Across African Sand: Journeys of a Witch Doctor's Son-in-Law

Across African Sand: Journeys of a Witch Doctor's Son-in-Law, Phil Deutschle, Dimi Press, 2000

This is the self-written story of an American expatriate spending five years as a teacher in the southern African country of Botswana. Being a rather restless type who can't stay in one place for very long, Phil spends a school vacation bicycling across the Kalahari and Namib deserts, a distance of almost 3000 miles, mostly through soft sand and mud.

The tale of his journey is interspersed with flashbacks of his life in Botswana. There is a big difference between official, and actual, equality between blacks and whites. Some teachers prefer to use the physical violence method of teaching, where beatings occur for almost any reason, while other teachers would rather spend their time propositioning female students. As the only white person around, it took a while for Phil to be accepted by the villagers; he later falls in love with, and marries, the daughter of the local witch doctor.

While on the journey, Phil has all sorts of adventures. He almost gets trampled by a herd of elephants, he is stalked by lions, and he is nearly eaten alive by mites, ticks and other flying creatures, He also meets a black mamba snake that prefers privacy, while riding or pushing a 90-pound bike through days where the temperature gets well over 100 degrees.

For those of us who would rather read about such an adventure than actually do it, this book is well worth reading. It talks about a part of the world unknown to most Westerners, it's heartfelt, and quite well done.