stamped in our visas. We were also able to purchase our passavant for the truck on site for 2500 CFA ($4).


Our coastal route through Guinea-Bissau and Guinea - approximately two weeks due to waiting an extra five days in Conakry for visas

Once again as we left the border the police checkpoints started. We passed through a total of four in Guinea Bissau. The first two in this area were straight forward, they looked at our papers and waved us on our way.

Our first night was near the peaceful town of Quinhamel with its shady, tree-lined main street. We found a quiet camping spot outside of town and settled in. Driving through the small villages in the area we encountered our first kids’ rope barriers. They would string a rope across the road in the hopes you would stop and give them money. Sometimes teenagers or adults would also get in the action. We quickly learned to approach the rope and just motion to the holders to put it down with the clear intention that we would just drive through if they didn’t. They always did.


Main street of Quinhamel


Calm and safe wild camping stop along the route


Typical red dirt roads in Guinea-Bissau

Then on to the big city. We checked into a business hotel in Bissau with the intention of spending a few days in town taking care of visas - a constant pressure in travelling West Africa. It takes planning ahead, patience with bureaucracy, and figuring out all the hidden tricks and workarounds to be successful. In Bissau we hoped to receive our visas for Guinea-Conakry and the Ivory Coast.


Turns out there was a big conference at our hotel and the President of Guinea-Bissau was coming to speak. We thought it hilarious that our truck actually had a front row seat to the whole event.


The decaying Ministry of Justice on the main street in the old town of Bissau.


Lots of construction going on, curious what it will look like in ten years, main thoroughfare through the older section of town.

For our Guinea-Conakry visa, we had heard it was easiest to apply online with a Guinea-Bissau address. (We think that this is because your application is then routed through the local office which can be quicker and was definitely better for us as we had issues). We completed the application process in our hotel room but were not able to process payment. So set off for the Guinea Embassy to ask for help. The consul was super, he spent hours with us in his office trying to get the system to work. At the end of the day he said we should receive it by late afternoon. (We didn’t and had to go back the next day and wait a few more hours while he sorted the system out but in the end he handed us copies of our visas) $80 each.

For the Ivory Coast we had heard that there was a consulate in town that issued visas. The biggest challenge was finding the office, which was operating very stealthily - no signage whatsoever. The quiet woman inside handed us an example and told us to fill out the forms. We handed them and our passports over and she told us to come back the next day. We did but oops, we had neglected to sign them. We signed and she told us to come back the next day. We did and success! $25 each.

We track our expenses closely and to date in West Africa our biggest expenses on a daily basis have been gas and travel documents.


Ivory Coast consulate building in Bissau


Dawn’s face appreciating restaurant food after several days of hard driving, two days of bureaucracy, and hours in waiting room plastic seats.


Low tide at water’s edge in Bissau

We walked a lot of Bissau, especially from our hotel to the embassies. Very little of it was paved. Shopping consisted of bartering for fresh fruit and produce from sidewalk markets. We went to two “supermarkets” both of which stocked mostly random canned goods, cleaning and baby supplies and alcohol. We have not braved the butchers yet so have been eating many variations of rice and beans and pasta.

We left Bissau, visas in hand for two more countries and set out for Parque Nacional de Cantanhez to find chimpanzees. Google said the drive was four hours. Google was very wrong. It was a long day with our second two police barriers - much more insistent about a payment than the first two. Andy had to accompany them into separate buildings… It was stressful and unpleasant. But in the end we got through with no “payments”.

We carry a huge folder in the front seat with a ream of paper copies of everything anyone could ever ask for (fiches, health and travel and auto insurance, drivers licenses, vehicle registration, Covid and Yellow Fever vaccines, color passport copies, visas, passavants, etc.) Often once the police see the amount of paperwork we have they start to give up, knowing they are not going to be able to fine us for anything. At the end of the day, it is a bit of an intricate dance and game. They know they are not legally allowed to make us give them a gift but they are invested in trying to wear us down or find an infraction they can legally fine us for. We know that is their objective and it is counter to our objective to have positive interactions and not support a system of corruption and random targeting (locals get targeted too). Funnily enough, usually our conversations end on a positive note and there is a sense of a game well played as we leave. We had to pass back through both of these check points a few days later when we returned and at one of them the woman remembered us, laughed and just waved us through. It is interesting to note that when you research Guinea-Bissau and Guinea Conakry, the biggest societal problems that come up are corruption and a lack of government stability. One man we spoke to said there is not a reliable system of loans for locals who want to either start a business or farm or build or buy a house. People want the government to care about the future and support economic growth but it is not happening. The people want and deserve more than the current system.

