Stuart is in a garage in a small town in Algeria. Another chance for repairs for his beloved vehicle. Yes, one more.

A friend asked him to pick up a Landrover in the Central African Republic (CAR). Why not? He is accompanied by a young woman, not his wife, for his wife stays in the United States. Upon arrival in the CAR he tries to find the car he is supposed to bring home. His friend gave him some names of people who could help him in tracing the car. Very soon he finds out that the car is used by a government minister. Locally the name of his friend doesn’t bring smiles on faces. He surrenders the thought of retrieving the car, but buys another one to drive through the desert to North Africa.

During his search for a car he stumbles upon many odd characters in many different colours who try to help him or just the other way round. In Timbuktu he tries to find a 200 liter barrel fo fill it with diesel and put in on the backseat of his car.  He manages to locate the barrel, but discovers that Timbuktu has run out of diesel. Just turn the car and drive back to the previous stopover.

The book has more speek than the cars he drove and has  a good sense of humour. Eventhough the writer travelled through large parts of Africa he did not include a map. I used my Google Maps to follow his route.

Stuart Stevens – Malaria dreams : an African adventure – New York 1989