The first Herculean task: Finding backpackers' insurance for a silverback, and then the bonus: finding out more about the Ethiopian coffee ceremony

There is something seriously wrong with this world. Just when you are old enough to start enjoying the excitement of travel, you are no longer an 'infant' and your parents have to pay for your air tickets. Just when you are confident enough to go really really high on the swings in the park, you are not allowed on them any more because you have had your 12th birthday. Just when your business reaches a peak in its success, you don't qualify for the Young Business Person of the Year any more because your are over 30. And just when you have finally organized your children and grandchildren and home and ipod and potplants and debit orders for the gas and electricity and want to leave on a truck to circumvent Africa, you can't get travel insurance because you are "not of the age when you should be doing things like this".

Every company I have gone to has shut the door in my face. Amazing! getting medical insurance for this trip sorted was not a problem (a zillion tests and scans and screenings and jabs and more tests and interrogations and x-rays and other unspeakable things later, but still, not a problem). But getting someone to sell you travel insurance for a trip that will last 11 months if you are not living where you are a citizen and do not reside where your address is, if you are not young and tanned and tattooed and pierced and bearded and plugged into your ipod, is downright impossible. And the company with which I am going won't let me on the truck unless I am insured against theft and loss of luggage and passport, legal expenses, personal indemnity, cancellations and the such.

Mmmmmmmm...

But -- this morning I felt that familiar flutter of excitement about the trip again when a friend pulled out an Ethiopian jebena she had bought as a gift and wondered at the strange design of it. I googled the Ethiopian coffee ceremony to share with her -- and realized once again that this was just one of the many many fascinating things I am going to be seeing and experiencing on my trip!

The Ethiopians have a lovely coffee ceremony that is part of their daily lives. A little like the Japanese tea ceremony, there are certain procedures to follow and traditions that have withstood the test of time.

The coffee is brewed by first roasting the green coffee beans over hot coals in a brazier. As the coffee begins to crackle as it is roasted, the hostess may add cardamom, cinnamon and cloves to the mix. Once the beans are roasted each participant is given an opportunity to sample the aromatic smoke by wafting it towards them. This is followed by the grinding of the beans, traditionally in a wooden mortar and pestle. The coffee grounds are then put into a special vessel and boiled.

The boiling pot or jebena is usually made of pottery and then stained almost black, has a spherical base, a neck and pouring spout and a handle where the neck connects with the base. When the coffee boils up through the neck it is poured in and out of another container to cool it, and then is put back into the boiling pot until it happens again.

To pour the coffee from the boiling pot, a filter made from horsehair or other material is placed in the spout. At this point, the coffee is ready to be served. A tray of very small, handle-less ceramic or glass cups is arranged with the cups very close together. The ceremony performer pours the coffee in a single stream from about a foot above the cups, ideally filling each cup equally without breaking the stream of coffee. The dregs of the coffee remain in the pot. This technique prevents coarse grounds from ending up in the coffee cups.

In some cases, the youngest child may serve the oldest guest the first cup of coffee. Afterward, the performer serves everyone else.

Guests may add their own sugar if they’d like. Milk is not typically offered. After adding sugar, guests bunna tetu --“drink coffee” and praise the hostess for her skill and the coffee for its taste.

After the first round of coffee, there are typically two additional servings. The three servings are known as abol, tona and baraka. Each serving is progressively weaker than the first. Each cup is said to transform the spirit, and the third serving is considered to be a blessing on those who drink it.

A tasty morsel of what is to come: from Rebecca - who did the trip last year...

camp fires and cabbage patches, sandstorms and sweet tea, ice cold beer and the Roxette Appreciation Society, a truck named Ruby, mud mosques and the call to prayer, 3 little pigs and Secret Santa’s, bakeries and bread frisbee, beach parties and slave castles, waterfalls and rainforests, wall-to-wall markets, trowels and toilet stops, voodoo and stilt villages, tanker trucks, flat tyres, warm springs and baboon warfare, bogged truck and river baths, shovels and mud-bailing, bugs, bugs and more bugs, thunderstorms and lightning shows, dirt roads and dust storms, convoys, ferry crossings, cheese platters and weevil bread, broken prop shafts, drive days, pet rats, sunrises and safaris, salt pans and seal colonies, sand dunes, mountains and canyons, apple sours and steaks, mokoros and booze cruises, national parks and game drives, wood markets, hippo visits and lake-surfing, spice tours and museums, gorillas and chocolate cake, rafting, injera, tej, museums, rock-hewn lakes and monasteries, horse treks and happiness leaves, rock-hewn churches and stellae, local buses, 45 degrees and just a “little” sweat, weddings and the Pakistani outfits, feluccas, pyramids, taming camels and donkeys, tombs and catacombs, monasteries and mountain climbing, scuba diving, sunsets and double-apple sheesha, Indiana Jones, souqs and castles, fairy chimneys and hot air ballooning, tree houses and ruins, island-hopping, Anzacs, scrubbed clean at a Turkish bath, and LONG LIVE THE WEASEL!