So back to our drive… It was getting dark and we hate driving in the dark in Africa. Potholes wait in the shadows to swallow you up, kamikaze goats, pigs, sheep, donkeys and cows all wait to dash in front of you, and people in dark clothing walk the edges of the roads. We pulled into a staffed gas station at a village to ask about camping and the wonderful young man told us we could camp behind the station. It was not our most beautiful site, but sometimes safe is good enough. We were even parked right by the all-night security guard’s station.


Desperate camping behind the gas station

The next day we waved to our friendly hosts and made it to the national park. We were headed to D’Unan Camp which was listed on iOverlander as a campground. We drove up and down the village looking for the camp with no success. An older man came up to ask if we were OK and we showed him the name of the camp on our phone. He smiled and waved for us to follow him. We followed behind him on a bumpy driveway past several homes and ended up in a clearing behind a family house. Using Google Translate on our phones we communicated with the teenager of the house who said we had arrived at the camp and could stay for $8 a night. We were shown to the toilet, which seemed to be in an abandoned house next door. All good. He also reached out to a guide for us to go into the park the next morning and see chimpanzees. We had arrived!


Camp D’Unun at the edge of Parque Nacional de Cantanhez (in actual fact we were camping in a family’s backyard)


Our plastic egg box purchased in the Balkans, super useful in Africa

Once we had set up camp we set off into the village to find food. Everywhere we have been so far we have been able to purchase excellent fresh bread for about $.25-$.50 a loaf - baguettes are everywhere and a staple food. This time we thought we would also buy eggs. With our trusty plastic carton we showed it at the first house on the street and they smiled and pointed us down the street. We made our way to another house selling bread, bought a loaf and showed the egg box. They smiled and pointed us further down the street. Finally success and a young man filled our box and we were on our way. The little shops in the villages seem to sell fresh bread and often a random assortment of dry goods. Sometimes you find eggs but we have never seen a cold section in the small towns. Side note - we boiled the eggs up later then threw them out - looked and smelled rotten!


Walking with our guide in the jungle - found a canoe!

The next morning we set off with our guide before light to find the chimpanzees. We found where they were sleeping in trees and saw them climbing down, but they were fast! We failed at pictures. But it was still a magical experience.


Our best wildlife photo, yellow chimpanzee butt to the left of the tree

 

Guinea - Conakry

Time to move on to another country, from Portugese Guinea-Bissau to French Guinea Conakry. The legacy of European colonization of the continent lives on in the official language spoken in each country.

We had thought the border crossing from Senegal to Guinea-Bissau was remote but it was nothing compared to the one from Guinea-Bissau to Guinea Conakry!


Main approach to border between Guinea-Bissau and Guinea Conakry, coming from Gabu


Guinea-Bissau border side


Simple crossing, 30 minutes, soft ask for money which we declined. No passavant at the border, we had to drive 13 km north to Sambailo to the customs officer there for the paperwork. The officer told us it was 100,000 CFA ($160 USD). We told him the embassy said it was free. He was not happy but handed us our paper and told us to go.

We were looking for some hiking adventures so drove into the Fouta Djalon mountain region to meet up with Hassan Bah in the village of Doucki. He had been recommended to us by a family friend who had lived in The Gambia. We were feeling upbeat and happy, leaving visa woes behind for the time being and ready to see a new country. But wow, the roads to get there were really challenging. Steep, rocky, rutted…


Beautiful scenery on the way to Fouta Djalon

And then the truck started clunking. Andy got out to inspect and saw that we had broken a control arm on the front anti-sway bar.


After removing the anti-sway bar, Andy duct taped the control arms to get us back on our way

Feeling anxious and chagrined, we messaged Hassan to say we had broken down 5 kilometers away and had to get to Conakry to a mechanic.


