Cape to Cairo by Car. This was Julia Albu’s dream. And she was determined to achieve this by the age of 80. My African Conquest is Albu’s travel memoire about this epic journey throughout the vast expanses of the African continent.
Contents
Quick Overview Of Julia Albu’s Book
The book is only 200 pages long, thus its a relatively quick read. I read a chapter a day over a week or two. It’s from the perspective of an elderly lady. Thus, as a younger man who likes to experience the nightlife, it’s not what I normally read. I also enjoy my share of crazy adventures. However, Julia would put a lot of younger men to shame with her sense of adventure at such a mature age.
She often discusses the hotels she visits, the restaurants, her travel acquaintances and companions. Plus, the pains of this difficult journey e.g. her car occasionally breaking down. As a skilled networker, her family and connections help sort out all the problems along the way.
She never actually travels completely alone. Usually she’s with a family member, friend, or a local hired driver to accompany her on this long drive.
Moreover, her trip was sponsored by good friends and family who had similar dreams. She was thus, in a way, also helping these other people realize their dreams through her voyage. By following her fearless trip up the African continent, they felt like they were also making up for gaps in their own lives and bucket lists.
Should You Read My African Conquest?
If you ever intend to visit this particular stretch of around 12 countries in Africa, the book will shed some light on what issues to expect along the way. While also helping to quell some of the safety concerns. This could be questions like: is Egypt safe now outside of Cairo, after their Revolution 10 years ago? Or: Is it safe to self-drive around the country in Sudan / Kenya / Malawi / Tanzania / Botswana etc.
In general Africa can still be a dangerous place. But there is also danger on other continents. For example, how high is the murder rate in Chicago in the USA? I would guess it’s higher than in 80% of Africa. Similarly, even Europe nowadays has a lot of terrorism, rape, and other issues. Thus, bad things can happen anywhere.
Of course, it’s always wise to use caution. But we miss out on a lot of adventures due to irrational fears of the unknown. Only by reading up and asking around beforehand, would you know if it’s definitely a rational fear or not.
Cape To Cairo: The End Of Her Journey
Sadly, Julia passed away a few years after her trip. In a post-trip interview, she mentioned she had to remove skin cancer tags due to the excessive sun exposure in Africa. Even more severe, she ended up spending 5 months in hospital due to Bilharzia and Pneumonia.
In her case, she wasn’t a victim of violence in Africa. Only of petty-theft attempts, and a few random scammers. But the real problem was these diseases she picked up along the way while traveling in the Third World. Bilharzia, excessive sun exposure, and pneumonia would specifically be more dangerous to the elderly. If you’re younger, your immune system would likely brush these issues off much easier.
It would still be wise to avoid e.g. contaminated water and shady restaurants wherever possible. Of course, in Africa, with its lower food, water and health standards, this won’t always be possible. This is why it’s smart to read these travel memoires. You may be so intensely focused on avoiding violence, that you end up getting Bilharzia due to drinking dirty water. Similarly, when I rented a car in Brazil, to drive from Sao Paulo to Rio De Janeiro along the coast, I was intensely focused on not crashing the car. But instead, I ended up with one or two nasty traffic fines. Thus, reading helps to decrease the blind spots in your plans. Of course, it’s not the end of the world to get traffic fines, or whatever else. But at the same time, the less problems you have, the better.
The downside of a trip like this with your own vehicle, would be the long drive back after reaching Cairo from Cape Town. However, she made a friend along the way who volunteered to drive her car back from Alexandria (Egypt) to Cape Town. This trip back took less than a month. But of course, if you really want to maximize your adventure, you’ll probably want to set aside at least 3 months. Julia’s trip northwards took 4 to 5 months in total.
Why I read Julia Albu’s Book
I got a 2nd hand copy from an older member of my family, who found Julia’s trip very inspiring. With the travel restrictions due to the toxic corona jab, I look for new countries to travel to. And this includes Africa. Since Africa can be dangerous and corrupt in places, it’s smart to do some reading before simply jumping on a plane and rocking up in Africa. It’s been a surprisingly decent book to read, despite the fact that I’m half Julia’s age at the time she did her trip.
My Two Main Take-Aways
A. Follow your dreams, even if you are 80 years old, or 90, or whatever. Don’t listen to the naysayers. However, at the same time, Julia didn’t do anything stupid, as she was wise to invite family and friends to do the trip with her. Rarely driving alone, which may be a dangerous for an 80 year old woman in foreign, less-developed countries. For example, what would she do if her car tyre got punctured? Thus, follow your dreams, do your bucket list, but at the same time, keep common sense and safety precautions in mind.
B. Network along the way with all the friendly people you meet. Keep in touch with them. Meet up again. Hand out business cards, contact details, and link up on sites like Couchsurfing, social media, instagram, or wherever else. When you walk into a restaurant or new hotel / hostel, you can be boring and mind your own business. Or be like Julia, and befriend everyone on the way. Without her network, her trip across Africa would not have been possible. She was sponsored along the way mostly by friends and contacts, who she wouldn’t have had if it wasn’t for her friendly demeanour and outgoing personality.
Conclusion: My African Conquest
If you want to travel in any of these African countries, it’s a nice book to read. It’ll be like you are following in your “friend” Julia’s footsteps. She already did the hard pioneering work for you, by pointing out some tourist traps along the way. However, if you don’t want to visit Africa at all, then there would be no point to read this book. Unless you are also at that advanced age in life, and in need of inspiration for your bucket list. Then this book is guaranteed to inspire.
Final Ratings
Readability: 5/5
It’s an easy read, not written in difficult academic language. But basic relatable English.
Price:
Considering the total costs involved in her trip, this book is relatively cheap at around $9 on Amazon Kindle.
Quality of Info: 4/5
If you’re 60+, not in need of e.g. nightlife advice, the quality of info is superb. However, obviously younger generation would have different interests, e.g. surfing, scuba diving or partying in Zanzibar, instead of going to an African Market.
Inspirational Value: 5/5
I don’t normally add this type of rating to book reviews. But this book is extremely inspiring.
If you’d like to instantly read Julia Albu’s My African Conquest on your smartphone, tablet or Kindle Reader, here’s a link to buy her book on Amazon Kindle.
Have you read Julia Albu’s book? Or are there other similar travel memoires that you’d recommend instead? Comment below with your thoughts, questions or suggestions!
