An eight-person team is mountain biking through Africa on an archaeological expedition in search of the origins of man and to find out why so many of Africa's animals are disappearing. Follow along here as they update their diary.

AfricaQuest: End of the Road

November 13, 1998
Web posted at: 12:10 PM EDT

TANZANIA, East Africa -- You've heard the adage, "it's not about winning or losing, it's how you play the game." Similarly, journeys are less about whether you reached your destination than how you got there and what you learned along the way. A true journey transforms you. You discover things you didn't expect.

Today is the last day of AfricaQuest. In a few hours, we'll pack up our tattered tents for the last time, begin the ride back to Nairobi and the plane trip home. Our Voodoo bikes are grinding and rattling a lot more than they did six weeks ago when we started. But they've served us well, carrying us over hundreds of miles of Africa's worst roads, through deserts, mountains, and untamed wilderness.

John, Mike, Chip, Beth, Christina, Cherian, Tom and I -- we've all experienced a transformation. All the annoying flat tires, stupefying heat, demonic mud, sickness, injuries, late nights, early mornings and utter exhaustion has bettered us. It's not been easy but in the process, we've all become a little stronger, smarter, and better able to tackle the challenges of everyday life.

Perhaps the most important lesson we've all learned is from the African people themselves. We spent a good bit of time with the Turkana, Pokot, Samburu, Maasai and Hadzabe tribes. In each case, we've met people who beat the odds everyday.

They live with disease, hunger, heat, and corrupt governments, and constant reminders that their traditional lifestyle takes a back seat to progress. Nonetheless, these people persevere, and they do so with humor, kindness to others and a uniquely African panache. From them, I've learned that happiness doesn't come from material possessions but from your relationships with others.

If I can boil all we've learned in this trip down to one word, it would be respect - respect for individuals, other cultures, the past, and for other creatures. If we can keep that in mind perhaps the human race will survive - indeed thrive - for another five million years.

Pedals up!
Dan Buettner

A Visit with Boeymako

November 12, 1998

LAKE EYASI, Tanzania -- Can you imagine how people lived 10,000 years ago? What would life be like in a world where you have to either hunt or find all of your food. We're talking about a world where there are no farms, no stores, and no Pizza Hut.

Boeymako could have lived 10,000 years ago and her life wouldn't be much different than it is today. She lives with a very special tribe of people called the Hadzabe. They live near the shores of Lake Eyasi and make their living hunting animals and gathering food from the forest. Their belongings include only a knife, a couple of pots and pans, bows and arrows, the clothes on their back, animal skins and - Boeymako's prize possession - her clay doll. At any moment, the family can gather all their things and move. This is important since her family moves about 25 times per year. She has no permanent home.

In Boeymako's tribe, the men and women have very different roles. The men hunt for meat while the women look for tubers, fruits and berries. Though she is only 12, she has many of the responsibilities of a full-grown woman.

I asked Boyemako about school. "I don't need to go," she replied. "When I grow up, I want to live in the bush like my mother. School doesn't teach me anything I need to know." She went on to tell me that she wants to marry a man from her tribe but she wants to wait for that. She'll probably start thinking of a husband when she's 15.

The government wants Boeymako to go to school and farmers coming from outside the area would like to have her tribe's land for growing crops. This could all bring an end to Boeymako's way of life. Some would say that it is better that she gets an education like American children do.

On the other hand, when Boeymako's ancient way of life is gone, it's gone forever.

Learning from the Past

November 11, 1998
Web posted at: 3:44 PM EDT

MANGOLA, Tanzania -- You could say that our first step in this AfricaQuest journey began over five million years ago when our ancestors stood up and walked on two feet. Bipedalism freed up the hands to make and use tools two million years ago. Good tools led to greater success with hunting and gathering food. Later, modern humans began to speak, beginning as early as 100,000 years ago. Thousands of years later, art and religion helped us make sense of the world around us.

Today, human beings are facing some major changes. The world now supports over five billion people. Many of us live very well with houses, cars, and nice clothes. Technology makes our lives even easier. Remember, I'm sitting in the backwoods of Africa writing this. Where are you reading it? Look around at your surroundings. Life is good, isn't it?

Six weeks ago I posed a mystery: what makes us human? Well, you've helped me explore several possibilities. One, we can learn from the past. Can't we also plan thoughtfully for our future?

