A WINTER IN AFRICA

This travel journal was originally intended to be a book of impressions about Africa as I travelled through each country but it turned into a book about how each country made its impact upon me and led me on a path of self-discovery as much as new learning about the places I visited. The whole experience was as much spiritual as intellectual and emotional and has led to a complete turn around in my life, the course of which has been followed ever since but not without its ups and downs, tests and challenges. It took the seven month duration of my travels to complete and parts of it were published in three instalments in the Manchester Evening News in 1973. However, I have since returned to it and using diary notes and clear-cut memories, I have expanded it into a much longer account with maps and photos added in as illustrations of what I saw and experienced along the way. Maybe this journal will speak to somebody reading it, will make them reflect and challenge them about how they are seeing life and where they are going with it. If it does then it will have achieved something very useful indeed. Apart from that it is also intended as an educational and informative resource about each of the African countries I have described. Robin Perry