Brendan's Adventures

The guide is quick to let everyone know that the elephants that are bowing in front of us were all rescued.  They’ve come to here in Zambia from Zimbabwe after being saved from poachers or people hoping to turn them into pets.  But as I look across at the row of beautiful elephants saddled by riders [...]

Thanks to an issue shipping Anne Murray on the train to Franceville, I fell behind.  I fell way behind.  Now normally, being a little bit late in travel isn’t exactly a bad thing, it means you’re having too much fun to move on.  However, when I applied for my visa for Congo in Yaoundé, Cameroon I hadn’t [...]

I’ve been hearing for years now that Gabon is fixing on becoming the next big eco-tourism destination.  Parks full of gorillas, mandrills and wandering elephants are meant to await tourists; and of course they are.  However, the unfortunate reality is what also awaits tourists is a whole lot of bullshit.  I’d love to tell you my [...]

I found myself stood in the museum of one of the world’s most infamous slave castles reading signs describing the pain, misery and sheer toll of death and wasted human life that the trans-Atlantic slave trade caused.  But then words from a neatly lettered signboard were what jumped out at me: “Despite the pain the [...]

Comparing Travel in Burkina Faso with Costa Rica ———————————— Throughout west Africa I’ve found the lack of tourism, and the subsequent lack of tourism infrastructure a bit of a shock.  Truthfully, I knew before arriving in the region that I was going to be spending quite a bit of time alone.  However, for nearly two [...]

Camels not Conflict – A Night in Bamako, Mali ——————————————— Whenever an armed conflict arises I’m always amazed to watch how a people respond in their daily lives.  Certain people take up arms, other people attempt to raise their voices to be heard, and others pick up their guitars and sing.  However, for me it [...]

Are Backpackers Full of Shit? All Alone on a Beach in West Africa ———————————————————— West Africa isn’t an easy place to travel.  Anyone who tells you differently is either lying or travels on a much higher budget than I do.  From the moment I left Guinea-Bissau, to the moment I arrived in Cote d’Ivoire there [...]

———————————————————- This is a follow up to the very popular post I wrote entitled “Dear Mom, I’m in Colombia” last March. ———————————————————– Dear Mother, I’m in Monrovia, Liberia. I know these letters must drive you mad.  I’m sure that in reading the titles of my many messages you almost expect them to be followed with [...]

In the past month I was asked to take part in an amazing experience in Israel with a project called DigIsrael. As is so often the case with these things, I was too busy and in too obscure of a location to take part. Thus, I sent my marketing manager at Vagabundo Magazine on the [...]

By the time I arrived at the beach in Sierra Leone, I had still not seen another tourist in all of West Africa. Little did I know then that it would be almost 3 months before I finally meet a legitimate tourist in the region.  Sure, it was the rainy season in West Africa, but [...]

I’ve been holed up on the beach in Cote d’Ivoire for the past week putting the final touches on the latest issue of my travel magazine Vagabundo Magazine.  Believe me, there are worse places to be stuck working than the beach here in Grand Bassam.  I literally hear the ocean rolling away as I type, [...]

“Arrête!” The calls from across the street rang out from a group of over-sized police officers who I knew were going to be trouble even before walking anywhere near them; a group of policemen in Guinea not doing anything in particular is always trouble.  In fact, attempting to avoid them, by walking on the opposite [...]

Whether it is South East Asia or Latin America, sex tourism is something that not only exists, but happens in extremely high frequency and out in plain sight.  The subject is relevant almost everywhere you travel.  In fact, I have even written about it in the case of Costa Rica prostitution.  But the truth is [...]

In the decade known awkwardly as “The 2000s”, North America saw a vast exodus of population towards the suburbs of cities.  In search of large backyards, “safer” neighbourhoods, and bigger houses, people vacated the core of cities across the continent.  However, in doing so they also seem to have vacated the heart of the community.  Sure, [...]