I had so enjoyed his company, his delight in travel, his easygoing nature, sense of humor, facility with French patois, and his efforts and ambition to make a better life for himself and his family, that I decided to take another trip with God on my side. But this trip was to be different: I’d be the guide and God the guest. I’d be doing God’s work. Since God was still growing his business and had no spare cash, I’d offered to pay for the trip, which he liked, and to take him to several West African countries he’d never seen, and thus expand his range, which he liked. I’d study the route and the means of transportation, which he liked, and I’d select the camps and hotels where we stayed, which God did not like at all after he realized that my standard for what constituted tolerable habitation was much, much lower than his. The time was February of 2006 and our itinerary was Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea (Conakry). It turned out, not surprisingly, to be typical TIA—This Is Africa—which means lots of wasted time, slow transit, poor roads, starchy food, battalions of bugs, problems exchanging money, power failures, paranoid patriots, widespread petty corruption, and ubiquitous poverty, but at least the guns of war and the flames of revolution were on hiatus.
What do You think about Around The World In 50 Years?
