Great Big Globe World Travel
I’ve touched on it previously how the media uses scare tactics and sensationalism to get peoples attention, which in turn they use to make money. By doing so, they can cause unnecessary and devastating consequences to people and businesses alike. (When reading the following, think about local tourism and tour companies and how they must be hurting.)
A topic still in the news is the ebola outbreak in West Africa. While ebola is a serious issue that can lead to death in most situations, the media appears to be going overboard as usual. Now, people need to be careful and take the proper precautions when visiting any part of Africa, especially those few areas affected by ebola. However, the outbreak has been pinpointed to be in a handful of countries and specifically rural areas in said countries.
The way the media portrays it is that Africa is a terrible place to visit and anyone would be a fool to step foot on the ground. We have had more than a few conversations with concerned friends (thanks guys) about our trip to Africa and if we are worried about catching ebola. We are here, so obviously we aren’t too concerned. 🙂
Size of Africa – http://www.marilink.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/true-size-africa.jpg
I read an interesting article recently that explained the true size of Africa, which is a common misconception based on world maps. From the image above (map source noted), you can see how huge the continent truly is relative to some of the largest countries in the world. Pretty crazy!
Ebola is concentrated in the upper left portion of Africa (roughly near California on the U.S. above), and again, in specific areas in a handful of countries. For our sake, our Africa overland trip is starting a LONG ways away (near the China part 2 area) and we are moving South to Cape Town. We feel pretty confident in not contracting ebola during our trip and I encourage everyone to always do a little research before believing everything the media tells you.
Anyway, just a quick thought for the day before we head out with Oasis Overland in the morning!
