My Biggest Struggle of Being a Travel Writer in Africa

Wasting my time uploading photographs isn’t fun

Being a travel writer in Africa comes with a lot of sweating, swearing, and getting creative in many ways. Sweating due to the scorching sun. Swearing due to the lack of fast Wifi. And getting creative due to finding a way of getting a better internet connection.

The signature of my writing are photographs which are telling my stories together with my words. Taking those photographs is one story. But uploading them onto the world wide web is a totally different challenge.

If you’re living and working predominately on the African continent you will face the issue sooner or later. The issue of not having a strong enough internet connection to upload your high-quality photographs.

It really isn’t fun. Waiting for that bar to move and show your photo as approved. That is what I spend most of my time doing. On some days. Like today. I just spend an hour uploading 18 pictures into an article.

One hour.

And not a single word has been written yet.

Frustration doesn’t describe it well enough. It’s more than that. Sometimes anger comes in. And eventually capitulation. When my patience is running out. Or my time. Or my eyes fall asleep because it became a late-night waiting for the bar to move.

Patience

Patience is the key. Together with creativity. Creativity about finding the best spot on the campsite. That place where you have the strongest internet connection. And then just be patient.

Without my patience, I would have given up long ago. The whole writing thing. But I started my journey as a writer in Ghana. Almost seven years back. I had no idea if I would have been able to communicate with my parents back home at all.

I figured it all out once there. Wrote every evening a journal-like blog post and went once a week into the internet cafe in order to upload the written articles. Which was often a successful visit. But not always.

On some days I went there just to realize they don’t have an internet connection. Yes, you read that correctly. An internet cafe not having internet. Sounds weird. And wrong. But it was true. Something I had to deal with as well on some days.

Acceptance

And then all that is left for you is acceptance. Acceptance about the fact you won’t be uploading any pictures or blog posts that day. Because you know what? It’s not in your hands. It’s not in your hands when the connection will work again.

Instead of constantly stressing about uploading articles for my own set deadline I learned to accept it. To accept the fact that on some days I won’t be able to upload anything. Because that is just how it was.

There are situations in life we can’t change. All we can do is accept them and move on. Do something else with our time.

Flexibility

Flexibility was something I was known for before I went out to explore the African continent with my own eyes. But flexibility was something learned to use in different ways.

Things don’t always go as planned. Especially not in Africa. A journey of 100 miles can take you a few hours. Or a whole day. It all depends on the circumstances. The conditions of the road. And many other factors.

Therefore you have to be flexible when traveling in the country. When traveling or planning to do anything. Everything takes longer than expected. Just sometimes they surprise you and create the benches you ordered but haven’t paid yet within a few hours.

Stay flexible and do the best out of any given situation.

Creativity

I mentioned it before but creativity is obviously something every writer needs. Disregarding where he or she is based. But creativity was something I needed and used in a lot of different ways.

Apart from my writing itself, I was creative in finding ways on how and where to write. You can’t write at night when you’re camping next to a lake or some standing water and the bright screen of your tablet would attract thousands of insects.

You can’t write on the hour-long bus rides when you’re getting carsick even on the shortest journeys. But you can find time and a place where you do can write. Or publish.

Endurance

This describes the strength of not giving up before your goal is achieved. Endurance brought me this far. After years of writing articles about my adventures in Africa I’ve shown endurance.

I never gave up. Maybe on the small scale. I gave up that day the connection was too weak to upload anything. But I only gave up to try it again the next day or whenever I found a better connection.

My most recent experience of showing endurance was on my latest road trip through Namibia. I was told the best internet connection was on top of the hill. Or mountain. Whatever you want to call it.

So guess what? I climbed that god-damn mountain so that I could upload the articles I had prepared. I’ve exchanged a few words with the other editors I am working with and showed my dedication to the work.

I am making a plan. If there is a way to get these pieces online I will find that way.

Persistence is the key to anything in life. This word is similar to the meaning of endurance. But I chose another word with a slightly different meaning to make a point. This is one of the most used skills I needed.

Dedication

Dedication to the African continent. Dedication to my writing. Dedication to my loyal readers. Dedication to making it happen. Every single post. Every single story shared. Every adventure told.

This is what describes my writing journey the best. I’ve written on my personal blog for six years without earning a single cent for it. Simply for the love of it. For the engagement of my readers. And the joy of writing down my adventures.

That is what I understand as dedication. Disregarding all the challenges I faced living on a different continent in an unfamiliar country. I stuck to my writing.

I obviously improved and changed my style over the years. A bit. But that is how life goes.

But I never gave up.

I never gave up on the bar to move. That bar, that indicates if my photo is uploaded or not. Yet. I’ve remained patient and continued to write. And publish.

Final words

It might not be easy being a travel writer in Africa but it’s definitely worth the hassle. I’ve made so many amazing experiences over the years. Experiences I wouldn’t want to miss.

I explored various countries on countless adventures which led me to an incredible number of stories to tell.

In my first few years, I’ve only been writing and working from a tablet. A 7-inch tablet is almost the size of some smartphones these days. I upgraded only to a slightly larger version because I needed a stronger processor.

The tablet made it so easy and convenient to always take it with. I didn’t need much space for it. It always fits in my daypack and could be easily charged by a (solar-) power bank.

Only last year I started working from a laptop. The same year I also started making money from my writing. I still do most of my work on my tablet. Only the final touches together with the publishing process are done on the laptop.

Together with all those skills I developed and improved over the years I’ve dealt with pretty much anything regarding a writer’s life. Or let’s say at least a lot. I’ve accidentally deleted blog posts and photographs. I’ve learned to double and triple safe my articles and pictures today.

And to just wait a little longer if your uploading process doesn’t seem to get going. Or to just climb up a mountain to receive 3G in the desert.

More about my travel experiences in Africa…

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Anne Bonfert is a traveler. Photographer. Writer. Teacher. Skydiving instructor. Adventure enthusiast. Nature lover. And fell in love with the African continent.