Monday July 16 Crossing into our fourteenth country today, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the lovely roads of Angola ended at the border with sandy roads greeting us the minute we crossed. There were several villages that we passed through and then a larger town where adults and children alike asked us for food, water, cigarettes and money. I find myself getting annoyed sometimes but am working on the 'if you don't ask, you don't know' theory. They're not necessarily expecting us to give them anything but if they don't ask, they don't know. For the most part we just wave and when it gets too much, I lie down on the seat so I can't be seen. Hearing them calling is enough to make me feel guilty though. Along the sandy road is remnants ... read more

Tuesday July 10 We're in The Congo! Well, Republic of Congo to be exact; not too far from the Gabon border that we crossed earlier today. Our free camp isn't too far off the road and several youngsters found us but either they kept their little secret to themselves or the adults weren't interested. Driving along solid dirt roads again, the landscape was similar to yesterday. A small section of sealed road appeared in the border town where people frantically pointed to the building we'd driven past and listening to them, Suse turned the truck around and we found out it was immigration. Notes said it was 48km further down the track but here it was. Somehow we'd missed the tiny sign sitting under the window from the main road 100 metres away. Go figure. Filing ... read more

Monday July 2 I sat up front with Denise for the drive to the capital, Yaounde. Still being obsessed with 'The Meat Man', we found a good one for lunch, huddling close to try and stay out of the rain. It seemed to stop and Denise and I went looking for a bathroom when it began to pour. Within seconds we were soaked through, needing a change of clothes. It was an easy drive along good roads and we were on the outskirts of Yaounde when a tyre burst. Pulling over, I jumped out to help Suse reverse a short distance to a petrol station where we could turn in and change it off the road. The directions into town weren't overly helpful as there seemed to be several new roads to choose from. Taking a ... read more

Saturday June 16 We had packed everything up and were on the truck before the rain became heavy, waving goodbye to villagers who came out to see us off. Back onto the main road, most people settled in to sleep, read or watch the world go by and it was quiet. We arrived in Osogbo after midday where trip notes gave us directions to 'Okonfo's house'. With nothing else mentioned, we had no idea who - or what - Okonfo was so at the bottom of the street, Toby took off on a moto-taxi to investigate. Returning with a thumbs up, we navigated the narrow path with deep crevices and low wires and coming over a final crest, arrived at Okonfo's house. What a character. Okonfo is of indeterminate age with an abundance of energy. A ... read more

**photos have been added! Tuesday June 5 It was a stroke of luck deciding to sleep on the truck as a huge storm arrived in the middle of the night without warning, catching everyone off guard and flooding tents before people were able to get their rain covers on. I lay on the seats under my mosquito net (first time it's been used!) watching the lightning and torrential rain and jumping when the thunder crashed directly overhead It was an uneventful morning until we were all on the truck, ready to hit the Benin border late morning. When the truck wheels first spun, barely anyone moved; it happens occasionally and we're used to the sound. But then the front right hand side seemed to drop and that got our attention. Jumping down we saw the source ... read more