How easy is it to travel around Africa?

I've noticed how a good number of African travellers seem to prefer travelling to other continents. For some time I did the same, especially because it was the easy way out. But as I've started travelling more around Africa, I have discovered that there is so much beauty to discover. 

Unfortunately, there are factors that stand in the way. I'll share my top four below.

1) Flight connections - getting from point A to B around Africa is a major challenge especially where the countries you are trying to visit do not have airlines that fly directly from the originating country. The flight connections between countries are quite challenging. A trip that should take a few hours can take an entire day in comparison to flying to any country in Europe. For instance, if I were to fly from Abuja to London or to Paris, I would be there in 6 hours. If I were to fly from Abuja to Tanzania, I could spend the whole day. I would have to fly to Addis Ababa, spend a few hours there before I get to Dar es Salaam. Not to talk of the ungodly hour that the flight arrives in Dar.

Around West Africa, connections are even more tricky. To get to Dakar from Abuja, Asky airlines is one option. It would take 7 hours or longer to get there as there is a stop over in Lomé, Togo. Another option would be to use Ethiopian airlines, so I would leave West Africa to the horn of Africa, then return to the West and this could take anything from 18 hours or more. How ridiculous is that?

Faith Restored

Cars sometimes have a mind of their own…today was one of those days for my car. It was something anyone, including me, might have considered as minor but I was not willing to take any chances so I called the mechanic to pick the car up. That left me with the option of finding my way to work.

The transport system is one that is not exactly functional in Abuja. There are ways to get around but there is no proper system in place. It’s a struggle, like many other things here.

Anyway, I got on a bike and the dust on the back road we took had me blinking a lot. When we got to the stop, there were many cars heading out; private and commercial. Many private cars had no passengers and that made me feel bad for a minute. 

Bumpiness all the way with this trip continued...

If you missed the first part, please read it here 

This was what the room looked like. I find the best in every situation, so here, there was clean water. It wasn’t brown but clear and that was amazing to me, given the circumstances. There was no phone network in the two villages where we would be working, but there was constant light. I hardly used it but it was comforting to know. 

The room consisted of a bed, a table and a chair

Bumpiness all the way with this trip

If you missed this post From One Place to Another, please follow the link as that will help to put things in context :-)

 We set out as early as 7am, we were going for a week. It was a rainy day and as we drove out of Bertoua, I was told that we would be driving on dirt/untarred roads for the rest of the trip. We finally took the turn that led onto the dirt road and gosh, nothing could have prepared me for that level of bumpiness. We drove through mud and deep pot holes, I gained a lot more respect for people who have jobs as drivers. The dexterity with which the car was handled, I would have come nothing close to it. I counted the hours, I tried to get my mind to wander but it just wouldn’t, every part of me was involved in the bumpy ride. My insides were turned over and over again, my body rocked back and forth violently as the road determined. We had a loo break in between and I jumped out of the car just not to feel constricted by it because I didn’t like the car very much at that point. See some photos which I managed to get when it wasn't so bumpy of the road below:

A trip to Mubi, Adamawa state

I was in Mubi, Adamawa state recently for two weeks. We flew into Yola, the state capital, then it took us about 5 hours to get to Mubi from Yola by road. Well, the speed limit was 80KMPH so I'm sure the trip could be shorter.
Mubi is one of the towns that you just have to know if you know the state well. That's where the state university is located and there is a famous cattle market in Mubi. A few times, we saw trucks leaving for Cameroon from Mubi with cattle and I hear that people from around Nigeria buy cattle and sheep from this market.

On giving lifts in Abuja

I don’t live in central Abuja and I see how people struggle to get some form of transport to get to work so I give people lifts on my way out. People who know Abuja well will easily know the locations that I mention in this post. 

My sister and I come out together normally, we both used to work in Maitama but at the end of last year, the organisation I work for moved to Asokoro. My sister still works in Maitama so we leave home a little earlier so I can drop her off before I go to work. On days when the traffic might be bad, I drop her off in Asokoro where she can jump into a taxi before I proceed to the office.

The Federal Secretariat is in between Asokoro and Maitama and we tend to give people going there lifts. 

One day we gave three people a lift and at AYA, one of the men asked if we were going to Garki and we said no, he got so angry, came out of the car and left the door open. We were all left with our mouths open. I think the other two feared that I could ask them out of the car and were so apologetic on his behalf but we said it was okay and they stopped at the Secretariat which was their destination. My sister and I laughed about it and carried on. Sometimes, people have tried to pay us but we tell them it’s free and they are always so thankful.