Luckily the roads smoothed out for us


At least, mostly


And eventually we hit pavement, phew


Varied and beautiful landscapes coming down from Fouta Djalon


After a long challenging day of driving we found a spot by a reservoir at dusk


And made it to a mechanic in Conakry


Even for car repairs in Conakry, everything is cash. We had to stand at an ATM for 20 minutes taking out money in the maximum $20 increments to get the full $400. Each bill is worth $2 USD.


But we appreciate this crew at CFAO Toyota in Conakry, they got us back on the road. Luckily the control arm from the local Hilux is the same part for our Tacoma!

Guinea (also known as Guinea Conakry for clarity) had a different personality all its own. The people felt lighter, happier, more smiles and music. They went out of their way to help us when they saw we were lost or having trouble navigating a tight fit with the truck. The country has more mountains and ecological variety than Guinea-Bissau which was very flat in the coastal areas we made it to.


So many kind helpers like this gentleman in the plaid shirt who helped guide us through crowded streets

Conakry was a tough town for us though. The geography alone makes it difficult - the city of 1.6 million people is built on a peninsula with few main roads heading in and out. Aside from the main roads (which are often closed off or switched to one way traffic based on a secret system only locals know) you end up either in streets that get progressively tinier going by peoples’ houses and then come to a dead end, or you can run into a major street market where maximum travel speeds are 1-2 km an hour. On one frustrating Sunday afternoon of gridlock it took us two and a half hours to go 15 km.


Pedestrians taxis and motorcycles compete for street space in Conakry


And thoroughfares shown on mapping programs (OSM or Google) as major roads are regularly taken over by outside markets


Throughout Guinea, almost all food goods are bought at market stalls

As a side benefit, entrepreneurship rules the day with people walking up and down the traffic lines selling just about anything you can think of. Fruit, plastic chairs, razors, toys, shoes, Kleenex, baked goods, clothing, towels… Most of the goods are stored on peoples’ heads in buckets, on trays or attached to hats and with an eye to design and marketing. It provided us endless entertainment and the ability to unexpectedly buy some products we had been needing.


Marketing goods for sale with an artistic flare


Streets also double as soccer fields and mosques with people praying. And the motorcycles are off the charts. As far as we could tell, motorcycles were exempt from all traffic rules, ignoring stop signs and lights and frequently travelling against and around traffic. They reminded us of water with droves of them always finding the path of least resistance.. Even though the traffic is some of the worst we have ever seen, there are not that many private cars. Taxis, motorcycles, tuk tuks and delivery trucks rule the roads. The city is also constantly veiled in a layer of smog - vehicles sometimes pour black and blue smoke and the red dust is constantly blowing in the wind. Although surrounded by coast, the water’s edge is mostly covered with densely-populated, poorly-constructed housing. All in all, not our favorite place to be waiting for paperwork. But it was not all negative, the people were amazing. Even when we were lost and blocking the way in a small neighborhood, we felt welcomed and assisted. Street music and street soccer provided entertainment and buying supplies in the market felt like a fascinating scavenger hunt. Traffic here was THE worst we’ve ever seen!


Scrumptious dinner at Le Patio, beautifully decorated restaurant in Conakry


View from our Conakry hotel -impromptu soccer game down below


Typical gridlock - yellow cars are all taxis

The other challenge with Conakry was that we had to stay longer than we wanted to. It was a big center for obtaining West African visas. Our goals were Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, and obtaining our Ivory Coast laissez passer (LP - pass to drive a private vehicle through). For Liberia it was easy at their embassy to obtain both visas and an LP. Nigeria flat-out denied us - said we were too far away and to try in Benin. We got stuck waiting for our Ghana visa and our Ivory Coast LP. The Ghana online visa portal was very difficult has quite a few hidden tricks. Luckily the West Africa Facebook group was super helpful getting us through it (for instance, you cannot check the “arriving by land” box even if you are, it then refuses to accept your following information, you have to check “arriving by air”). We received several requests for more information from the Ghana embassy a day apart but finally made it. The LP for Ivory Coast was denied so we will have to keep trying.

We knew traveling West Africa would be challenging. We were prepared for difficult roads, limited water, food and infrastructure, lack of communication, and remote village life. We were not prepared for totally chaotic, polluted cities and constant anxiety about being able to get the paperwork needed to continue our journey in a timely manner, or even at all. There are still multiple points where we know we could be forced to turn back or try to find a way to ship our vehicle around.


Dramatic mountainous terrain outside of Conakry


Passenger vans maximize the passenger space and double as goods transport

We had heard about African ingenuity and saw it everywhere in Guinea Conakry. People used everything to the utmost– if a vehicle was traveling on the road burning fuel, it was going to be fully used. In addition to the traffic jam entrepreneurship we saw in Conakry, people in villages were all producing something. Along the roads in front of their houses people were making and selling charcoal, firewood, honey, fruit, fence posts, clay bricks, woven fencing, the list goes on. Products were set out for sale or pick up completely on an honor system (as far as we could tell).


Definitely no wasted space on this vehicle!


We escaped Conakry for weekend and camped at a village watering hole. Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep.


Then went up the coast, Andy made a friend

Our last day in Conakry was our best. We had been feeling discouraged and were still waiting for our Ghana visa, not being sure if we had one or three more days to wait. We made our way to the Centre d’Art Acrobatique Keita Fodeba that we read about in our Lonely Planet guidebook. Listed as a highlight for the country, we thought it would be a popular experience for visitors.

We parked the truck and started walking to where we thought the school was. We got lost in University grounds and stuck behind huge cement walls. Finally we walked by a deserted stadium with an Olympics logo on a wall. A young man standing out front asked if we were looking for the acrobatics and we said “yes!!!” He smiled and guided us into a huge warehouse and introduced us to the leader of the school. He explained that they recruit children from the streets and train them in various disciplines in the performing arts. After a couple of minutes, he said they were going to put on a show for us. Just for us. And they set out two chairs. Wow, the performers were amazing. The whole experience was so inspirational that we left Conakry with warmth in our hearts and hope for the youth that are committed to changing their lives


Performances accompanied by live music - the drum section








The contortionists were incredible


We made our last journey to the Conakry peninsula - more crazy car loads and roadside entrepreneurs -and heaved a sigh of relief that we had experienced the city and were now on our way. Next country: Sierra Leone - visa and LP available at the border (we hoped, you never really know). Thank you for reading, and as always please let us know if you have any questions at all.


Our last fully-loaded vehicle and roadside entrepreneur shot as we leave Conakry

 

Thanks again for bringing us along on the adventure! Like the languages spoken, it was interesting to see mostly French vehicles. Living in TX most of my life, we'd often see vehicles heading south packed high with stuff, often towing another vehicle -- but never packed as high as the ones in your pictures!

 

Incredible

 

Bloody amazing Andy! I am following it all and reading every well written passage. Fascinating travels.

My wife and I love this photo, our favorite from your recent shots.

 

Thank you! That one was very special. Those kids gently maneuvered to get one finger of us to hold. It went one for the entire 45 minutes we were walking, it was humbling

 

Those mechanics are probably better than 90% of North American mechanics lol

 

Wait until you get to South East Asia. It is good luck for the locals to touch a blonde person. (It also works if only one touches you and then their friends touch that one. You might have a linked chain of people walking down the street with you. )
They may not come up to hold a finger (the kids might still) but you will definitely feel a deliberate touch/rub/brush when you pass in close proximity or from behind. Don't fret, it was usually a shoulder or arm. And always done in friendliness and good humor.
They also will line the road (trail) sides and wave vigorously as you pass by. So very friendly and happy!

I appreciate your sharing of your adventures, tremendously! Wonderful narration and great photos! Thank you for your efforts to keep us involved.
Hope it has been as much fun for you as you've made it for us. Best wishes to you that it just gets better & better with each new road!
It can be a wonderful world!

 

Awesome post!!

 

Sierra Leone



Chimpanzee at the Tacugam Sanctuary in Sierra Leone

It is fascinating to us how we can almost always sense a difference the instant we cross a border from one country to the next. From the moment we reached the Sierra Leone border we felt an extra dose of warmth and welcome. Arriving at customs and immigration felt like a rare and courteous official hug. Every conversation started with “welcome to Sierra Leone.” We were escorted into a shaded room and walked through all the requirements, then basically assigned a helper who took us through the steps (not very complicated, purchased visas on arrival for $4 each and a Laissez Passer for the truck for $17) It also helped that it was an English speaking country so we weren’t forced to use our horrific French and smile apologetically. After a simple border crossing we were able to change money and buy a sim card for data and we were on our way.

