So it’s now one day out of Luanda.  I haven’t slept well, it’s hot as Hades, and packing the bike is a pain in the ass (thanks to my overflowing wisdom in not bringing hard metal panniers and being forced to shove everything inside crappy softbags, my duffel bag, and the rest bungee’d and cam-buckle-tie-down’d [...]

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Today is my 29th birthday – I can’t tell you where exactly I am in Central Africa because my blog is not up to date thanks to glacial “internet” speeds and that would derail the whole telling-the-trip-story-in-order train, but I can beg you all for a happy birthday text message at +972 543 562 761 [...]

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After the Great Valve Cover Bolt Airlift of 2008 was completed, and the victory parades had stopped, the ticker tape was swept from the streets, and the NY Times journalists had (mostly) stopped calling, it was time to hit the road.

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Angola held its first elections in 16 years on Friday.  During the time I was there there were constant rallies (mostly supporting the main party and forgone concluded victor, the MPLA) and general chaos, with everything from random scooter parades of teenagers in party t-shirts waving flags to a quad-bike rally on the beach on [...]

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After a tough week of travel from Namibia to Luanda, I was graciously allowed to camp out back at the local Yacht Club.  Free camping is great, but with a not-so-great "shower" and "bathroom facilities," after several days of playing the Great African Visa Waiting Game, negotiating the never-ending traffic, getting lost repeatedly (thanks to [...]

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A constant refrain I have heard throughout my African trip from almost every african I have encountered  is "wow that’s dangerous!  I mean, here in (SA/Namibia/Angola/DRC/etc.) it’s plenty safe, but over THERE, those people are DIFFERENT. In my experience, you need the world’s largest grain of salt when talking to any African who has rarely [...]

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