nomadic in april

April in Africa

* destination: Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal
* 31 years old, trekking solo for 3 months

This is the year. This is the year. In January, I declared it. I was packing to move into a new apartment. I leafed through all the guide books and women's travel memoirs I had collected. I found old journals detailing which countries I'd visit and how long I'd stay in each. Had old maps and articles filed away, I knew I would need them.

I decided I'd only sign a six month lease, just in case. In May I gave notice to my job, where I have worked as an exhibit designer for the past four years. When I gave notice to my landlady, it was official! No turning back now.

I pulled out all the old notes, studied and highlighted all the guide books, talked to other travelers, read online forums, talked to Africans and concluded, West Africa had to be my destination.

Those around me are subjected to unsolicited information about chocolate. I love chocolate! Can I say it again? I love chocolate. In recent years, as my palate has developed, I've also become more interested in cocoa/cacao, and where it comes from. Africans and people of the African Diaspora are the farmers and producers of most of the world's cocoa. Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana are the number one and number two producers worldwide. So of course I have to go to West Africa! It only makes sense.

I know there is a major divide between the world's love of chocolate and the conditions under which cocoa farmers work. What will happen when I visit these farms? Will I feel guilty? Will I still love chocolate? Will I become a full time crusader of fair trade and protestor of slave labor? Could I handle a day's work as a cocoa farmer? Do cocoa farmers have a cultural and spiritual connection to the harvest? Or is it only a way to make a living? How many cocoa farmers have tasted chocolate? How has world demand affected local economics, politics, education and healthcare?

As much as I love chocolate, it's not my only mission. Many African Americans make a pilgrimage to the slave ports/dungeons along the coast. I will visit the slave ports along Ghana's coast. Though I've heard others describe how they felt, I can't anticipate what my experience will be. I hope to be transformed by it all. . . Ghana's beaches and markets, Burkina Faso's art and intricately painted houses, Mali's music and dogon villages, Senegal's food and coastal islands.

Will I have returned home? Will I feel a connection to the land and people? Can I slow down and move at an "African" pace? Can I handle the heat? These are some of my questions. Family and friends have another line of questioning: Why are you going alone? Can't you find someone to go with you? What are you going to do for three months? Why did you choose these countries? Will you be safe? Do you know anyone? What if you get sick? How will we talk to you? Whatlanguage will you speak? Why are you going? Why are you leaving your job? What are you going to do whenyou get back? Are you coming back?

Yes, I bought a round trip ticket. After a week in London, I arrive in Ghana August 11. I will travel overland from Ghana, up to Burkina Faso, then on to Mali and Senegal. I will fly out of Senegal in November, stop briefly in Paris and then return to the U.S.

My last two months have been filled with research and preparation. Becoming a nomad is a lot of work. Plane tickets, immunizations, visas, moving into storage,planning, packing, budgeting, worrying, and saying goodbye.

As I was packing, I came across an excerpt I had taken from Paulo Coelho's "The Pilgrimage": ". . . when you travel, you experience in a very practical way the act of rebirth. You confront completely new situations, the day passes slowly, and most journeys you don't even understand the language people speak. So you are like a child just out of the womb . . . at the same time, since all things are new,you see only the beauty in them, and you feel happy to be alive."

The time is here, two days to go. . .