Day 305: The Hangover
Urgh. What a stupid idea THAT was. I woke up at 3pm, realising instantly that at 3pm, I’m supposed to be on board the Trochetia
Day 306: The Reunion in Réunion
Finally free of the good ship Trochetia (at least for a while) I made my way from La Port to St. Denis and caught the
Day 307: Passportout
TEAM ODYSSEY has a tentative lead – a cargo ship, the “DAL Madagascar” leaves here on Thursday (today is Tuesday), perhaps bound for Madagascar. This
Day 308: Vans Across The World
My poor old Vans. Used, abused, stuck to my feet for over 300 days of constant toil and hardship and now imbued with a smell
Day 309: The DAL Madagascar
The guys from next door came over for a farewell breakfast, which kind of spilled over to a farewell elevenses and then a farewell lunch.
Day 310: Slight Return
So by a bizarre set of coincidences, I find myself back in Mauritius. That’s okay – the last time that I came here, I actually
Day 311: Here Be Pirates
Polished off the new Dan Brown book, The Lost Symbol, which is, to be quite blunt, f—ing awful. The ‘twist’ was more obvious than if
Day 312: Madagascan Surprise
My factette about Madagascar being the only country in the world with 4 ‘a’s in the name seemed almost valid, that is until I woke
Day 313: Every Silver Lining Has A Cloud
Grr. I’m highly aggravated today, it’s probably best if you keep a safe distance. First up, I get out of bed at the ungodly hour
Day 314: A Rose By Any Other Name
My word, I’ve awoken in Australia! How’d THAT happen? Oh hang on, no – it’s just Madagascar doing a damn fine impression of my crimson-tinctured
Day 315: A Catatonic State
Wow. When the guidebook says that Diego is sleepy, they weren’t kidding. Which is possibly a good thing as my cold has reached its zenith
Day 316: U-Turn
Cuba. Cape Verde. Sao Tome and now the Seychelles – why do they have to make it so damn difficult to visit these islands on
Day 317: The Fake Southern Cross
Another night of sleeping on a Madagascan minibus wasn’t what I was really after when I came here. I feel like a tool now for
Days 318 to 348: Don’t Look Back In Anger
Oh Graham, you tease, what’s the meaning of this, compressing an entire MONTH of gallivanting into just one blog entry? Well, truth be told if
Days 349 to 350: The Good Ship
Yesterday I and 43 other passengers boarded the ‘Simacom’ bound for Dar es Saleem, three weeks to the day since I arrived in Comoros. It
Day 351: The Race Is ON!
Right. Here’s the deal. It’s Thursday 17th December. If I play my cards right, I reckon I can get to Egypt via Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi,
Day 352: In The Shadow of Kilimanjaro
Today’s mission was to get as close to the border of Rwanda as possible. I’m a bit miffed that I got stuck in Dodoma last
Day 353: A Dish Called Rwanda
Wow. Rwanda. Like, really, wow. I know what I like and I like what I see. I dragged my reluctant carcass out of bed at
Day 354: Business As Usual
You know when somebody says that something was a breath of fresh air? I can’t describe how apt that saying is when it comes to
Day 355: Mr Stanley, I Presume
Woke up on the bus, which had come to a halt sometime earlier in downtown Nairobbery. It was 5am as I staggered into a taxi
Day 356: The Special Bus
The bus we’re on is equipped to ferry schoolchildren around in Japan. It is not in any way shape or form designed to survive the
Day 357: The Hard Slog
Any time frame you are given in Africa, remember to add a few hours, or even days. Matt and I got up at 6am, just
Day 358: Birdstrike!
Another 6am bus didn’t seem like a lot of fun, but the minibus up to Addis turned out to be quite an eventful one, as
Day 359: Do They Know It’s Christmas?
After a good three hours sleep, I left the Dil Hotel to go and get a ticket for Dira Dawa on the ‘luxury’ coach. No
Day 360: Boxing Day In Somalia
This was it. The most critical day of The Odyssey so far – make or break, do or die, cake or death. Dino Deasha, that
Days 361 to 362: The Red Sea
3am phone calls are not my favourite form of wake-up call. When I picked up the phone it somehow integrated it into my dream so
Day 363: First Catch Your Jerk
Today we hit land in fortress Saudi, possibly the most difficult country in the world to pop in for a quick visit. It was a
Day 364: This Is A Drill
Yesterday’s little incident was soon forgotten and we were now making our way pell-mell towards the Suez canal – possibly the most famous canal in
Day 365: We’re Here
Egypt. Ground Zero. My first backpacking adventure was in Egypt ten years ago, an adventure which introduced me to the joys of backpacking, the love
THE ODYSSEY EXPEDITION: Review of 2009
I guess now is a good time to look back over what was the year that was, the highs and lows of life on the