Second, we stand out from other animals in our ability to cooperate and work together. But perhaps it's our ability to love and feel compassion that are our most important traits. Over the millenia, they have enabled us to develop bonds that have brought together families, tribes, and nations.

The future definitely hangs in the balance. What will insure our survival?

Think good thoughts!

November 10, 1998

One way the team stayed healthy was by relaxing after a they took a hard ride. Here, Christina, Tom, and John share a laugh and a soda.

MANGOLA, Tanzania -- Physicians have long known that people are more likely to catch diseases when they are stressed. Negative events, such as one too many flat tires during our trip through Africa, seem to cause enough stress to lower the body's resistance to disease. Some kinds of headache, back, and facial pain, asthma, stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure are examples of stress-related disorders.

During AfricaQuest, I treated diarrhea, muscle aches, mild malaria, an eye infection, constipation and some other mild conditions. In light of the potential for serious illness on a trip of this nature, I would say the team has done amazingly well.

Why? First of all we took the necessary measures to prevent illness. Before we left the US, we all were vaccinated against diseases we might catch. We bleached the water we drank to kill microbes that might make us sick. We also wore long sleeved clothing in the evenings to avoid mosquito bites (and malaria).

Also important in preventing illness was how the team dealt with emotional stress. Laughter has been our best medicine for dealing with tense moments; however, each person has their own coping strategies. When I asked some of my teammates how they dealt with stress, this is what I found out.

Whenever Beth started to get bummed out, she'd take a step back and appreciate where she was: in Africa, meeting fascinating people. Mike would remove himself from negative influences, go within himself, and attempt to find peace. Cherian simply got more sleep. John would think of his wife and child and, like Beth, he would focus on the big picture. Dan would take off by himself on his bike.

My personal trick for dealing with stress is to remember the words of my late grandmother who lived to be 88 years old. When the going got tough, my granny used to say, "Son, just remember...I might give out, but I won't give up. Be positive!"

So, laugh as often as possible. In fact, laugh so hard that your side cramps and your eyes water. It's for your health. Think good thoughts and don't give up.

What can we learn from the Hadzabe?

November 9, 1998

MANGOLA, Tanzania -- When a teenager walked out of the forest wearing a genet skin around his neck and a baboon scalp on his head, I knew our visit to the Hadzabe people would be no ordinary encounter.

The Hadzabe way of life depends on the man's luck in hunting wild animals and the woman's ability to gather tubers (starchy roots, like potatoes) and other plants. They are nomads, so they have no permanent home. Instead, they move from camp to camp following their food supply. One month, they may camp near beehives for honey. The next month, they may live near an elephant kill where they'll feast off the elephant meat. When it's dry, they live near the baobab trees. They grind the baobob nuts into flour. During the rainy season, they camp in caves for shelter.

I watched the men prepare for tomorrow's hunt. One man pounded out a flat piece of metal, chiseled it to the shape of an arrow, and dipped it in poison. He'd use this to hunt an impala or a kudu. Another man fashioned wooden arrows from long smooth sticks, straightening the sticks with his teeth. This type of arrow is used for small game, such as dik dik or baboons, the Hadzabe's favorite food.

The men finished making their arrows and got up to try them out. Pulling their bows back mightily, they released the arrows. The arrows went whizzing through the air. The men could hit a small stump at 50 yards. When John tried the bow, the arrow spilled out onto the ground in front of him. Everyone laughed.

As we cycled away, the Hadzabe returned to their fires. It struck me how sad and wonderful these people are. On the one hand, their way of life is threatened. Other peoples have moved into the Hadzabe territory and have begun farming and herding. They have cut down the trees and scared away wildlife with their cattle. Even the government has tried to settle the Hadzabe into permanent homes.

On the other hand, despite these pressures, the Hadzabe are surviving -- just as we think ancient humans did for over a million years. Here are a people who own nothing more than they can carry in two hands. They take from nature only the things that they need -- nothing more. In a time when world population is doubling every 27 years and 60,000 acres of rain forest disappear every day, the Hadzabe can teach us powerful, time-honored lessons.

But will we let them?

Click here to read the diary from Week One.

Click here to read the diary from Week Two.

Click here to read the diary from Week Three.

Click here to read the diary from Week Four.

Click here to read the diary from Week Five.