Bridging The Continents

📍 Location: Merel’s Village, Sierra Leone 📝 Episode Notes Good day — November 8th. I spent more time talking with Chris Roller today, and the stories he shares are out of this world. He recently finished a huge solar project with dozens of stations, and now he’s planning to ride a small motorbike back to Freetown before returning to Botswana for his next project. After that, I made my way to see...

📍 Location: Makeni, Sierra Leone 📝 Episode Notes Good day — November 7th. Merel was planning to come back into town, grab a taxi, and meet up with me so we could walk into the center together. We thought we might meet Abdul and Maxwell as well — both of them Peace Corps workers just like Merel. As it turned out, everyone arrived at the same time, and the four of us set off together. They’ve all...

📍 Location: Makeni 📝 Episode Notes Good day — November 6th. I'm running a day behind, but I managed to call my son, Nathan, to wish him a happy birthday. Celebrating across continents isn’t always simple, but we made it work. I knew that Meryl would be coming into McKinney this afternoon. I’ve met her a few times before, mostly when she was young and her family lived near Seattle before moving t...

📍 Location Kadam Hotel & Kambia, Sierra Leone 📝 Episode Notes Good day. November 5, 2025. I’m staying at the Kadam Hotel in Kambia, which has its own well and water tank. Breakfast wasn’t included, so I picked up some fried bananas on the way. Today was special because I finally got to meet Summa, a local Peace Corps supporter, thanks to Merle Adrianze, who had recently worked in Sierra Leon...

📍 Location Conakry, Guinea → Kambia, Sierra Leone 📝 Episode Notes Today was all about finally securing my visa for Sierra Leone after yesterday’s delays. First, we needed to pay the $80 fee for each of us—me, Michael, and Freddy. They walked to a nearby bank to handle the payments while I stayed behind to organize the car. Their plan was to start walking again once we left the city; they’ve been...

📍 Location Conakry, Guinea 📝 Episode Notes Today turned into one of those travel days where nothing works the way it should, yet everything somehow works out anyway. I started the morning with the usual hotel breakfast—simple sandwich, egg, and coffee—and set out on what I thought would be a straightforward mission: getting my visa for Sierra Leone. Right away, the address for the embassy was wr...

Location Guinea-Bissau — hotel stay and local reflections before departure Episode Notes Good day! November 2, 2025, marked Johan’s last day traveling with me on this journey. He arranged a late-night flight to Paris, connecting on to Madrid, and then a train to Alcaceros to continue his plans. The morning started with a small hiccup—a one-hour flight delay—but everything eventually worked out. Jo...

Location Guinea — from rural backroads near the Sua Piti Dam to the chaotic streets of Conakry Episode Notes I woke up in a tent for the first time on this trip—soaked ground from the night’s rain, cow chips to dodge, but otherwise a peaceful start after yesterday’s battle with the mud. The morning roads were slow, rough, and winding, and for 50 kilometers I had to practically sculpt my way throug...

📍 Location Rural backroads of Guinea 📝 Episode Notes On October 31st, the day started with a small detail I forgot to mention from the night before—our very first time eating Norwegian army rations. Johan had brought them along, and honestly, once we added the 400 ml of hot water and let the packet sit for 15 minutes, it turned into a pretty decent meal. Not gourmet, but definitely not bad. In t...

📍 Location Koundara → Rural backroads of West Africa (October 30th) 📝 Episode Notes On October 30th, I left Kundara again—a busy, chaotic place—and hit the road without much of a breakfast. Early on, I finally met someone who made sense when it came to exchanging money. I swapped $200 and ended up with a ridiculous inch-and-a-half stack of bills. That’s just how currency works out here. The road...

📍 Location Bafatá, Guinea-Bissau → Kundara, Guinea 📝 Episode Notes Breakfast at the hotel in Bafatá was a welcome inclusion, and the morning brought an unexpected surprise: the car, dirty from the previous day, had been washed by the security staff. A small gesture, but much appreciated. The journey headed toward Kundara in Guinea, a second chance to make progress across the border. The roads re...

📍 Location Bafatá, Guinea-Bissau → Guinea Border 📝 Episode Notes On October 28th, the plan was to reach Guinea, following a seemingly short and plausible route displayed on the Garmin and other mapping apps. Once on the N1 highway in Guinea, the next day’s goal would be to arrive in Conakry. The route proved challenging, with roads far from ideal. A notable highlight was crossing the Cordobal Ri...