My mouth is watering!

The Day of the Needles...

Sounds like the name of some low-budget horror film, doesn't it? But it is the start of immunizing myself against the plethora of possible voodoo spells that Africa holds in store for me...

What one wouldn't do to follow that dream! Today I spent a couple of hours at the Travel Doctor -- for jabs against just about anything known to man:

Rotavirus
HPN
Tetanus
Diptheria
Pertussis
Polio
Typhoid
Hepatitis A
Hepatitus B
Yellow Fever
Rabies
Jap B Encephalitis
Schistosomiasis
Cholera
Onchocerciasis
Lymphatic filiariasis
Trypanosomiasis
Meningitis
Influenza

Enough! The last time I had that many needles in me was when I went for an acapuncture session in Yokohama! The next session is next Friday, then they continue until the 1st of March next year. At every session I will be getting three or four vaccinations.

And I always believed that if I cannot pronounce the name of a disease, I should not be able to get it anyway! -- And those listed are only the ones they have vaccines for. I am even getting two vaccinations against influenza -- which will be a first for me! But I reckon sitting on the back of a truck with 8 other people for 42 weeks is pretty much in the same category as my little granddaughter spending three mornings a week in a play group -- if there is a bug -- ANY bug somewhere in the vicinity of a twenty kilometre radius, she is definitely going to bring it home with her. Better safe than sorry has to be the motto here!

Talking to my medical family members, there are new diseases and bugs and viruses and creepy crawlies discovered daily in Africa, ready and lying in wait for me. So -- if there is a vaccination against anything that you know of and I have not heard about, let me know -- I am going to get me one of those!

This is the plan...

Many ships have asked for sanctuary
in the harbour of my eyes
I refused asylum to all of them
Your ships alone
Have the right to take refuge
In my territorial waters
Your ships alone
Have the right to sail in my blood
Without prior permission.

I am a child of Africa, an African soul. And soon I set off on a year-long journey that I have waited an entire lifetime to do.

People ask me "Why?" Why would I want to go travel across a continent over a period of almost a year, eschewing all comfort, all conveniences, everything that we gather around us to achieve a certain level of life style that we have become accustomed to.

The answer is probably as complicated and as impossible to express as when people asked the same question when I set off on my pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago de Compostella two years ago: It is something I have a yearning to do. I need to explore Africa -- my Africa -- my land of birth. I need to discover, as the pioneers and explorers of old, this vast and mysterious continent, its many cultures, beliefs, traditions, customs, colours, smells and tastes. I need to immerse my senses into this rich diversity, this unknown territory of myth and legend.

And now is the time to do it.

Remembering that we will be camping alongside the road, cooking over open fires, finding produce where we may, that it can be hot and dusty one day and water logged with torrential rain the next, it is an expedition rather than a tour. There is a strong likelihood of detours due to rain closing the road, visas being issued in different places or not being issued - or just border closure for whatever reason and without warning. There may well be pockets of war, unrest, conflict. There may be tropical ulcers, malaria, unknown and unnamed illnesses and bites of just about anything on four, six, eight -- or no legs...

This a very broad outline of the trip I will be doing:

Week 1 - 4: Morocco

We start the trip at Gatwick from where we fly to Marrakesh, Morocco and there we meet the truck. We will then start driving up to Rabat and visit Casablanca, Meknes, on the high plains is of the many ancient walled cities with covered markets and a labyrinth of narrow winding streets, the ancient Roman ruin of Volubilis, followed by Fes, back to Marrakesh and the Atlas Mountains.

Week 5: Mauritania

We pass into the Sahara Desert and follow the Atlantic Coast - it is never forgotten; oases with cool water surrounded by palms, stretches of sand as big
as a small country, old forts, camel trains following centuries old trading routes, and a night sky undiluted by city lights. We go hundreds of miles off road, sometimes digging the truck out of the soft sands to get through.

