The videos are back!
I had lots of time to be efficient on the cargo vessel that took me back from Cape Town to Rotterdam in three weeks. Without internet and cellular network, I had nothing to do but watching the sea and working on my laptop, so I am now back in Europe with most of my videos compiled.
The downside is that I have not been consistent with filming while cycling in some countries. I have almost no videos from certain countries, bad ones from others, so it has been harder to make an entertaining movie out of it. For example, out of 1500 KM cycled in Senegal, I have only 23 takes, while I have three times more for the 700 KM cycled in Sierra Leone. It depended on my mood, on the weather, and on the fact I didn’t consider my country movies as a “deliverable”. That is why I combined some countries together, so here come Senegal, The Gambia, and the two Guineas together.
This movie, of 2800 kilometers cycled in the four countries over 3 months, features the Touba Mosque, the city of Saint-Louis, the Lompoul “desert”, a border-post between Gambia and Casamance that doesn’t really exist, the market in Bissau, and the dirt and tough roads of the Fouta Djalon (for not much longer, since the Koundara-Labé road is being paved by the Chinese).
The videos are compiled in HD 1280 x 720, so they will play fine full screen.
Places traveled:
Senegal (Saint-Louis, Djoudj, Louga, Touba, Lompoul, Mboro, Dakar, Toubab Dialaw, Foundiougne, Kaolack, Abéné, Ziguinchor) – The Gambia (Amdalai, Juffureh, Serekunda) – Guinea-Bissau (Bula, Bissau, Bafata, Gabu) – Guinea (Koundara, Labé, Pita, Mamou, Farmoriah).
Very inspiring story ! Thank you for your video =D Can I ask you what do you think about a women doing the same ? I really want to go from France to West Africa and go around this part of the world by bike, and I would be very greatful to have your opinion about it ? As my parents are pretty fearful about my project, sometimes it makes me doubt !
Have a good day,
Charline.
Hi Charline!
It’s surely a different experience as a single woman, but I know of a few who cycled down via the West coast. You can read for example:
https://cyclingcindy.com/tag/africa/
http://helenstakeon.com/portfolio/take-on-africa/
https://dorothee-fleck.com/
https://www.pushbikegirl.com/inspiration-2/interviews-solo-female-cyclists/emma-vaanemo-cycled-sweden-to-cape-town/?lang=en
I try to avoid big cities and suburbs as the nicest roads, landscape and people are often not there. Locals in rural areas are very hospitable and it’s relatively easy to find a village to camp or be hosted every evening. All the best 🙂
J’ai lu ce récit avec passion, car je m’apprête à faire Quimper-Saly en vtt, en touriste bien sûr, bien que je sois un ancien coursier. Si tout se passe bien, je prolongerai sans doute mon voyage plus bas. Si on pouvait se contacter, je serai très content. Toutes les informations sont utiles et ça renforce la motivation, sans compter le plaisir des contacts humains.
A très bientôt j’espère.
Bonjour,JB
J’ai bien aimé le récit de tes voyages.
Peut etre que tu pourras me renseigner,je souhaite aider un nouvel ami ,sur Facebook,qui est Gambien.
J’aimerais connaittre ,le cout de la nourriture dans ce pays,pour lui envoyer un peu d’argent ,afin qu’il puisse se nourrir correctement ,lui et son jeune frére.
Merci de me contacter.