Today I’m in a hurry, but in the spirit of not returning to a crazy long to-do list, I wanted to publish this new website before I left for a short journey into the countryside of Senegal, West Africa.

I’m at the end of a fantastic year of travel. Before I return to the U.S. in a few weeks, I’m joining my good friend, Racine as he visits his families village in an area of Senegal called Fouta Toro.  We will also attempt to cross over into Mauritania for a couple days.  I say attempt, because I was late applying for a Visa for the N. African country, so I am sure to expect another border adventure. Racine assures me that he knows how to handle it.  He has “the hook up”.  Reminds me of the beginning of a Locked up Abroad episode.

The trip is 9hrs through desert-ish roads by bus.The best part about this trip for me is reloading my iphone with new music and listening to it the whole trip.  My lack of language skills dont allow me to chat about the latest wrestling match with strangers, so I spend a lot of time zoning out, listening to music and taking photos out of the window.

On this journey’s playlist:

• Jazz Liberatorz: The Return
• Carlitta Durand: Nostalgic Nights
• Led Zepppelin: Early Days
• Aretha Franklin: Lady Soul
• Orchestra Baobab: Made in Dakar
• Miles Davis: On the Corner
• Fashawn: Higher Learning
• Ebo Taylor : Life Stories
• Robert Glasper: The Robert Glasper  Beat Tape