Week 6 - 10: Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana

We enter the Sahel; the vast semi arid desert that separates the Sahara from the forests of black Africa and follow the Niger River, visiting the old mud towns of Mopti & Djenne. On the Bandiagara escarpment we trek to the small villages of the Dogon. Burkina Faso is famous for its beautiful lost wax bronze statues. In Ghana we cross the jungle to the beaches of the Gold Coast and visit the slaving forts.

Week 11 - 12: Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon

Togo and Benin are only fifty miles wide. Here the religion is the African tradition of Voodoo. On Nakoue Lagoon we can take canoes to visit the fishing villages built high above the water on bamboo stilts. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with 100 million people. We visit Lagos, the commercial capital and largest city in West Africa and head on to Abuja the political capital, then time at Wikki Warm Springs to relax for a few days. Leaving the warm springs we head to Calabar, passing the outskirts of the Cross-River National Park.

Week 13: Cameroon

Entering Cameroon, we stay on the beach at Limbe. Those of us that are adventurous (or fit enough!), will can climb West Africa's largest mountain, Mount Cameroon. From the coast we visit the capital Yaounde.

Week 14 - 17: Gabon, Republic of Congo, Cabinda (Angola)

Leaving Yaounde, we cross into Gabon. We enter The Republic of Congo. Driving through bamboo forest tunnels we make our way back to the coast reaching Point Noire. Here we will visit the Jane Goodall Chimp sanctuary, and relax on the beach. We enter Cabinda the oil rich exclave of Angola with the Congo to the East and the Atlantic to the west; where we will watch the flames burning off from the offshore oil rigs.

Week 19: Angola

Angola only opened up to tourism in 2004, With the closure of the routes through Sudan, travellers started going this way through one of the largest and least visited countries in Africa.. It is said that the people are friendly and the views astounding. Driving along the red mud roads we reach the coast and the capital Luanda, it's very Portuguese in its buildings and Brazilian in its beach attire with a line of beach bars and restaurants in the bay. We follow the coast passing lots of waterfalls on the way to Lubango town 2000 meters high on a plateau. It is home to the third of the great statues of Jesus; the others being in Rio and Lisbon.

Week 20 - 21: Namibia

Entering Namibia, we encounter a vast array of environments and cultures. Once occupied by Germany, Namibia produces a blend of German, African and Afrikaans influences. The Himba peoples of the North are most noted for their red ochre body paint and their traditional lifestyle. Next stop is Etosha Pan National Park. Thousands of years ago this vast saltpan was a lake, until the Kunene River changed its course and deprived the lake of its water source. Now the pan and surrounding bush support large numbers and a wide range of wildlife. We spend a couple of day's game viewing from the truck during the day and spend the evenings around the floodlit water holes at the park's campsites. These water holes provide an excellent opportunity to observe animals that are hard to find during the day, particularly rhino and also smaller animals such as the genet. Elephant, lion, giraffe, zebra, oryx, ostrich, springbok, jackals, hyenas and meercats are also likely to be seen at Etosha.
From wild animals to tame ones, we spend a night at the Cheetah Farm where you can scratch the big cats behind the ears before watching them tuck in to their evening meal. Heading for the Atlantic Ocean Coast, we visit Africa's largest cape fur seal colony, Cape Cross. Swakopmund is an old German colonial seaside resort with plenty of things to do for the energetic and plenty of beer cellars for those after a more relaxing time. No doubt some of us will go horse-riding or sand boarding on the dunes, deep sea fishing in the Atlantic or scenic flights over the coastline. Heading inland, we enter the Namib Desert, famous for the 300m high sand dunes. We enjoy sunrise at the top of the most photographed dune, Dune 45 before taking a tour with local guides into the remote parts of Sossusvlei.
After an overnight stay in the desert we drive south to Fish River Canyon, at 85km long and 400m deep it's second in size only to the Grand Canyon. We will trek down to the bottom of the canyon and, from the viewpoints at the top, watch the setting or rising of the sun. There are seasonal hot springs in the south at Ai Ais. Our last stop in Namibia is the Orange River, which forms the border with South Africa.

Week 22: South Africa
Crossing the river we arrive in South Africa and travel south through Namaqualand, South Africa's prime farming areas. We drive through the mountain valleys of the Cederberg and stony semi-deserts before arriving in Stellenbosch, the centre of one of the Cape's many wine routes. Plenty of wine tasting will be the order of the day, no doubt!

