Africa

After fourteen hours travelling on a mini bus from central Tripoli in Libya to Tunis followed by a seven hour train journey to the oasis town of Tozeur, I eventually reached Douz on another mini bus intending to make a desert trek deep into the Sahara.

I'd wanted to go to Libya for a while but had been put off by what had seemed to be mountains of red tape and the apparently prohibitive expense of having of having to sign up for an escorted group tour. After looking into it a bit more deeply, however, I discovered that it was possible to visit Libya for 48 hours without having to join an expensive package tour.I found that I could combine a longer trip to West Africa - where I could fly into Cotonou in Benin, and then fly home for Bamako in Mali - with a short break in Tripoli. The visa would cost me 90 Euros but there was no extra change for the stopover. As Afriqiyah was the cheapest option from London to West Africa, anyway, I thought I'd try and make it to Libya before all the crowds arrived. 

I'm glad I never got to see him when he was alive. It was tough enough having to deal with his one hundred ninety pounds of dead weight all zipped up inside a sleeping bag. I didn't want to know what he looked like.

Africa has always fascinated me ever since I stumbled across a copy of Mungo Park’s ‘Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa’ when I first starting my teacher training back in 2008. It led me to accepting a job as in an independent primary school teaching the British curriculum to expat and local families in Nairobi, Kenya. Though Park’s book detailed his journey across West Africa, the mystic of Africa was a compelling reason for me to accept the job in the other side of the continent.

I am Mpho. This is my new name. I have a new identify, a new life, a new country. It is a dream fulfilled to be in Africa.

I decided to visit South Africa for 3 months of football coaching, sun, drinking and fun (although I only signed up for the coaching, they were adamant at the introduction that we were only allowed to drink during the weekends).