|
|
| |
FROM BENIN TO EGYPT, THE
CONCLUSION
June 9th 2007 – DAY 725 |
|
| |
|
 HEADING
TO BENIN
We’re about to leave Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s trashcan
Capital, for a safari-photo in Benin’s Savanna. During 4 days,
we will furrow the roads of the Pendjari Park searching for
these huge mammals we see on National Geographic.
We are preparing our bags. We reduce the weight of our luggage
and try not to forget anything. Everything’s there: binoculars,
camera, tripod, zooming lens and drugs against malaria. The
useless material is stored in our neighbors’ room, two Quebecois
on a humanitarian mission.
Wednesday morning, the car driver picks us up at our hotel. We
get to the Benin frontier, at the South-East extremity of the
country, 7 hours away. We spend our first night in a hotel
equipped of the largest pool in Burkina Faso. To tell the truth,
it isn’t bigger than a municipal pool in Quebec! Nonetheless, we
were glad to take advantage of it. |
|
|
|
Dissolving reserves
For some weeks now, the temperature is around 47 °C without the
humidity aspect. The unbearable heat and the lack of food made
us lose 18 pounds each. Not that we really needed it! We just
hope to keep our bone marrow! Patrick lost his belt, his pants
are held by a piece of string. On our first night, we didn’t
sleep much. We would wake up and try to cool ourselves under the
warn shower. |
|
a sad sight
Before seeing the slightest part of sun, we leave to reach the
border. On our way, we are confronted to extreme poverty, a sad
sight that makes us feel powerless. For several weeks now, we’ve
been living in difficult conditions. We pass in front of
children with empty tin cans, hoping to meet a charitable person
that will donate some coins. We are overwhelmed by the
situation. The smallest piece of bread would be enough to make
them smile.
Once the boarder crossed and the formalities done, we finally
reach the Pendjari Park. The forest rangers inform us about the
bad condition of the roads caused by the rain. We’ll have to be
careful not to get stuck. |
A vehicle, a cow, a donkey and 26 passengers |
|
 Getting
out of
the embarrassment
The path is getting worse and worse. We venture on a muddy road…
That’s it, we get stuck! The vehicle refuses to move. The more
we try to get out of there, the more we sink. Fortunately, our
guide has great experience and is alerted. He always carries
sand sheets that he slides under the wheels. After an hour of
effort, the 4x4 gets unstuck at last.
A few minutes later, we notice a leak in the radiator. The
engine starts to overheat, but our guide rapidly fixes the
problem by sticking tobacco and chewing gum in the radiator.
Believe it or not, it works! The tobacco and the chewing gum,
added with water, form a paste that patches the crack.
Night falls. We immediately have to return to the Park’s hotel.
No one is authorized to be in the Park during night time. There
are ferocious nocturnal animals, very ferocious. At last, we
will spend a night with air-conditioning. The next morning, we
meet a German researcher who got more unlucky than we did. Like
us, his truck got stuck in mud shortly before darkness. However,
a couple of lions got closer. It was out of question for him to
get out of the vehicle. So he spent the night observing them and
trying to get some sleep. |
|
 Thousands
of wild animals
We continue our route with our eyes wide open. It’s our last day
in the reserve and we still haven’t seen savanna elephants, the
biggest land mammal. At 5h30 in the morning, the sun begins to
shine on the field and the mist slowly disappears. It’s the best
moment for animal observation. We pass by dozens of
hippopotamuses.
Finally, our efforts are rewarded. We see three elephants. What
a sensation! Our guide drives while we take advantage of the
sight from the top of the truck when suddenly, a herd of about a
hundred buffaloes cut across the path lifting a cloud of dust.
The ground shakes. Impressive!
It’s time to get back. We return to Ouagadougou tired and
excited of our adventure. Even if this experience cost us a
considerable part of our savings, it was worth it. |
|
Lasers and lights on the
pyramids |
two weeks in egypt
On Caroline’s demand, who didn’t want to leave Africa without
seeing Egypt, we spent two weeks there. We don’t usually explore
a country in that little time and stick to touristic tours.
Unfortunately, we’re constantly harassed by salesmen, false
guides, restaurants, hotels… The list is too long. |
|
We visit Cairo and its famous pyramids during a sound and light
show. We sail on the Nil and explore the tombs and palaces of
kings. For the first time, we are disappointed of our exchanges
with the population. However, we feel responsible of not taking
time to know the real Egytians, the ones who live beyond he
beaten path.
Sailboat on the Nil |
 |
|
We briefly stop in France, in the Poitiers region in order to
meet with a company specialized in aerial photography. Patrick,
who discovered himself a true passion for image, would like to
make a profession out of it. |
 |
The journey back
On June 9, it’s our big journey back home. We our back
amongst our family and friends. We have missed them so
much during the last months. We are happy and proud of
our experience. It will forever be engraved in our
hearts and memories. We met hundreds of people and
explored amazing parts of the world. We’ll never see
these characters again, now part of a fabulously true
story, but they’ll always be part of our memories. |
Today, we try to use our adventure to guide us in our daily
life. Patrick is presently working on workshops-conferences
about traveling and working overseas. These conferences aim
young people between 16 and 35 years old. The goal is to give
future world-travelers all the necessary tools for them to
realize their dreams. The whole will be accompanied with a photo
exposition of the most beautiful images of our adventure. As for
Caroline, she is looking for a job in her field of study:
biology. She would like to teach in order to pass on her love of
life.
We intend to publish a book about our adventures, offer people
the possibility of obtaining some of our pictures, and present a
conference about this 725 day journey. |
|
our last words
Thank you for your fidelity. We hope that our story will have
given you the motivation needed to reach your objectives and
live one day at a time, because after all… we are responsible
for our own happiness. |
|
|
|
« Dreams must not stay in your head, they must live out. » |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ADVERTISEMENTS |
|
|
|
|
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)