I spent January out tripping in West Africa. More specifically, over 30 days, I backpacked 3,800 km from Morocco to Senegal, using buses, minivans, mopeds, sept-place cars (seven-seater Peugeots), a horse-drawn cart, one ferry, a couple of quatre-quatre (4×4 Toyota trucks), and a brutal iron-ore train that, coincidentally, at two-and-a-half kilometers, ranks as the longest train in the world.
Aside from one five-hour stretch of vomiting (on which I blame Senegalese box wine) and a few rough transit days, it was exactly the trip I needed to help me get up and dust myself off from a couple of soul-crushing events in December. I plan to write about the adventure in some shape or form; for now, here are a few observations.
Being 50, with a newly shorn head and an androgynous travel wardrobe, will not prevent African men from propositioning you.
People maintain a beautiful commitment to family, rest time and community. But having a close-knit family doesn’t negate the stress of a lack of a reliable income and opportunities to earn money. Their governments have failed them in this regard, and hence they migrate. I met a trio of Gambian migrants—a married couple and another woman—in the immigration office at Mauritania’s northern frontier. They’d traveled 1,200 km before being caught. They later rode in my mini-bus, with a police escort, to the jail in Nouadhibou, where they would be processed and eventually deported. The wife was six months pregnant, and could only watch out the window as their steps were erased, the scenery she thought they’d left behind flying by once again. When I told the other woman that I liked her scarf, she offered to give it to me.
Morocco is the ninth-largest world producer of Mandarin oranges, and exports them regionally. Mandarins are abundant. I ate them the whole time.
Kids are kids are kids. Bright eyed. Precocious. Full of possibility and potential. And yet still annoying when they call me “toubab” and ask for money.
My T-Mobile partner cell service is considerably better on a one-lane highway in sparsely populated Western Sahara, with no towns for miles, than it is in Bellevue, Washington, two miles from T-Mobile headquarters.
China has a heavy presence in much of Africa, as it has for two decades. Its expats and companies are grudgingly tolerated in Mauritania. They build infrastructure in exchange for export contracts and access to natural resources, such as exclusive fishing zones off the Mauritanian coast. One byproduct of Chinese capital is that the Bay of Nouadhibou’s infamous ship graveyard is disappearing. It once held up to 300 corpses. Now there are about five left, the others having been cut up for scrap metal.
Sex tourism isn’t only in Thailand. Some fifty-plus-year-old French people hook up with young locals in Senegal. It even happened at my European-run auberge.
The restaurant doesn’t have to be fancy for the food to be really damn fine. Example: Chez N’Tifi in Dakhla, Western Sahara. Also, I love that Dakhla has a fast-food joint called Bivouac Express.
There will be a lot of police checkpoints, and at many, they will ask for your passport and spend 10 minutes writing down the relevant data. In Mauritania, you can get ahead of the game by creating a “fiche” with all of the needed information. Once you find the only shop for miles that makes photocopies, run about 20, then hand one over to the checkpoint officer before he even has a chance to finish his sentence. As the only foreigner in the vehicle, watch your popularity increase among the other passengers when your rad prep skills spare them the extra-long stop.
It’s disheartening to see my share value drop in everyone’s eyes as soon as I tell them I don’t have children, and they almost recoil if I include that it’s because I don’t want children. It’s disturbing and heartbreaking to hear stories of ongoing female genital mutilation and child marriage. I pray for a day when girls and women around the world have full agency and equality.
Jamie Leclerc says
I love the new haircut and love reading a out your trip even more! I am a little shocked by the T-movile service in Bellevue, WA! I hope this trip is cleansing your soul!
Laura Zera says
Hey Jamie, a deeply felt thank you! And T-Mobile tells me it’s because there are so many trees in Washington state, which still seems somewhat ridiculous, that they haven’t mastered that scenario yet! 😀
Andrea Mitchell says
I love reading your stories Laura, I feel like we are standing together having a conversation.
