Serena Nanda Reviews: Tunis to Nairobi, Overland by Truck: Adventures in Africa

Tunis to Nairobi, Overland by Truck: Adventures in Africa, 1979

by Barry D. Kass; Paperback : 244 pages,

Published by Kindle Direct Publishing, a branch of Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Tunis+to+Nairobi

Tunis to Nairobi, Overland by Truck: Adventures in Africa Tunis to Nairobi, Amazon publisher A perfect read for trying times! Cultural anthropologist and photographer Barry Kass begins his memoir by quoting Richard Burton, the British explorer, who wrote that “one of the gladdest moments in human life … is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands.” This is especially true given the travel restrictions in the coronavirus pandemic and thus all the more of a pleasure to read.

Kass’s memoir is not your ordinary travelogue. It is filled with descriptions of exotic locations and adventures but also with honest musings, like the deep appreciation of the comforts – hot water showers – that we in the United States take for granted.

The photos are wonderful, conveying both the cultural differences that make Africa the quintessential adventure for Westerners and the more mundane experiences of the truck getting stuck in the sand of the Sahara Desert.

Kass’s trip takes place in a world that has changed enormously in 40 years. His reflections on his many experiences recall European colonialism which dominated Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries and also the modern intrusion of globalization into the most remote societies today.

The promise of tropical jungles, indigenous peoples, local markets with traditional food and handmade crafts, and wild animals unique to Africa in their natural habitats are part of Kass’s dream of Africa. The adventure begins in London, traverses southern Europe to Sicily and then crosses the Mediterranean to North Africa. From Tunis through Algeria, the truck heads south across the Sahara Desert, to the Central African Republic, then east and south till it reaches Nairobi, Kenya.

The memoir is filled with descriptions of spectacular sites, like the Algerian oasis town of Ghardaia, where Kass is surrounded by the delicious smells of local food markets and enchanting music from the mosque in this holy Muslim city, but is also refreshingly honest. He describes some dull days, which are transformed, however, by the great pleasure of smoking pot and philosophical discussions around the evening campfires with his diverse and friendly tour companions.

Trouble at the Nigerian border injects unexpected suspense, illustrating how border control is part of a universal modern culture. Westernization has clearly impacted even the most remote locations; many local men wear Western clothing, but in Agadez, a city in Niger, the local Tuareg live up to the Western fantasy of exotic tribal Africa in the beauty of their indigenous clothing and jewelry and the daily scene of village women pounding millet remains central to the local economy.

For an anthropologist, a four day stay with the indigenous people of the Ituri rain forest in the Congo is an unexpected highlight, and experiencing a tropical forest storm with fabulous natural electrical lighting adds to the excitement. Leaving the Congo and traversing the very remote area of South Sudan, the group was lucky enough to come across a culturally authentic dance performance of the native Dinka people, well known to anthropologists, and not generally accessible to tourists.

The final excursion to the game parks in Masai country and the thrill of seeing a pride of lions is worth all the hardship of the constant drone of flies and mosquitos, and even getting robbed doesn’t defeat Kass’s determination to continue to explore further by travelling, this time alone, to Khartoum and Cairo.

Kass’s journey will inspire any reader planning a long dreamed of adventure to keep a daily diary and turn it into a book when the tour is over, helping us to remember why we love to travel.

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Serena Nanda Reviews: Tunis to Nairobi, Overland by Truck: Adventures in Africa

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