Week 23: Cape Town

We have a week’s break from the trip in Cape Town and although it's a beautiful city, nestled at the foot of Table Mountain; plenty of cafes, pubs, clubs, markets and sights and the group will be climbing the mountain or take the cable car to the top for some wonderful views of the city and the Cape Peninsula and visit Robben Island, I will be dashing off to spend some precious time with Pierre in Port Alfred and Inkie in Pretoria.

Week 24: South Africa, Botswana

Departing Cape Town we head north towards Botswana and the Kalahari Desert via Kimberly. We travel along the edge of the Kalahari Desert to Maun. A small town on the edge of the Okavango Delta, and the starting point for the Mokoro trip. A Mokoro is a traditional dugout canoe and your transport into the Delta. As we glide through the waterways, we will see a fantastic array of wetland wildlife, birds in particular and you are also likely to come across hippos or elephants taking a drink from the shore. We wil also go on a walking safari to look for giraffe, buffalo and rare antelope such as the tsessebe. This overnight stay is a great wilderness experience.
We spend a night by the banks of the Chobe River, in Kasane. Here hippo, buffalo and crocodiles share the river bank and occasionally pay us a visit through the night. Here we can take a sunset cruise on the river or take an afternoon game drive through the park, and see some of Africa's largest elephants and big cats.

Week 25: Zambia, Malawi

Entering Zambia, we reach the Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi River plunges 100 metres down a mile wide chasm, creating one of the most incredible natural wonders of the world. The local name for the Falls is 'Mosi-oa-Tunya' which means 'the smoke that thunders'. When the river is in full flow, the falling water causes a huge roar and sends a cloud of spray up to 500 metres into the air. We stay near Livingstone beside the Zambezi and above Victoria Falls, for a few days, as there is so much to see and do. Adventure activities abound - you can bungee jump (which I will NOT do), white water raft, take a Microlite flight above the falls, sky-dive and go game-viewing on horse back. More sedate excursions include canoeing, light aircraft or helicopter flights over the falls, and the sunset cruise on the Zambezi. Of course, the falls themselves are the main attraction and we will walk through the rain forest along the cliff opposite for an excellent view. Crossing the border into Malawi, we soon reach the shores of its huge lake. The campsites and small resorts along Lake Malawi offer sandy beaches, swimming and snorkeling, water skiing and walking in the surrounding countryside. There are also markets selling beautifully carved Malawi chairs,tables and other souvenirs. Temptation!!!

Week 26 - 27: Tanzania.

Heading north through Tanzania, our route takes us through Mikumi National Park where we may well see giraffe or pygmy elephants grazing along the roadside. At Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean coast, we can cross to Zanzibar Island. It will be lovely to be back - for the first time since Marc and Sachas wedding there on a beach! Here is the old stone capital of the Omani Sultanate and away from the town are stunning beaches, and World Heritage Listed buildings, forests and ruins. We will take a spice tour of the island, go diving, swimming with dolphins or visit remote islands by the traditional dhow boats. Heading inland we pass Africa's highest peak, that of Mt Kilimanjaro. From Arusha we hire Landrovers to visit the Ngorongoro Crater & Serengeti National Park, which has the heaviest concentration of plains game found all over East Africa.

Week 28: Kenya

From Tanzania we cross in Kenya the Athi Plains, passing gazelle, giraffe and troops of baboons on our way to Nairobi. Leaving Nairobi we pass the dramatic landscape of the Rift Valley to the highlands of Kenya.

Week 29: Uganda

Crossing the border at Malaba we drive through rain forests and tea and sugar plantations to Uganda's capital, Kampala. Crossing the equator we camp on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi, the deepest crater lake in Uganda. We climb through lush terraced hills to Kisoro, from here we trek the famed mountain gorillas or visit Mgahinga National Park for a day hike up a volcano or a guided nature trail. We meander back to Lake Bunyonyi to relax, canoe, mountain bike and swim.
In the modern bustling city of Kampala we will visit the National Museum, the Kasubi Tombs of the Buganda people. Crossing the Owen Falls dam we arrive at Jinja on the shores of Lake Victoria, where we will spend an action-filled day white water rafting down the Nile, bungee jump, fish on Lake Victoria, take a guided village walk; or give up a day of your holiday to volunteer for the local community education project.

Week 30:Kenya

Returning to Kenya and Nakuru Town, the capital of the Rift Valley Province, we stay at Kembu Camp a working farm. We will visit Lake Nakuru, viewing game in a park famous for its soda lake surrounded by thousands, sometimes millions of pink flamingoes. We move on to camp on the shores of Lake Naivasha where hippos come to graze in the evenings.
Close by is Hell's Gate National Park and Elsamere, once the home of Joy Adamson and Elsa the lion of 'Born Free' fame. From here we return to Nairobi with the chance to feast at the renowned Carnivores Game Restaurant.

