Africa
My first experience in Africa was when I landed at Dakar airport in August 1979. I came to Dakar to meet the Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) vessel that transported all the equipment I needed to build 20 grain warehouses in 3 different locations in French-speaking Mauritania. Dakar was chosen as landing point as the port of Nouakchott was not suited for such a large vessel.
As it turned out, the port of Dakar wasn’t all that suited either. There was no RoRo facility and as such, on board of the vessel all vehicles had to drive up a gangway to drive another down again at quay-side. Unfortunately one of my trailers was heavily loaded with a rough terrain crane leaving little clearance underneath. At tipping point this clearance proved insufficient and my trailer broke in two at the spot. It was now decided to drive my crane off under its own steam and to dump the 2 trailer parts into the sea. I thus had my first experience with local ingenuity, many many more were to follow, keeping me well on my toes. I love it!
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