Week 1 Dash through Belgium, France, and Spain, picking up African visas and colds from sleeping outdoors in the winter. Weeks 2-4 Cross the Straits of Gibraltar and zigzag down the west coast of Morocco visiting ancient, walled cites such as Fes and Marrakech. Explore mountains and desert in search of Arabic tribespeople while settling into life on the road. The original route went through Algeria to Timbuktu but since local dissidents are trying to bring down the Algerian government by disrupting the economic benefits of tourism, Algeria was dropped from the itinerary. Weeks 5-6 Continue south along the desert coastline on the western edge of the Sahara Desert in Mauritania.
All hands lend their hands using shovels and metal sand mats to keep the truck moving.
Having extensive experience moving sand from my military life, I expect to prove my worth to the group. Weeks 9-10 Enter the equatorial region of Africa along the Atlantic seaboard via Ivory Coast, another of many former French colonies. Continue east through Ghana, Togo, and Benin, eventually arriving in Kano, Nigeria for a rest stop. Weeks 11-13 Continue east through the grasslands of Nigeria visiting game reserves, eventually transiting mountainous villages in northern Cameroon, finally dipping into the jungles of Central African Republic. In short it's as remote as remote can be.