Nick Hewer: Countdown to Freetown Page #2

---

tongue out.

What?!

Now, I wonder whether we've

bitten off more than we can chew.

Let's hope not, anyway,

it's a bold enterprise.

For about half an hour,

I've been thinking,

"Now, what have I forgotten?

"What have I left behind?

"Where's my wallet?

"Did I pack my passport?

"Do I have enough wet wipes?"

Without any fuss from any customs,

we have entered Spain.

A 24-hour crossing puts

Nick on the African continent.

With few tourists

in Sierra Leone, James will need

to make what the locals buy.

Nick wants to research

what that could be en route.

I have a young carpenter.

I need to take something to him

and say, "Is possible for you

"to make something like this?"

Yes, of course, yes. Here,

to the right side, two minutes.

A Moroccan two minutes?!

Here is the wood.

Is very beautiful,

but very intricate.

I'm looking for something that is

very simple.

Very simple.

Nick wants more basic items that

James could actually copy.

I feel a bit queasy.

I'm with meat quarter.

At nearly 70, and his African

adventure barely begun,

Nick keeps regular contact

with his family.

I like to ring home

and see what's going on

and speak to the beloved.

Got to keep in touch with

the beloved.

You've only got a short

span of time on this planet.

Anybody with an ounce of curiosity

should be out seeing what

the world's got to offer.

A lot of people would say, of course,

"What on earth are you doing?

"Why can't you cut the grass

just like every normal person?"

In Marrakesh, Nick spots something

more suitable for James.

That stool is the sort of complexity.

Yeah, simple and nice.

This is what I want.

Yes, this sort of thing.

I will buy it from him.

How much would you like?

The butcher starts high.

He said, er, 700.

How many?

700, 700, 70 euros.

70 euros is...

Top businessman he may be,

but Nick's forgotten rule one

in Africa - haggling.

60 quid. I'll do it.

Really?

Two, four, six, seven,

and a pound of pork sausages!

Yeah, well, not pork, perhaps.

With the stool added

to his precious cargo,

Nick's joined by a security adviser.

Now what's this drama about plunging

south into the Western Sahara?

There is only one road and

that is your kidnap corridor.

They may not kidnap you,

they may just take your vehicle

and the contents behind it and leave

you on the side of the road.

Problems in West Africa

mean Nick is refused permission

to continue by road.

Well, sadly, this is as far south

as we're going to go in Morocco,

and where did we end up? Agadir -

Morocco's very own Benidorm

where old-age pensioners like me

come on package

tours for their holidays.

So, escaping the danger,

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes