Douala was dirty, dark, and had absolutely nothing fun going on. When I land in other African countries, often I’m immediately enamored with the street life: the colorful painted storefronts, the street vendors, the interesting cars and other random regional idiosyncrasies. There was nothing here to marvel at. Douala had failed me. Or I had…
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The reviews on visiting Chad were not good, with a couple bloggers reporting that Chad was actually the worst country they’ve ever visited. But I liked it. N’Djamena seemed to have all of the culture and the “realness” of deep Africa, but without all the congestion and chaos. Travelers Traveling on to Casablanca, Please Stay in…
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It was not until I was finally in the car when I had one of those, “Dude, what the f*** are you doing” moments, as I saw loads of dudes with guns on the side of the street and then a truck with one of those giant blasters. More Balls Than Brains? I’ve been pushing…
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This place played tricks on my mind. Was I in Italy or Africa? Was it 2018 or 1938? Eritrea was like nowhere else I’d ever been, and its people were as fascinating as its architecture. And why was the spaghetti so good here??? AARP Member-in-Training Getting old is starting to get tough. I tire out…
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Just Plane Scary The first real-life observation that I was somewhere that isn’t your standard vacation destination was the airline. I consider myself a pretty seasoned traveler, but even I hadn’t heard of Tarco Airlines. They were on the EU’s list of banned airlines, but I don’t think that bothered me as much as they…
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Locked Out There are only a few countries in the world that are considered tough to get into. Contrary to popular belief, North Korea isn’t one of them; they welcome tourists with open arms, literally rolling out the red carpet, as they put on a show for anyone in the outside world that dares to…
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I certainly wanted to see Cairo and its magnificent pyramids in broad daylight, but sometimes life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. First, Some Travel Details, Woes and Challenges Here are some travel notes about scheduling difficult trips. You can skip this if you like, by scrolling down until you the first…
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I wrapped up 2018 and brought in the new year with a huge voyage featuring one of the most aggressive and jam-packed schedules that I’ve ever put together. Here’s a quick recap: Fun with Geography: The Path Geographically, this was one of the most interesting and complex routes I’d ever assembled. I’d start in Cairo…
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