And the warmth continued. Similar to The Gambia, people went out of their way to introduce themselves and start a conversation (we realize the fact that we actually spoke the same language could be a factor). We were starting to see a pattern in Western Africa with people we had just met wanting our WhatsApp phone numbers to continue a conversation. We always gave them our numbers.

Sierra Leone had recovered from a destructive civil war which ended in 2005 and became one of Africa’s most economically successful countries in 2013. Then disaster hit and it transformed to the fastest shrinking African economy by 2015. The Ebola epidemic in 2014 had a devastating effect on the country and was quickly followed by the collapse of two of the country’s biggest mining companies and the subsequent loss of tens of thousands of jobs. Yet, today, it feels like a country which is hopeful, looking forward and welcoming tourists in. Predominantly Muslim, the country is very religiously tolerant.

Despite being designated a US State Department Level 2 country (Exercise Increased Caution), we never saw any unrest or felt unsafe. We always take the warnings with a grain of salt - people are living and peacefully conducting their lives in these places. We always say 99% of humans are good people. But we are aware that it can only take one bad actor for a situation to go south. That, mixed with the fact that we are traveling through very poor areas in a vehicle that is worth more than most people could ever imagine spending on a single item, means we always exercise caution. A typical annual wage in Sierra Leone is about $7,000 per person.


US State Dept traveler safety warnings are a useful tool for us to make sure we are not being too stupid. Found at US State Dept Travel Advisories

Sierra Leone was the seventh West African country we traveled through. We were starting to get our bearings and a deeper understanding of the region. We were used to eating rice like a local and using water sparingly. We had learned where to find amazing baguettes in any village and to bargain for fresh fruits and vegetables at road side markets. Filling our propane tanks – which we use for cooking and heating water – had not been an option so far, but we were still on our first tank and not worried.

Similar to the Balkans, we had memories within our adult lives of horrific news coverage of war and strife in the region. These images were quickly replaced by wonderful people conducting their everyday lives: elegantly-dressed women walking with babies happily strapped to their backs, groups of young boys running and playing and waving, curious adolescents wanting to know how things on the truck worked. We watched the children playing with home made toys and remembered reading Galimoto to our own children growing up, now seeing first hand the toys made of wire and recycled materials that were pictured in the book. It definitely made us reflect on the comparative excess of material goods we were used to at home in the US.


Our 750 km route through Sierra Leone (450 miles)

Police and military stops, although frequent, had ceased to hold the same anxiety for us. We have never paid a bribe and hope to continue the trend, although we know some more challenging countries are coming in our future (other travelers are saying Nigeria is the roughest). We have been interested to note how so far the fact that we are American brings smiles to peoples’ faces. The concept of America means something hopeful and opportunistic to people, they want to come visit and are saddened by the difficulty of obtaining a visa.

We were also getting used to very different cultural norms around personal space. Finding a remote location to camp was surprisingly difficult. People are practical in Africa: if there is a road it is being used, probably frequently, even if the majority of traffic consists of pedestrians. We knew that if we parked at all close to a village we would likely be surrounded by curious children. Despite us being highly un-entertaining they would crouch and stare at us from a few feet away, waiting for something more exciting to happen. They would want to hold Dawn’s hands, and touch her hair. Many people thought we were missionaries, probably because that had been their primary experience with white people. Sometimes children would chant “money, money” in hopes of a hand out, but mostly they were just fascinated by us and our vehicle.


Hard workers packed in a delivery truck. Transportation options limited and people make the best use of what is available.


People use the edges of the black paved roads for drying food - coconut, grain, and also clothes.


Motorcycles are the most common mode of transportation and typically carry multiple people and huge balanced loads

Our first stop in Sierra Leone was the Tacugam Chimpanzee Sanctuary. We had a fascinating and informative tour and learned that since hunting chimpanzees was banned in 2019, the number of chimps and orphans coming into the sanctuary has dramatically reduced. They have a consecutive series of wilder living situations in the forest to prepare the chimps for eventual release into the wild.



