Last year my wife and I decided to take a sabbatical and see the world. Our plan? Visit Africa, South America, and Asia to experience how bitcoin is impacting the global south. Having never set foot in Africa we settled on the Cairo to Cape Town overland route. It allowed us to start from the north and head south across the east coast.
We went in with surface-level knowledge about Africa: Egypt = pyramids, East Africa = animals South Africa = Cape Town. Boy were we wrong! Africa is so misunderstood starting with the fact that it’s a continent, not a country. Each country is unique and we are humbled to have made them our home for the past year.
332 days, 10 countries 37,000 km, 2 flights, 17 buses, 21 taxis, and countless bitcoin interactions later, our African journey is complete. (Almost! Need to visit a friend in Namibia)
Due to safety concerns, we had to skip Sudan and flew in and out of Ethiopia. Except for these two flights, we completed this entire journey overland using buses and taxis. (shared taxis are fun – a game of how many can squeeze into a van before it breaks down)
One post won’t do justice to this adventure so we will be spending the next two months catching up and sharing experiences thus far. Some highlights include:
-Founded 2 bitcoin preferred businesses (a juice shop and an Airbnb) -Onboarded 12 merchants and a charity to accept bitcoin as payments -Spoke at our first bitcoin conference -Attended 8 community meetups (presented in 4) -Paid 35 businesses in bitcoin (includes 3 safaris) -Invested in a Bitcoin-preferred business -We look forward to sharing stories from each country and hope you enjoy them.
-A Student of Bitcoin
Looking forward to the stories!
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Thanks for sharing
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Cool!
I made it to the pyramids for a few nights this spring, first time in Africa...
Used to drive all around Europe in old Mercedes 508/608s, also had sailboats for a couple of decades, but these days I'm not capable of that just yet.
Might do a couple of months in Nepal soon, maybe I'll be able to do something on Lightning, depends a bit on what the visa guys can get done! ;-)
We need a lot of expeditions like these, and many will end up doing similar things more or less improvised...
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That's great to hear. I hope our paths cross soon! Looking forward to what your Nepal adventure looks like.
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Can we find all those highlights on btcmap.org ?
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Not all yet. Will work on helping them through the process.
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Look forward to hearing more from you. It must have been an incredible experience!
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I'm really looking forward to hearing more about your adventures. Did you take any video? Did you happen to see Anita Posch while visiting bitcoin communities?
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Didn't meet her, unfortunately.
Took a few short videos during the trip. Need some time to compile them and share them.
There are many interviews with builders and founders of the space. You can check them out here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-6b7IeQp7iQs8cMgZOrzF23j3lpphiEC
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There is a sense of relief and peace to hear you say "Africa is so misunderstood starting with the fact that it’s a continent, not a country. We were better off a continent until the fiat money printers arrived on our shores and divided us in tiny chuncks they can easily control amongst themselves. I hope to see this nation-state idea erased out of the minds of the awesome people of Africa, and with the help of the bitcoin technology, this shall be so.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
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I'm glad it resonated. When we arrived in Egypt, I thought "This continent would be unstoppable if it were united." As you mentioned, the powers-to-be don't want that which is an unfortunate situation for the continent. At least we now have a monetary tool that doesn't discriminate.
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how was the safety vibe in South Africa?
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It felt a little sketchy in Johannesburg. Cape Town is better but you need to be aware of your surroundings depending on certain areas.
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did it feel extra sketch being a bitcoiner or just average?
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Congratulations and you should be proud of your achievement. Well done!
Invested in a Bitcoin-preferred business
What kind of?
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It's a tour operator in Kenya. Bitcoin Matatu
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332 days, 10 countries 37,000 km, 2 flights, 17 buses, 21 taxis, and countless bitcoin interactions later
wow impressive!
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