Week 31: Kenya – we have a week’s layover in Nairobi where we are free to do what we want. This week will be used to re stock the truck and get all the washing done ready for the next leg of the Journey which will be taking us up to the Middle East and finish in Europe. During this time, if I have energy left, I might take the train down to Mombasa and the coast for a few days on the beach. However, I tend to think this will probably be the week that I will book into the Stanley Hotel -- see if my message I left on the thorn tree six years ago is still there and then go lie in a hot bath for the entire week!

Week 32 - 34: Ethiopia - We visit Samburu Park & the base of Mount Kenya a then continue north through the Northern Frontier District of Kenya, a restricted area; semi arid with a spectacular diversity of people, wild game on the road side and a pleasant dry climate.
We enter Ethiopia and we climb the mountains into the highlands and follow the Rift Valley Lakes to Addis Ababa. Take boats to visit Bahir Dar Monasteries on islands on Lake Tana the source of the Blue Nile, with hippos and crocs at the outflow of the river. Tissisat Falls is the source of the Blue Nile. We visit Gondar; a city of castles and churches. You can take a Landrover to visit the Simien Mountains where you can horse trek and see grazing Gelada Baboons.

Week 35 - 36: Sudan

- We enter Sudan following the Blue Nile to Gedaref then Khartoum where the Blue & White Nile join, watch dervish dancing or even join in the Nubian wrestling - safer just to watch. We visit the Pharonic Pyramids of Meroe in an un-spoilt, little visited desert setting. We drive across the Bauda Desert sands through friendly villages on the Nile. From Wadi Halfa we take a ferry across Lake Nasser to Aswan in Egypt.

Week 37 - 38: Egypt - Cairo - Pyramids & Sphinx.
- In Aswan we visit the High Dam & Philae Island Temple. Luxor, we visit Karnak Temple the Colossi of Memnon & Valley of the Kings & Tutankhamen's Tomb on donkeys. From Luxor, we travel to Cairo where we spent a few days to look at the great pyramids in Giza and the immense collections of the Cairo Museum. We cross the Sinai Peninsular to Dahab and a few days to relax on the beach of the Red Sea. This is one of the best places to go scuba diving in the world.

Week 39 - 40: Egypt, Jordan, Syria. -
An overnight ferry to Jordan and into Wadi Rum, and memories from "Lawrence of Arabia" then a quick dip in the Dead Sea before heading up to Petra (cannot wait to visit this amazing place again!), then across the border to Syria. Here we see crusader castles and the myriad of things to buy in the many souks of Damascus and Aleppo. Heading out of Aleppo and leaving Syria.

Week 41 - 43: Turkey.

- We enter Turkey with its olive groves and sweet baklava. Heading into Cappadocia we visit the fairy tale land carved by the weather into the volcanic ash. I will definitely be taking a Turkish bath and try some belly dancing whilst you’re here. Then to Olympus to visit the Chimera Eternal flame and the Turquoise Coast at Kas. It’s now off past the limestone curtain of Pamukkale and to Selcuk and the ancient city of Ephesus, before we spot the wooden horse at Troy. From here we cross to Europe and stop at Gallipoli to pay our respects, before ending the trip in Istanbul, not Constantinople! From Istanbul I might even take the Orient Express train back to Paris -- why not?

The important bit :

As you can see -- we go through areas where no tourists go, the roads can be bad, food can be limited to what we have stocked on the truck, campsites are few and basic, visas can be hard to get and communication to the outside world limited or unavailable at times. We are guaranteed that we’ll break down, that we will have to wait some where we don’t really want to be for visas, spare parts or just for someone to open a closed road and we’ll have to dig the truck out of mud and sand, that we will be cooking over open fires after collecting the firewood, pitching a tent and getting it right even when it rains, going to sleep when its dark and waking at dawn and wanting to get out of our sleeping bags to start another day in which we have no idea of what will happen, washing in rivers, not washing and not caring that you are dirty, living outside for months, seeing more than we have ever before, trying to learn French Arabic or Swahili and having people understand what we say, finding out just how far places are away from where we started and how different places can be and how unaffected out of the way places are from the world we normally live in..

Does that answer your question as to "Why" I want to do this?

The trip might overrun so finish late; the route can change due to rains, closed roads visa issues, breakdowns and politics. -- So, don't organise a welcoming party as no return flights are booked!