Climbing the viewing tower over one of the chimp areas


Watching chimpanzees interact with each other and their environment, it is not hard to imagine that humans share 98.8% of their DNA with chimps


Wow! our first four lane road in a very long time, coming into Freetown

Despite the great name - Freetown was founded in 1792 and became the new home for resettled freed slaves from Britain and North America - big cities make us grumpy so we limited our time in Freetown. It is generally a nightmare navigating the truck through city streets crammed with people, motorcycles and goods for sale. Parking is always an issue and the sheer number of people is overwhelming for us.


Classic old cotton tree which serves as a roundabout in central Freetown

We found an ATM and visited the Ivory Coast consulate in the hopes of obtaining the elusive Laissez Passer permit we would need to drive our private vehicle through the country. At the time, the borders were closed and permitting was complex. In a lovely Sierra Leone story, we accidentally walked into a woman’s home, thinking it was the consulate. She just smiled and escorted us back out, pointing us in the right direction. We finally found the office, in another home, where a kind man holding a baby told us that he was not allowed to issue an LP, and that we should try again in Monrovia. We were feeling more anxious about our eventual ability to enter the Ivory Coast, but happy just moving forward for the time being. (In the end this strategy happily worked out for us as the borders happened to re-open the day after we had planned to cross over.)

So we left the hustle of the urban center and made our way out to the beaches on the southern Freetown Peninsula. We landed at Tito’s Paradise, an aptly named camping area on a remote bay. We bumped our way down dirt roads using Google Maps and popped out by the ocean to a warm welcome from Tito.


Perfect beach camping, ocean side but tucked into the shade



We even took a rare rest day, so peaceful


Housing being overtaken by vegetation

We had read about a highlight in Sierra Leone being a visit to Tiwai Island, a 12 sq km island in the Moa River with vibrant wildlife, including the elusive pygmy hippo. So we sent off an email requesting a visit and an overnight stay, received a reply that we were welcome to come and set off. Many hours (five) of bumping along dirt roads later we pulled into the village we thought was the jumping-off place for the island. In our reservation email, we had requested a secure place to park our truck and our host said that we could park in the village, no problem.

It is hard to describe the unsettling experience of pulling into a small village in the forest, with no shared language and feeling so incredibly out of place in the only large vehicle visible for hours (there had only been motorcycles for miles). We put on our best smiles, got out, were surrounded by 30 children eager to hold hands and tried to figure out what to do. Over and over again in West Africa, we show up for “top tourist experiences” which they ALWAYS are - amazing - but no signage, no clarity about expectations, no guidance, we just fumble our way through. So, we got out of the truck, babbled away in English about going to Tiwai Island, walked around a little looking for the river until someone dispatched a teenager who returned with an English speaker (thank you, so grateful!) who said, no problem leave the truck by the tree, the village would watch it, and follow him to the pier where we would get in a boat to go to the island. So that was it, people in Africa may laugh at our confusion, but they always find a way to guide us to the right end.


On the Moa river surrounding Tiwai Island


Bricks lined up to dry


Common site in Western Africa, molding bricks


Central meeting/dining area for the island

We quickly realized we were the only guests. Our kind host dropped us off on the island, showed us our bungalow with beds with mosquito netting, and said he had to go back to the village to get a cook to make us dinner. As we explored the tourism infrastructure on the island we realized it had seen better days. The hundreds of visitors who regularly came ceased when the Ebola outbreak hit and barely had time to return before Covid shut everything down. We were among the first to return. Clearly the staff were slowly renovating and putting things back together. Somehow knowing the recent history added to the charm of the experience, feeling like we were there at the beginning of a re-birth.


She may be looking a little worse for wear after a rough day but Dawn is thrilled to finally try the famous peanut soup - served with an enormous helping of rice and cooked over a wood fire by a woman from the village


Red colubus monkey


Diana monkey


Walking through the rainforest with our fantastic guide Bobo


Andy nestled into the biggest tree on the island

We did not see the rare pygmy hippos - they are very hard to see and we were not surprised. But we had a great time watching various primates and learned a lot from our naturalist, Bobo, who walked with us for hours. Overall, definitely worth the experience.


