A Death in the Family

On our roadtrip in northern Togo, we drove through a village called Kpele-Konda. We took a detour to reach it, but drove to the end of the village and back without stopping. “We… Continue reading →

Road Tripping Togo

The cooler box is loaded into the car, packed full of sodas and beers. We have a chauffeur, air conditioning, snacks, and plenty of leg space. This time, we are travelling in style.… Continue reading →

Quatorze ans après

Read in English with Google Translate Cela faisait quatorze ans que je n’étais pas retourné au Togo. Le pays de mon père devait être l’une des étapes importantes de notre voyage, celle où… Continue reading →

Getting Through a Crisis

All is not well in Cote d’Ivoire. Once one of the most developed countries in Africa, things seem to have disintegrated in recent years. “La crise”, Ivorians call it. The first sign of… Continue reading →

Perfect Strangers

Our detour through Guinea takes us to an overnight stop in a small city with the funky name of N’Zerekore (N’Z for short) in the region of Guinée Forestière. As it is just… Continue reading →

Africa Votes Obama!

America hasn’t voted yet, but if Africa were voting there would be a clear winner…

The Love of Liberty Brought “U.S.” Here

Most of Africa is a patchwork of European colonization, with pieces of the continent having been divided up between France, England, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Germany, and Spain. In the middle of West Africa,… Continue reading →

Rainy Season Blues

It is difficult to imagine a country in war. This is the thought that goes through our heads as we enter Sierra Leone and walk through the streets of Freetown. We are in… Continue reading →

Mauritanian Landscapes

Mauritania has been a surprise. We had imagined a country of vast desert stretching endlessly into the distance, an Islamic republic with an inward gaze unwelcoming to tourists, an undeveloped infrastructure where we… Continue reading →

Riding the Iron Ore Train

Forty-five years ago, a young Togolese man named Mr Désiré Johnson rode the iron ore train across the Mauritanian desert. En route to France, he rode in a bin atop of a pile… Continue reading →