Just after editing this video, I found out that I had malaria. Since many strains of malaria, including the one that I contracted come on somewhat slow, you just start to feel more and more weird and look worse and worse over time. I realize now that I never actually wrote anything to go along [...]
With all the organizations and people we met and talked with around the world, often it felt like people were just wasting time and money with silly ideas for aid. Often these ideas provide little to no real lasting help to people in the world in need. This story is genius.
Traveling around the world gives you an unparalleled view into the daily lives of people in countless cultures around the globe. In many ways, people throughout the world do a lot of the same things, but the interesting part is how they go about accomplishing those things. Take for example the simple task of taking a shower.
Gabon was a pretty short segment on the expedition. We crossed into Gabon from Cameroon with only a few objectives: get our visas for the Congo and the DRC in Libreviile and pick up our newest crew member, Jen. Gabon turned out to be a pretty laid back country and it was also geographically significant because it was our first time crossing the equator in the Toyotas. While we waited for the visa process, we met a local guy who went by the name of Jack Daniel. Jack was working on building some bungalows on a quiet piece of property he had purchased just outside Libreville. Jack was kind enough to let us pitch our tents on the property and even cooked us some great meals while we were there. In return, we thought it would be a good gesture if we helped JD out with some of the work. In the end, it was definitely more of a gesture than anything tangible because after 10 minutes of swinging an axe around or attempting to dig a trench, the heat and humidity of Gabon got to you and you had no choice but to take a break with JD and some of his homemade palm wine.
Our original plan was to leave Dolisie and head directly to Brazzaville, however, our sources in Dolisie said that the road to Brazzaville was not safe and we would most certainly encounter rebels along the way. The only other alternative was to head west to Pointe Noire and get our Angola visas there. From Pointe Noire, we could cross through the Angolan province of Cabinda before heading south into the DRC and then continuing on into mainland Angola. This was the same route our friends the African Surfers had taken so we headed west without hesitation considering it would save us a lot of driving on poor roads, we had been offered a place to stay in Pointe Noire and assistance with our visas and I was still extremely ill with malaria.