Then we bumped our way back along the dirt road

We left Sierra Leone feeling like we could have stayed longer but future dated visas dictated our moving on. Next stop, Liberia as our journey south along the coast continues. Thank you for reading!

 

Liberia


Heading into the mountainous area of Liberia


Crossing the bridge over the Mano River, which forms the border between Sierra Leone and Liberia

Liberia’s history is tightly intertwined with the United States– all the people we talked to felt a connection to the US. They were saddened that it was not easier to visit and wished for more international support. Another country which had been through a devastating war in our recent memory, it felt like Liberia was also coming into its own power.

Liberia was founded in 1822 as a destination for freed slaves returning from the Americas. The first African republic to claim independence, it achieved sovereignty in 1847 with the help of the American Colonization Society (a private organization based in the United States). But its founding was not trouble free– of the initial emigration of freed slaves, only about 40% survived due to disease, most commonly malaria. The incoming immigrants who took control (Americo-Liberians) also had a troubled history, only granting indigenous ethnic groups the right to vote in 1963.


Our route through Liberia. We had to cross from Liberia into Côte d'Ivoire by a certain date because of our visa. We didn’t make it to southern Liberia where there were no suitable border crossings for us into Côte d'Ivoire (small boat or on-foot crossings only).

The people we met in Liberia were outgoing and welcoming. The men taught Andy the Liberian handshake which he did his best to master and repeat, bringing a lot of smiles on both sides (involves several steps ending in a finger snap).


Stellar view from the camper door at Robertsport

Our first stop in Liberia was Robertsport, with its famous beaches. We bumped our way out along a 40 km dirt road and ended up in the town of 4,000 people at a surf club bar and restaurant with two beachside camping spots. It was a pleasure talking to the young entrepreneurs running the place, fresh out of hospitality school with vision and enthusiasm to grow the business.


Beach camp at Robertsport Surfclub


Night photo, bringing in the fishing nets


Some of the cleanest beaches we have seen


Except for this . . .somehow hauntingly beautiful though


Enjoyed swapping stories with No Fear Reizen, a Dutch couple inhabiting the other camping spot, also on a long journey south.

After two restful days, some long walks on the beach and excellent fresh fish, we got back on the road, slowly working our way back to the main road in a cloud of red dirt.


Then, another major African city, Monrovia. Urban centers are not our favorite, so once again we limited our time in the city to food shopping, finding some cash and some brief tourism.


Main road into town, a tuk tuk scrum through a heavily trafficked and populated market street


And in a wonderful moment of market randomness, we spotted a bridge-side stand with two items we wanted to buy: peanut butter and pasta

Camping options were very limited in the Monrovia area. The city is not in super shape, the number one tourist attraction is a derelict hotel on a hilltop which is slowly crumbling into the ground after its heyday in the 1970’s. We drove up to check it out but after being besieged by would-be tour guides and people asking for money, we went on our way. We know others who found the charm there, so quite possibly we were just tired, hungry and hot and so unable to experience it.


Our camping spot in Monrovia. A bit of a let down after being on the beach, but a safe walled compound where our host Joe welcomed us, showed us the bathroom and gave us a wifi code. He runs an NGO placing orphaned children in homes.


Typical small Liberian village

We thought we might possibly be done with Liberia, with our visa beginning Côte d'Ivoire the next day. For overland travelers who had recently driven the western route, Côte d'Ivoire was one of the most difficult countries to access. Technically, land borders had been closed since COVID, with an extra closure put in place in January of 2023 (we are not sure why). In order to drive a vehicle through, you had to obtain a Laissez Passer for your vehicle (basically a temporary import permit) which had been increasingly difficult to obtain in the last month.

Our West Africa Whatsapp group was alive with information and resources, but fixers and contacts frequently used in the past to obtain the permit were being shut down. The best way to obtain a permit seemed to be to have a traveler ahead of you go and apply for you in person in Abidjan, then email you the permit. We were part of a consecutive train of travelers that was set up to do this. We were still nervous so pursued a second option, emailing a contact at the Ministry of the Interior in Abidjan who had secured a permit for another traveler. We set up communication with him, transferred him $80 through Moneygram and received a piece of paper that we knew may or may not work. We decided to head to the border and try with the permit we received via email two days before our contact through the overlander group was set to go to Abidjan and secure our permit. It did not work out the way we wanted at first but we ended up with a great outcome.


