My first trip into Africa was to Pointe-Noire in The People’s Republic of Congo in 1999. Over the next 20 years I worked offshore on oil rigs and in mines all over Africa. Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, The Congo, Angola, South Africa, Kenya and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. All of them different and some very challenging. Not the least being the ongoing game with immigration or customs to get in and out with your wallet still intact (often with cash hidden in my socks). Some countries stunningly beautiful and others I’d rather forget.