Autor: Carsten Nolte

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Wischnewski in Guinea-Bissau (March 2026)

Hello all!

Guinea-Bissau is one of the last truly off-the-radar destinations in West Africa, where travel still feels raw, unpredictable, and deeply authentic. Over three weeks on the road, you move through a country where red dirt tracks replace highways and every kilometer demands patience, flexibility, and curiosity. Encounters are not staged for tourists but happen naturally, often turning into the most memorable moments of the journey. From the faded colonial atmosphere of Bolama to the remote island world of the Bijagós Archipelago, the contrasts are striking and constantly surprising.

…before I continue with the blogpost 😉 …
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We enter Guinea-Bissau the hard way, on roads that demand respect from the very first kilometer: For just 140 kilometers, we need 8.5 hours, crawling through endless potholes that turn driving into constant concentration. It was exhausting, but also a clear signal of what travel in this country really means: slow, raw, and uncompromising.

At the same time, the streets are full of life, as people celebrate the end of Ramadan in colorful clothes and a surprisingly relaxed, open version of Islam. Along the coast, fish dominates the menu everywhere; Heike enjoys every meal, while I remain more of a spectator (I don’t like fish at all…).

We are now traveling with a new, smaller group, together with ‚Carsten and Marlis‘ from Hamburg. Altogether we will travel together in a ‚travel family‘ for circa 3 months and we had a great time, forming an easy team.

In Bissau, the pace slows down even further, not by choice but by necessity. There is not much to do, apart from wandering through lively local markets and organizing the basics like shopping and obtaining money (my credit card got stuck what caused some issues for getting it back…). But still, Bissau is mainly a staging point for what we really came for: the Bijagós Archipelago.

Early in the morning, we leave the mainland behind and (very little) board a speedboat into a completely different world. On the way, we stop in ‚Bolama‘, the former capital, where colonial buildings slowly decay under the tropical climate. The place feels forgotten, yet strangely atmospheric, with history visible in every wall and wonderful Kapok Trees everywhere.

A few hours later, we arrive on Bubaque, and the transition is immediate: from stress to calm. Our lodge offers something rare on this journey, a moment of comfort with a pool, music, and a relaxed rhythm of the day. Dogs and small goats move freely around the property, while the view opens up to islands, mangroves, and scattered baobabs. We spend time walking through nearby villages, experiencing everyday life that feels unfiltered and real.

One evening, a local dance performance brings together music, movement, and community in a way that feels both simple and deeply authentic. That was a fantastic show, and it did not feel ‚touristic‘ since the whole village population attended the show (they liked it also very much).

Another great spot in Guinea-Bissau was „Varela Beach“ at the cost side. I know that it is hard to believe for you, but sometimes we need a rest from travelling (a vacation within the vacation)… you get so much input on the road that it requires a break here-and-there.

Greetings from
Heike & Carsten

(–> Text übersetzen in Deutsch)

Here you find some pictures from Guinea-Bissau

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Wischnewski in Mauretania – real offroad adventure (February 2026)

Hello all!

Our overlander offroad trip started in the north of Mauretania: for circa 500 Km we followed the so-called ‚Iron Train Track‘ that does the transport of huge amounts of iron ore from the eastern mines. The corresponding train can have more than 200 coaches, very impressive! After passing by the ‚ Monolithe de Ben Amira‘ we drove further east to the ‚ Richat Structure‘ (the ‚Eye of the Sahara‘) now fighting against real stone deserts, rocks, mountains and problematic paths. There was a lot of sand-shoveling… our record was driving circa 4 Km at one day because we were digging and shoveling all whole time. And it did not make it better when that happens in a sandstorm, a challenge… This made it not always easy to keep good mood in the group.

…before I continue with the blogpost 😉 …
@ all Overlander: please check the brand-new „Overlander-Base„! Your Central Hub for Trusted Overlanding Sources (Web-Links)

That was the real offroad-experience that we planned to have in Mauretania. That was more than interesting and special: to be able to bring the truck through that challenging terrain it was necessary to really improve the driving skills. Much more was needed than only ‚gas and radio button‘, most overlander really improve their driving skills on such a trip. We kept our fingers crossed that the truck will hold, since it was not only a challenge for the drivers, also for the truck-hardware.

Under the line it was a great experience to go ‚the rough way‘ – thanks to Carlos to guide us through that terrain!

Greetings from
Heike & Carsten

(–> Text übersetzen in Deutsch)

Here you find some pictures from Mauretania

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Wischnewski in Mauretania – Country & Culture (January 2026)

Hello all!