Well done, you are braver than I ever will be!
xo
Laura Zera says
I wish we were standing together having a conversation, Andy! Soon, hopefully. Thank you for reading. xox
Molly Greene says
I love you and your travel stories to bits, Laura, and I have for years now. I’m also deeply sorry to hear you have any troubles in your life and hope this trip helped you heal from them. Mwah!
Laura Zera says
You too, Molly. And thank you. It’s one day at a time, one foot in front of the other, right? Hope all is well in Cali. xox
Kris says
Loved the post. Funny (T-Mobile), interesting (recoil from not wanting kids), heartbreaking (the way women are treated; Gambian migrants). Thanks for taking us along on the trip.
Laura Zera says
Yeah, if you ever want to defend your decision to not have kids, visit West Africa! Thanks for reading, Kris.
Amit says
Wonderful observations Laura! A snapshot of travel and intersections with other lives and cultures.. which reminds us of our vulnerability, differences and similarities too. I wish your soul a journey of renewal after its crushing… looks like you did well, heading out into the world.
Laura Zera says
Thank you, Amit. Coming home — back to the same old, same old — was difficult, but I at least came with renewed, and new, perspectives. Which is why it’s always good to travel and in that state of being concerned only about the basics for survival — food, water, transport, and a safe place to sleep. I think it’s a good reset button.
Marie A Bailey says
Ah, what you said in one of your comments about the trip being a “good reset button.” I’ve never experienced deprivation to the extent you have. The closest I can come is when I’ve gone backpacking. Still, when you have to make do with only what you can comfortably carry for several miles, it brings you closer to appreciating what you have and what you really need. I’m so glad you made this trip. What you’ve learned about yourself and the memories you’ve made are priceless. Thanks for taking us along. You’re a wonderful guide.
Laura Zera says
Ahhh, thank you so much for your kind words, Marie. You are a truly generous human.
Jeri says
Your shorn head is fabulous! A long trip is always a great way to make new memories and clear the head. You write with insight and humor, and that’s no small feat. As I’ve been subbing, girls who do ask me questions always want to know if I’m married and if I have kids. “Nope and nope!” Yep, that feeling of plummeting share value is always cause for a slight pause in my brain. But I am HAPPILY divorced and I have kittens of mass destruction! And degrees and hobbies and writing talent and on and on and on…
Laura Zera says
Right? I tried a few times to explain to people (in French, so badly) about how a woman’s value lies in more than her reproductive activity. My argument didn’t land very well. I mean, come on, kittens of mass destruction! Who needs anything else?!
Thanks for being here, Jeri. My shorn head has been shorn once more and is now fully gray! Here’s to the revolution! HAAAA!
Marie A Bailey says
Congrats on your gray hair. I did the same thing years ago. Got fed up with dyeing it so I shaved all my hair off using my husband’s beard trimmer. It was mid-summer in Florida so it was also good timing 😉 I love having gray hair. A perk is that you don’t need to bleach your hair if you want to add rainbow colors which I do from time to time. Purplish pink goes very well with gray 😉
Laura Zera says
I love that you did it yourself! Hard core!! And I just might experiment with colors (I love what you’ve done with that)—the thought has definitely crossed my mind.
Valerie Poore says
What a great adventure, Laura. In all your observations (both positive and negative), I am very glad to hear you were never scared. Being propositioned is not so nice but as long as it doesn’t carry any threat with it, it’s manageable. Apart from that, you look fabulous with your new hair!
Valerie Poore says
PS As for the Chinese presence, you are right! I’m afraid they more or less ‘own’ much of Africa now.
Laura Zera says
Hey Val! Yes, exactly, “manageable” is a good word. The Chinese presence in Africa is troubling to me, especially now that I’ve recently read how much crime money China has laundered in the Vancouver, B.C. (and area) real estate market. A LOT! And so many countries in Africa aren’t exactly known for being clean and law abiding. So it feels like Africa is easy pickins’ for China. Blech.