Africa

Africa, is the second largest continent behind Asia. My first visit to Africa was way back in 1986 when I visited Egypt. Later in 1997 I had the chance to visit South Africa as an extended layover from London back to Melbourne. Early in 2025 I visited the Canary Islands (Northwest Africa) for the first time. Towards the end of 2025, I had the chance to spend five weeks traveling down the West Coast of Africa, around South Africa, and across to Madagascar and Mauritius. I feel fortunate that I have now had the chance to see a few very different places in Africa, but I know there is.a whole lot that I will never see.

A visit to Africa (today) is like a walk back in time. A lot of commerce is still conducted in street markets. Goods and services are typically paid for in cash, often involving a degree of bartering. In some ways it reminds me a little of my youth growing up in rural Australia. A small house with no hot water, and outdoor toilet, walking miles to/from school with my friends, and hanging out on the streets riding a bicycle and/or playing games that don’t involve a computer or smartphone. I would argue its not third-world, but rather the world we forgot in the name of progress.