📍 Location Bissau → Bafatá, Guinea-Bissau 📝 Episode Notes Good day—October 27th. Even though staying an extra day in Bissau had become something of a pattern, we decided to keep moving. With Johan aiming to reach Conakry by November 1st to catch his flight back to Spain, we needed to stay on schedule. Before leaving, we explored a bit of old Bissau. The streets were chaotic—markets, people, moto...

📍 Location Banjul, The Gambia → Bissau, Guinea-Bissau 📝 Episode Notes On October 26th, I set out with the goal of reaching Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau. It was an ambitious travel day—283 kilometers and three border crossings: leaving The Gambia, entering Senegal, and finally entering Guinea-Bissau. The early part of the journey went smoothly. The Gambian roads were passable, my Garmin h...

📍 Location Banjul, The Gambia – West Africa’s smallest capital city, where river life, market chaos, and spontaneous music blend into one unforgettable day. 📝 Episode Notes In this episode, we head into Banjul , The Gambia’s compact capital, for a day full of close calls, cultural surprises, and unexpected friendships. After a night of Eric Clapton–style live music, the morning takes a near-hair...

Location: Serrekunda, The Gambia Episode Notes: October 24th was all about logistics, adventure, and connecting with family. One of the reasons to be in Serrekunda was to get a visa for Guinea-Bissau. Fortunately, we had already secured the visa in Dakar, and the consulate was just a half-hour walk from our hotel. The walk included a few challenges, like crossing a six-lane highway and navigating...

Location: Serrekunda, The Gambia Episode Notes: October 24th was all about logistics, adventure, and connecting with family. One of the reasons to be in Serrekunda was to get a visa for Guinea-Bissau. Fortunately, we had already secured the visa in Dakar, and the consulate was just a half-hour walk from our hotel. The walk included a few challenges, like crossing a six-lane highway and navigating...

Location: Serrekunda, The Gambia Episode Notes: On October 23rd, I finally made it into The Gambia after a delayed start. We decided to avoid the ferry crossing over the Gambia River due to uncertainty and went by road instead. It turned out to be an easy and scenic journey, with surprisingly friendly encounters along the way, especially compared to Senegal. Once in Serrekunda, I had the joy of re...

📍 Location Mbour & Bandia Reserve, Senegal → Kaolack, Senegal (en route to The Gambia) 📝 Episode Notes Today was supposed to be our travel day to The Gambia, but it quickly turned into an unexpected adventure. In the morning, I met a French family who had a driver organized to visit the Bandia Reserve , about 20–25 km from our location. It turns out Bandia Reserve is where most of Senegal’s...

📍 Location Mbour, Senegal — Hotel Coeur Maracas and the local beach/fish market 📝 Episode Notes Today I’m at the Hotel Coeur Maracas, right on the beach in Mbour. The beach itself isn’t ideal for swimming because of all the rocks, but luckily the hotel has a small pool that came in handy. I decided to take a walk towards town and explore Mbour’s amazing fishing community. The fishing scene here...

📍 Location Dakar, Senegal → Mbour, Senegal 📝 Episode Notes In this episode, it’s business time in Dakar. The day begins with a mission — to secure a visa for Guinea — and quickly becomes an odyssey through embassy relocations, long waits, and chance encounters. From the old embassy address to the new one near the African Renaissance Monument, every step is an exercise in patience and persistence...

📍 Location: Mbour, Senegal 📝 Episode Notes: It’s a quiet Sunday morning in Mbour — the kind of morning where the streets breathe slowly and the city feels half asleep. Johan and I set out in search of a proper bakery, only to discover that “bakery” here means one thing above all else: bread. We wander through a maze of baguettes, bicycles, and early risers hauling loaves across town, each bakery...

📍 Location: Dakar, Senegal 🗒️ Episode Notes: October 18, 2025 — Today we left our beachside paradise in M’Bour and made our way to Dakar. It was a late morning start after picking up our laundry, and the drive took us mostly along the toll road — about 1,400 CFA this time. Dakar greeted us with its usual energy and movement, but finding our stay turned into a small adventure. Johan had found what...

Location: M’Bour, Senegal Episode Notes: Today was a special one — my 72nd birthday! And what better place to celebrate than right here on the Senegalese coast. The plan was simple: take it easy, enjoy the warm air, and have dinner in town to mark the occasion. It made me think back to another memorable birthday years ago — this one on the opposite side of Africa, when I was on Mount Kilimanjaro ,...

Location: St. Louis to Saly (via Kaolack and M’Bour), Senegal Episode Notes: Today’s journey took us from St. Louis toward Dakar — not quite into the capital itself, but close enough to handle the essential errands that come with overlanding across borders. I needed to get the vehicle’s carnet de passage officially signed off at the customs office in Dakar, since the temporary paper we had was onl...