Mauretania, a brand-new country for us. Honestly there was not much we knew before about that country in advance we started that trip. Arriving from Morocco to the second largest city of Mauretania, ‚Nouadhibou‘, it quickly became clear what we can expect: not a rich country, no big infrastructure, no big buildings, no overwhelming sights waiting for us to be visited. Only in the capital city of Mauretania – Nouakchott – there is some ’normal‘ city activity. But anyway, a vibrant city was not what we were looking for. There is one thing that Mauretania has a LOT of, and that is ’sand‘. Practically the whole country is a desert, it is the Sahara waiting for you, everywhere. For us that is great because this is what we planned to do: driving through the Sahara. So, we were enthusiastic about Mauretania!

…before I continue with the blogpost 😉 …
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In Mauretania we could feel that the ‚Arabic/ Islamic Culture‘ that you find in the north of Africa is slowly switching to ‚Black Africa‘. Marocco is – compared to Mauretania – a rich country spoilt by tourism. In Mauretania you often see real poverty. A lot of children on the streets, all of them bagging. That already started in Marocco but in Mauretania it partly became uncomfortable. What do you do with kids that only approach you to ask for ‚cadeau‘ or ’stylo‘? Some of them throw stones onto your vehicle if you do not find an elegant way to get around with them. It took a while to find out that ‚real interaction‘ with the kids is a way to get away from the bagging. The kids really like to play, like to joke and like to be chased. That can be very funny when a bunch of little ones run away shrieking when you chase them 🙂 ..and they come back, over and over again so that you can chase them again and again (also funny for us!).

Unpleasant was the huge amount of trash that you find everywhere around the villages and cities. Especially the millions of plastic bottles that were flying around really were a pity. Welcome to the Plastic Age! From the culinary perspective it became very lean in Mauretania. Not much that you could buy: some bread, some vegetables (quality low), sometimes camel meat (but you would not like the butchery, thousands of flies…). Also hard to find a proper restaurant. Mauretania is very good if you plan to go on a diet :-0

Greetings from
Heike & Carsten

(–> Text übersetzen in Deutsch)

Here you find some pictures from Mauretania – Country & Culture

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Visiting cities and villages of Marocco (October 2025)

Hello all!

On October 2nd 2025, we arrived in a group of 4 vehicles in the harbor of Tanga, our starting point for travelling the west coast of Africa. The first country on the list was Marocco where we planned to travel for circa 3 months. The idea was to visit the villages and cities (this blogpost) but especially the deserts and mountain areas (next blogpost).

…before I continue with the blogpost 😉 …
@ all Overlander: please check the brand-new „Overlander-Base„! Your Central Hub for Trusted Overlanding Sources (Web-Links)

The cities of Tétouan, Chefchaouen, Fez, Salé, Marrakesh, Zagora, Tafraout, Tarfaya and Al Daklah were a great mix of bigger and smaller locations to visit. Our favorite city in Morocco clearly was ‚Fez‘ with its little alleys and totally confusing passways through the old town. No chance to use Google Maps because there is no GPS signal able to reach into the alleys. Anyway, Fez is a wonderful traditional city, not too much poisoned by tourism. We enjoyed the daily city life, markets/ souks, restaurants and a lot of Moroccan atmosphere. Often we could smell a scent of hashish in the air. Also ‚Chefchaouen‘ (the blue city in the mountains) was worth a visit (they painted most of the buildings in the central area blue, what gave a great picture during sunset).

From the culinary point of view there is not too much to tell: surely the ‚thé de ment‘ and the olives were great, also the couscous, the tajine, the traditional soup and the ’salade Moroccan‘ plus the ‚chicken with fries‘. But there was not much more. That food was great, but the variety of food in the restaurants generally was pretty limited. What we liked much was the vivant atmosphere in the souks, five times a day accompanied by the call of the muezzin that you do hear wherever people live, even in the smallest villages. Carsten, the biggest fan of camels, was very happy to – more and more often – could meet his great humped friends in the streets (even more outside the settlements).

Travelling with the truck works well. Not to many interruptions by the police, sometimes they wanted to chase us away at night times. Here and there the streets were in pretty bad shape, but overall we could easily voyage through the country. As expected for Africa the „begging“ started in Morocco what could kill your nerves (kids are always asking for ‚gateau‘ or ’stylo‘). It was helpful to shape our Frensh language skills a bit in advance of our trip (thanks to Duolingo) so communication was possible (even if our Frensh still was very rusty).

Greetings from
Heike & Carsten

(–> Text übersetzen in Deutsch)

Here you find some pictures from Marocco (cities)

To see full-size pictures and comments please
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on the thumbnails!

Do not miss it!

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