October 24, 1980

NIAMEY, NIGER
Got a ride to the bank with the French guys; en route we stopped at other banks, French and Nigerian consulates, the tourist office and finally my bank, to find out that the wire had not come yet. Lounged poolside during the hottest hours. Jens and I went to a travel agency to ask about prices. After many considerations, the only realistic route seems to be to fly west to Ivory Coast, get the necessary visas, fly back east to Nigeria and directly on to Cameroon, where I could stay a while. Everything I've read or heard about Cameroon is positive and I'd really like to see it. Then I'd fly directly to Kenya. All this would cost about $900. I'd never originally thought of doing this much flying, but the politics of visas has closed many land borders to me. If I bought these tickets, spent another $1,000 over the next four or five weeks, then bought a ticket for home, my whole trip would cost about $4,000, wiping me out. Moreover, it's a dangerous practice to figure to my last dollar.

Throughout the day, I've considered about fifty different alternatives. I guess my original plans were too grandiose: crossing the Sahara, crossing Africa west-to-east, seeing the Indian Ocean, doing a safari in Kenya, traveling the Nile, seeing the Egyptian antiquities—some things will have to be cut out. Still, it feels like such a failure to give it up. By the end of the day, I'd considered such diverse plans as just going home and traveling the northwest coast instead of the east. Well, the weekend is coming and maybe I'll settle my plans within the next few days.