The Monsoon Diaries: How to travel the world with no time or money -

When The Grand Bassam Drops

by Calvin Sun | January 16, 2023 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Côte d'Ivoire, January 2023: Côte d'Ivoire, Layovers, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Weekend Trips | 0 Comments

With extra time and running an hour ahead of schedule after a late morning in Yamoussoukro, Dayo and I agreed to cram in a 4 hour onward drive and detour to visit Grand-Bassam: a UNESCO World Heritage site and town in the southeastern part of the Ivory Coast,...

Yamoussoukro: The Largest Basilica in the World

by Calvin Sun | January 16, 2023 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Côte d'Ivoire, January 2023: Côte d'Ivoire, Layovers, Uncategorized, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Weekend Trips | 0 Comments

The world's largest basilica . . . . . . just got SERVED. After a morning walking around the country's economic capital of Abidjan, we drove up 3 hours to reach Yamoussoukro, the political capital city of Côte d'Ivoire, by 11am,...

The First Month & Monsoon of the Year Is….ABIDJAN-UARY!

by Calvin Sun | January 16, 2023 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Côte d'Ivoire, Getting that VISA, How Did You Do That?, January 2023: Côte d'Ivoire, Layovers, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, Weekend Trips | 0 Comments

The end of 2022 was coming around and nobody was yet taking up my offer to repeat our Caribbean adventure last January. So my gut started talking and I began to consider postponing the original plan in favor of a different excursion. Poking around options...

Meet the Ivoirians!

by Calvin Sun | January 11, 2023 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Introductions, Weekend Trips | 0 Comments

Only 3 weeks home and we're going back to West Africa. I had announced this trip less than a month ago while in Dakar, expecting nobody to sign up. I'd only be in the Ivory Coast for a day, after all; who'd be crazy enough to join? Well, Gina “Million Dollar...

Besos From Bissau

by Calvin Sun | December 20, 2022 | December 2022: Senegal, The Gambia, & Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

Bissau, the eponymous capital city of Guinea-Bissau. After a weeklong road trip across mid West Africa beginning in Dakar and as far north as the Mauritanian border at St. Louis, we rest our weary legs for 2 days here. From our lodgings at Casa Cacheu, we...

Crossing from The Gambia -> Senegal -> Guinea-Bissau

by Calvin Sun | December 19, 2022 | Blitzkrieg!!!, Border Crossing, December 2022: Senegal, The Gambia, & Guinea-Bissau, Getting that VISA, Guinea-Bissau, How Did You Do That?, Senegal, The Gambia, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

Starting from an hour's south of Banjul at a last minute villa I found on Booking.com in Old Yundum, we set out at 6:30am in the morning. Good timing because we started driving approximately 5 minutes right after the power went out in the house from what was...

There’s Many A Good Tune Played By An Old Banjul

by Calvin Sun | December 18, 2022 | December 2022: Senegal, The Gambia, & Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia | 0 Comments

We take a break from the driving today; 3 days ago in St. Louis the group collectively had decided it would be better to break up the road trip south to Guinea-Bissau from Senegal and stay a night tonight in Banjul, the capital city of The...

Don’t Tell Me I “Kun’ta-Kinteh” Drive From Senegal to The Gambia!

by Calvin Sun | December 17, 2022 | Border Crossing, December 2022: Senegal, The Gambia, & Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, The Gambia, Uncategorized, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

This morning from Dakar we drive south. With no way to convince our driver Kemo to turn on the A/C and then finally getting his confirmation he did not get a car with A/C, we took a deep breath, reminded ourselves there are far worse fates in life,...

The Many Saints of St. Louis, Senegal

by Calvin Sun | December 15, 2022 | December 2022: Senegal, The Gambia, & Guinea-Bissau, Senegal | 0 Comments

Not Saint Louis, Missouri -- we're now kicking it in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Saint-Louis island in Senegal, the former French capital city of both French West Africa and then French Mauritania in the early 20th century.After a brief and...

Lac Rose …By Any Other Name Would Look Just As Blue

by Calvin Sun | December 14, 2022 | December 2022: Senegal, The Gambia, & Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Way Way Off the Beaten Path | 0 Comments

After 2 days in Dakar, we began our drive up this morning at 10am to Saint Louis, the old French capital of Senegal located right on the northern border near Mauritania. Since our driver Kemo was not familiar with Senegal north of Dakar (it would be his first...