This article is about the land border between Mpak (Mpack) in Senegal and São Domingos in Guinea-Bissau. On the 22nd of March, 2025, we traveled from Ziguinchor in Senegal to Cacheu in one day. We took a taxi, crossed the border on foot, tried to hitchhike, and eventually took two mototaxis to the port, where we boarded a pirogue/canoa. Read on to find out how we did it. Zichuinchor to Cacheu instead of Bissau While writing a page about Guinea-Bissau to aid our travels in West Africa, I stumbled upon the small village of Cacheu by the river of theContinue reading
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Through the Berm: Mauritania Border Crossing with Western Sahara/Morocco
We entered Mauritania from Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara on the 6th of February, 2025. We took a bus through the Berm (aka the Moroccan Western Sahara Wall) from Dakhla to Nouadhibou. At the Guerguerat border crossing, we used our Mauritanian eVisa to enter. The Guerguerat Border in Short In winter, there’s a one-hour time shift between Morocco and Mauritania. In Mauritania (UTC), it’s one hour later than in Morocco (UTC+1). Unless it’s a few weeks before Ramadan, when Morocco also moves to UTC, until about a week after Ramadan, when it switches back to UTC+1 Depending on the time zone MoroccoContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 83: Galați to Isaccea – Bombed Grain Silos in Reni, Kayaking the Ukrainian–Romanian Border Danube
This happened on the 27th of July, 2024. We paddled away from Galați to Isaccea on the Romanian side of the Danube. The Danube here flows past Giurgiulești in Moldova, followed by Reni and Orlivka in Ukraine’s Odesa Oblast. As russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine rages on and this is an EU outer border, we stuck to the Romanian side and did not cross Leaving Galați for Isaccea Waking up at 5:35, I immediately noticed my throat hurt. We turned off the aircon – which might have been the cause of the painful throat – and prepared to kayak toContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 77: Silistra to Chiciu and Ostrov – Goodbye Bulgaria, Hello (Again) Romania
We paddled from Bulgaria to Romania on the Danube on Tuesday, the 9th of July 2024. We started our morning in Silistra on the Bulgarian side where we had checked out of the country the day before. Then we had to cross the Danube to Chiciu in Romania to legally check in per kayak there. This happened a few months before both Bulgaria and Romania fully joined Schengen. But our destination of the day was a small village called Ostrov a little further downstream. Silistra Immigration by Kayak Two days before kayaking back into Romania, we tried to find outContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 69: Calafat to Vidin – Border Crossing from Romania to Bulgaria by River
This kayak day happened on Sunday the 9th of June, 2024. We kayaked from Calafat in Romania to Vidin in Bulgaria on the Danube River. Though both countries are in the EU, they weren’t completely part of Schengen at the time. That’s why we needed to deal with bureaucracy and get a new ship manifest for Zucchini. Leaving Romania by Boat: Lazy Saturday in Calafat The day after we kayaked more than 70 kilometers down the Danube, we wanted to see if we can leave Romania via the Danube. Calafat also has a road-rail bridge to Vidin, but the border controlsContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 62: Golubac to Donji Milanovac – Entering the Iron Gate + Breaking Fifty
We kayaked from Golubac to Donji Milanovac in Serbia on the Danube on the 11th of May, 2024. This is in the border area between Romania and Serbia through the Iron Gate canyon. It’s the first time we paddled over 50 kilometers in one day. Seeking a Sailor’s Advice on Đerdap Lake Paddling Out to Golubac Fortress + Golubac Gorge The following morning, we had a coffee and prepared for paddling. It’s not a long walk to our launch spot on the Danube from here and with such little luggage, it was very pleasant. We pumped up Zucchini below theContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 61: Ram to Golubac Vinci – Giving Up!
We tried to paddle from Ram to Golubac on the 9th of May, 2024. Because of a powerful mountain jet wind called Košava, we didn’t make it all the way to Golubac and eventually settled for a village called Vinci. Kayaking into the Romanian Border Area Getting ready for the kayak day without coffee saved us about half an hour. We were by the river a little before the ferry departed for Stara Palanka with three of our least-favorite street dogs. As intended, we used the ferry’s gravel slipway to launch our boat. We started paddling towards Golubac at 7:27.Continue reading
Kayak Trip Day 52: Erdut to Vukovar – Entering Croatia Legally
The events in this story happened on Wednesday, the 3rd of April, 2024. We paddled our inflatable canoe Zucchini from Erdut to Vukovar in Croatia. This was our third kayaking day down the Danube in 2024 and the 52nd in total. Though we had slept in Croatia the night before, we hadn’t properly entered Croatia on paper yet until Vukovar. Paddling Two Days in a Row + Zucchini Leaks The evening before we left Erdut, we looked at the map together. The challenges of kayaking to Vukovar from Erdut were mostly the distance and the fact that we would haveContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 50: Mohács in Hungary to Apatin in Serbia – We Meet Again, Danube
The events in this story happened on Thursday the 28th of March, 2024. We paddled our inflatable canoe Zucchini from Mohács in Hungary to Apatin in Serbia. This was our first kayaking day down the Danube of 2024 and a continuation of this trip in 2019. We intend to paddle to the Black Sea in 2024 this year. Since we’re crossing from a Schengen country to outside of the EU, this required some paperwork at the police. Our (Second) Stay in Mohács Hungarian Immigration + A Call with a TID Participant Leaving Mohács for Apatin: Day 50 or Day 1?Continue reading