What should I pack for my forthcoming trip to Algeria? I imagine I’ll roast amid its Saharan sands yet shiver at night when the heat ebbs from the Martian red dunes. Its Mediterranean coast, meanwhile, festooned with Roman remains, must be humidly sticky, yet I picture sundown ushering in balmy pleasantness as I sip cardamon-infused coffee along Algiers’ corniche.
It’s the mental gymnastics of imagination that have long drawn me to seek Africa’s less-travelled paths. alone, I’ve explored Mauritania, Liberia, Angola, Nigeria and shared my soft spot for Chad. Don’t mistake me, I enjoy the well-trodden comforts of a Kenyan safari or South Africa’s winelands as much as anyone; it’s just I’ve always sought a more complete picture of Africa’s heterogenous cultures and landscapes. Travelling to its most far-flung corners has been my greatest education.
