Four countries across Africa

[MojaveGeek]

Especially coming in overland, immigration at a lot of African checkpoints is quite the show. Crossing from Nigeria into Cameroon the immi guy got very upset when I tried to show him where my visa was in my passpoart (at that point I had the first of an eventual four of the accordion passport foldouts. Then an argument ensues about how much time he is going to allow when he stamps me in. The visa showed "90 days" but he said "Don't tell me how to do my job". Looking for a dash / bribe?

Then exiting Central African Republic (which was fun, by dugout canoe across the Ubangi river) they said we did not have "entrance visa" (somehow different than the real visa) and seized our passports. A trip to the American Embassy got those back, but it took a day.

But after crossing the entire DRC (Zaire back then) we managed to talk our way into Uganda without visas. Wow that was stupid This was in the early days of Idi Amin when the country went crazy for some years - a few days later came his decree about women not being allowed to wear western clothes - i.e., had to wear full length African skirts. And that was just the beginning.

Somehow Africa gets in your blood, and you remember these things 50 years late. Malaria also got in my blood, but I'll hold off on that story.

[Kauri]

Geek, have you ever thought of writing a book about your travels? I for one would certainly enjoy reading it!

[netllama]

Especially coming in overland, immigration at a lot of African checkpoints is quite the show. Crossing from Nigeria into Cameroon the immi guy got very upset when I tried to show him where my visa was in my passpoart (at that point I had the first of an eventual four of the accordion passport foldouts. Then an argument ensues about how much time he is going to allow when he stamps me in. The visa showed "90 days" but he said "Don't tell me how to do my job". Looking for a dash / bribe?

Then exiting Central African Republic (which was fun, by dugout canoe across the Ubangi river) they said we did not have "entrance visa" (somehow different than the real visa) and seized our passports. A trip to the American Embassy got those back, but it took a day.

But after crossing the entire DRC (Zaire back then) we managed to talk our way into Uganda without visas. Wow that was stupid This was in the early days of Idi Amin when the country went crazy for some years - a few days later came his decree about women not being allowed to wear western clothes - i.e., had to wear full length African skirts. And that was just the beginning.

Somehow Africa gets in your blood, and you remember these things 50 years late. Malaria also got in my blood, but I'll hold off on that story.

Indeed African land border crossings are always a wildcard. Sometimes they are crazy bonkers (Botswana -> Zimbabwe & DRC), other times they are well organized and efficient (South Africa -> eSwatini & Burundi -> Rwanda), and then there are the times when everyone is literally asleep (Malawi -> Zambia). I've never had my passport confiscated at a border, although its happened more than once by corrupt police seeking a bribe (Mozambique & Gambia).

[MojaveGeek]

Oh from time to time I do google, for example, the "hippie trail" - the usual overland route between Istanbul and Delhi. But I'm too busy to write a book Maybe when I can no longer spend weeks at a time out hiking in mountains or desert... though I'll probably be too demented again to differentiate true memories from fantasies. I do have some old journals I kept during some parts of my trip but they are dominated by thoughts of a 20 year old trying to figure out the meaning of life.