There is nothing better than embarking on a great adventure -- except maybe reading about one. A great new summer travelogue has arrived, and it should please fans of the always popular road trip. "My Mercedes Is Not For Sale: From Amsterdam to Ouagadougou... An Auto-Misadventure Across the Sahara" is author Jeroen Van Bergeijk's thoughtful love-letter to travel.
Van Bergeijk begins his journey with an idea inspired by both morals and enterprise: why not do something helpful, and make an adventure out of it along the way? As the trend for Western Europeans to send along older used cars to Africa stayed strong, Van Bergeijk saw a great opportinity With an added entrepreneurial spirit, he jumped on the bandwagon. As much an introspective personal journey as a physical one, "My Mercedes Is Not For Sale" is an exotic tale of both the search for adventure and the search for inspiration.
Initially hoping to make a profit and learn something new about Western Africa, Ven Bergeijk meets a number of unforgettable and charming characters along the way, while learning that such everyday products as a bar of soap and pantyhose are must-haves on the great journey through the Sahara. Off to sell his used 1988 Mercedes, the author comes away much richer, though in knowledge. In the spirit of Mark Twain's "Roughing It" and "Innocents Abroad," "My Mercedes Is Not For Sale" is both entertaining and ultimately heartwarming.
I was fortunate to communicate with the author of this delightful book, Jeroen Van Bergeijk. Mr. Van Bergeijk cited his most inspiring moment throughout the journey and writing of this book, as beginning, well, at the start!
"... I started wondering: how do used cars end up in landlocked countries in Africa? That moment occurred when I visited a friend's wedding. In Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, and after a party that lasted three days I got in [a] taxi that originally belonged to a Dutch owner. How... did that car [you could hardly call it a car anymore], end up in the middle of Africa? I decided to find out. During the actual journey I found inspiration, if you would define inspiration as being an uplifting experience, in Kumasi, Ghana, where in [a] neighborhood that employs thousands of people, all of West Africa's cars are being repaired. There I found a real, vibrant economy, people taking pride in what they do. And not an aid worker in sight."
Van Bergeijk's dry humor is at times reminicent of the great American writer and humorist, Mark Twain. When asked if he was familiar with Twain's works, Van Bergeijk embraced Twain's legacy, noting that "...I read
The Adventures of Huck Finn in college and I loved it. That book, sort of the first great American Road Trip, is definitely an inspiration. Apart from that I am sorry to report that I haven't read a lot of [his works]. In Europe he's not as well known as he is over here."
Bergeijk is taking a breather before starting another intercontinental journey anytime soon, after a recent mishap.
"I just returned from a trip gone horribl[y] wrong to Algeria - my car broke down in the middle of the Sahara Desert and couldn't be salvaged. So, for the next half a year or so, that's it I think. There's some vague idea to go to Libya in December with a friend and both our families."
Did his journeys in any way ultimately change the way he views the world?
"Definitely. Isn't that the idea of travel in the first place: that you learn stuff about the places and the people you visit and change your views accordingly. For instance, before I went to Africa, I assumed that all African people were dirt poor and therefore miserable. I assumed that I would encounter dying babies and all sorts of horrible diseases. I found it very uplifting to find that Africans in general are very upbeat and seem a lot happier than people in Western Europe or America."
And Van Bergeijk still found humor through the long journey. What were some of the most humorous memories of his trip?
"There were a lot of situations I didn't find so humorous when I found myself in them, but when I sat down to write about it, they became actually quite funny. Like the guy I spent a day hanging out with, drinking beer, being invited to his house, having a joint together... he had been married to a Dutch woman, so I finally thought I found a friend, and of course he ended up scamming me for a few euros. That happened a lot: me trying to be friends, they viewing me as a walking ATM machine."
Van Bergeijk is keeping busy as he continues to travel, and his travels have recently taken him to the United States. How is he enjoying his visit to the United States? And what did he think of Las Vegas?
"I am in NY right now. Las Vegas is fun for a day, after that I am starting to hate it, and it's time to leave. The contrast between the image Vegas tries to project as a glamorous, family-oriented, happy, shiny experience and the reality: overweight, depressed, old people, nagging children, is just too extreme. Loved Texas and Kansas though!"
Van Bergeijk will be doing a reading at Idlewild Books in New York City on July 15, at 7 p.m. More information on that event can be found at http://www.idlewildbooks.com/
Hoping not to be misunderstood, Van Bergeijk added this:
"Some people complain that I paint such a grim picture of West Africa. I of course do not agree with that assessment. First off, I think I wrote a humorous book. Second, I think I try to show it as it is, or as I experienced it. In general I am not a cynic at all, but I also do not believe in make-believe. I am not going to paint a rosy picture if misery is all I see. Bottom line: there's a lot in Africa that makes one sad, but there's more to make you laught. There's certainly enough hope for a better future. I, at least, would recommend West Africa as a travel destination to everyone. It's an amazing place and I have met some wonderful people (and yes, those are after your money, as would I if I lived there)."
"My Mercedes Is Not For Sale" is full of wonderful picaresque moments that stay with the reader. To close, here is just one memorable passage, near the end, which sums up the main gist of the journey nicely:
"When you tell people you're going to drive an old Mercedes to Africa to sell it there, you basically get three different reactions. Many find it adventurous ('How exciting, tearing across Africa in a car!'), some think it's scandalous or even immoral ('You're gonna scam those poor Thirld World people with a wreck like that?'), but most actually just don't get it ('What do those people there need with a Mercedes anyway?').
"Of course, I'm after adventure. Sure, I'd also like to make something off the car. And no, I don't find that immoral. But the whole thing really revolves around something else..."
