We are sure that we will hear questions like „what did you like best“, „what impressed you the most“, „what is the conclusion“, etc.

We try to address this with this page.

Before we started planning the trip, our knowledge about africa was rather limited. During the 12 month preparation, we followed the news about this continent more closely, started to read more and of course with the internet today there are more than enough information available. Unfortunately most of the news in the western press about africa is negative when it hits the headlines. Sometimes i have the impression this is the only thing people want to hear about it. But we experienced many positive things.

History and culture

We are impressed that the world‘s oldest cultures are in africa. That humanity spread from this continent towards the world. The variety of cultures from the islamic north, to native religions in the center to the christians and jews in ethiopia and egypt; it is all there.

Size of africa

Since we had the luxury of traveling in a small but relatively fast plane, we could experience the huge size of this continent. Sudan is the largest country, algeria is number three but only the south of this country is double the size of france. The distances between some of the cities are huge; while we think in hours of driving, there it is days.

Variety of people and languages

When we think about population of africa we think about „blacks“. But there are hundreds of different people and tribes, speaking a huge variety of different languages, even within a country. If you think switzerland with its four languages has a variety, visit some of the countries in africa.

Nature

The variety of landscapes is impressive; from the immense desert in the north, to the rain forests in the center and the plains and beaches in the east. There are towering mountains like the kili, huge rivers like the nile, the cataracts of the victoria falls. Of course not to forget the variety of wildlife; from the big five to the tiniest creatures like insects and ants.

Colonialism

It is amazing how the european powers exploited the continent and the consequent suffering of the native people; millions were killed. The reason to have colonies was not to bring the christianity or help the poor; it was simply to get cheap products from these countries. The consequences can be still seen today. Despite all that, many countries today have strong ties to their former masters.

Slavery

Slavery existed long before the whites arrived in africa. Even a few years ago, there were some tuareg tribes with slaves.

Women

They are the backbone of africa. They do most of the work. Without women, africa would not exist.

People and dangers

Most of the people we met were very friendly and we felt welcome. Even though most of them are poor and have a hard life, they are happy and enjoy life. We really were never afraid and feared for our safety. Of course we planned very carefully and avoided the real danger areas with civil wars, bandits or bad crime areas. Nothing was stolen from us; in the end we left all our valuables and money in the hotel rooms.

Final conclusion

Now what is the most fascinating: africa itself!