The biggest surprise on my whole Trans-African journey was definitely Angola. As the vast country is filled with stunning scenery, it took me quite some time to compile an 18 minute video about the two months spent there in February and March 2014.

This 2800 KM long video features the 12-hour chata trip around the Congo river mouth between Cabinda and Soyo, the sand road until N’zeto, the new roads in the mountains of Quibaxe and Golungo Alto, the non-existent roads and dugout canoe passages in the Landos around Kixinge and Longanhia, the mountain roads around Uku-Seles, Lubango, its carnival, Cristo-rei and Tundavala, the Serra-da-Leba road, the last rains of the rainy season in the Cunene province around Otchinjau, and some big caterpillars.

What the video doesn’t say is that with Dave (at 16:15, we just met for a day as he was going north), we needed 2-3 hours to clean the sticky mud from the 50-meter stretch between our tents and the gravel road. Nor does it say that I have been taken to police stations almost every day for looking suspicious (and for being a cycle-tourist, or for taking pictures (for example, of the valley at 10:10) without “authorization”).

More details and stories here and more photos there. The HD version only works on the vimeo website.

One of the soundtracks I used is from Irma Sofia, and she has plenty of nice songs and videos on Youtube. Zungeira (ambulant street vendors, the ladies who carry stuff on their head and walk a lot) is a song I first heard at Bernardo’s on my first day in mainland Angola.

Places traveled:
Cabinda, Soyo, Kavugi, N’zeto, Ambriz, Caxito, Ucua, Quibaxe, Ngonguembo, Dondo, Cambambe, Kixinge, Mumbondo, Longanhia, Porto-Amboim, Sumbe, Uku-Seles, Atome, Chila, Bocoio, Balombo, Ganda, Chicuma, Caluquembe, Vatuco, Cacula, Lubango, Cristo-Rei, Tundavala, Bibala, Serra-da-Leba, Humpata, Jau, Chibia, Quihita, Cahama, Otchinjau, Tapella, Chitado, Ruacana.