FRENCH COUPLE PASS THROUGH PORT ALFRED ON THEIR AMAZING HIKE THROUGH AFRICA
Ayoung couple are on the final leg of an epic journey from their home in France to Cape Town, which they undertook for the experience and to expand their knowledge of the world and its people.
Titouan Saglio, 26, a qualified estate agent, and Maeva Salmon, 27, a lawyer, decided they would like to see life from a new perspective, and to do so while they had no other commitments that might prevent such a journey in the future.
The couple visited the Talk of the Town offices last week to chat about their journey.
Starting off from their home of Tour in France on January 17, the couple travelled through the country and on into Spain where they caught a boat to Morocco.
“We just wanted to travel and hitch-hike through Africa,” said Saglio.
“There were other places we considered visiting, such as South America and Asia, and might well do so when we finish this trip,” added Salmon.
The couple said they had saved up for about five years and then sold everything so they could travel.
“We have to live frugally on the journey,” said Salmon.
The couple estimated they spend less than R250 per day while in Africa and added that this was perfectly possible in many parts of the continent while, in others, it was a little more difficult.
Having arrived in Africa, the pair toured the west coast of the continent and travelled to Ghana around the western bulge but, from there, travelled by plane to Kenya as they had had reports that it was unsafe to travel into some of the countries in central Africa.
“We survive on the goodwill of people who are willing to offer support or a place to sleep for the night, even if that means just pitching our tent in their garden,” said Saglio.
“We didn’t have a fixed plan, so changing from the west to east coast of Africa was easily done.”
“Everywhere we have gone, people have been very supportive,” Salmon agreed.
The couple said they enjoyed Kenya, especially Mombasa with its pristine beaches and beautiful weather.
From Kenya, the next place of call was Uganda, followed by Rwanda and Tanzania and the port of Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam.
Travelling through Africa, Salmon said they had actually learnt English.
“We did English at school, but that was only enough to greet someone. It has been easier learning English from the Africans as they tend not to have [inflection/modulation] when they speak as English speakers do, and this is similar to the way we speak French,” said Salmon.
From Tanzania, the couple moved through Zambia to Zimbabwe and, finally, into SA.
Asked if the couple were going to write about their travel experience, Saglio replied they were not planning on doing that.
“This is just about learning and travelling, as well as enjoying ourselves,” he replied.
“We decided to stick to the coast and avoid the big cities. We are on our way to Cape Town from where we will take a plane back to France to be with our families for Christmas,” said Salmon.
“We haven’t told our families yet, so it will be a surprise for them,” added Saglio.
We survive on the goodwill of people who are willing to offer support or a place to sleep for the night