Road approaching the Liberia/Côte d'Ivoire border at Danane


Trucks lined up to cross the border


Barrier to exit Liberia

We are grateful to the supportive officers on the Liberian side who told us they didn’t want to stamp us out until we were sure we would be able to enter Côte d'Ivoire. They told us to walk across the border to check our paperwork. We passed the health check - no fevers, they OK’d our yellow fever and COVID vaccine records and our visas. BUT, they declined the Laissez Passer - LP - that we had obtained for $80 from the contact at the Ministry of the Interior. It was a bizarre dance. Various officials on the Côte d'Ivoire side shunted us back and forth between each other and at one point told us (in French which a nice young man on a motorbike translated for us) “ go find the military man in the back with the key to the gate so you can bring your truck through and we can check it.” We thought that was a hopeful sign. Until we approached the military man in the back who yelled at us and told us the borders were closed and we were stupid because we could not speak French (basically). Dang. So we u-turned back to the truck on the Liberian side to re-group.

We decided our best strategy was to hang out and wait for our overlander contact to go to the Ministry of the Interior and hopefully get us what we needed to cross the border.

This is where things went right. We looked on the map to figure out where to go (the previous night we had camped in a dirt pit for road construction and it was not an experience that we wanted to repeat) and drove an hour to what ended up being our favorite camping spot in Liberia - the Nimba Nature Reserve.

We made our way to the gate and a helpful security guard called the rangers who came to meet us. They thought it best if we paid $50 and were accompanied by a ranger who spent the night with us. Luckily we managed to convince them that we were OK on our own and in an optimistic move gave them the last of our Liberian currency, about $15 (on the assumption we would be able to leave eventually) and they accepted.


Inside Nimba Nature Reserve


Driving by abandoned mining buildings from the past


Camped by Blue Lake (tiny truck in the photo, on the bluff to the right)

An abandoned iron ore mine, Nimba Mountain and Blue Lake were stunning. It was heartening to see the site being slowly renovated into a nature reserve and tourism site. When we were there they were beginning to build an entrance gate and visitor center and a hotel and restaurant. But honestly, we were glad to be there at a time with no new development when we could just wander the trails on our own.


Connecting with an American professor, Dr. Gregg Mitman and his graduate students

We met with a group of graduate students who were touring the site and had the opportunity to hear about each of their research. They were all in various studies in Environmental Humanitarianism which blended medicine, industrialism, anthropology, tourism and and primate studies. Wow, there was some combined brilliance on that bluff and besides being a fascinating conversation, we left feeling inspired. They were on their way to interview some of the past employees of the mine to learn more about the history.


Even when it is challenging, happy to be on this journey together with our trusty home on wheels


Our last view in Liberia, pulled over by the side of the road waiting for someone to email us a form so we could cross the border to Côte d'Ivoire. Loved watching the kids play with tires and sticks.

The morning of February 15 we were back close to the border waiting for our contact to let us know if he’d been able to secure the paperwork for us. We were hanging out close to the village where we knew there was a small business willing to print a piece of paper for us when we were ready.

Then, the universe worked its magic and the Whatsapp group chat became alive with the news that at midnight the night before, Côte d'Ivoire had opened its land borders. No more special paperwork needed. What!!!

So we made our way back to the border and this time made it across. We did have to spend six hours waiting for news from consecutive “big bosses” as the customs officials worked their way up the seniority chain for approval for us to drive on, but eventually common sense won out as they recognized we were not driving our truck camper into the country with the intention of selling an inferior vehicle to some unsuspecting citizen. We were the first tourists at that border crossing since the opening so there was some residual confusion.

But second time round, so much better and we were grateful for our extra time in Liberia. We are learning that, when traveling in West Africa, you make plans and try to adhere to them, but sometimes they fall apart and something better is waiting around the corner.

More on Côte d'Ivoire soon. Thank you for reading!

 

Amazing thread. What a journey

 

Wow!

Lots of photos and stories.

Thank you for sharing.