Overland

We reach Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, travelling along desert roads that appear to have been forgotten by time. We take a break to discover habits and customs, markets and food, smiles and colours, and also use the opportunity to have some fun with a spot of off-road driving on the dunes of the relentlessly advancing Sahara Desert.

The Mauritanian shell asphalt accompanies us towards Senegal: we choose to leave the country via a secondary border crossing to avoid a lengthy wait. This ends up being a very shrewd choice: the border is in the heart of the Diawling National Park, so we get to enjoy the natural beauty from our windows.

We are surrounded by a luxuriant forest of baobab trees inhabited by African wildlife in Senegal, in the Bandia Reserve: giraffes, gazelles, bison, warthogs, zebras, rhinoceroses live in a natural state in one of the parks of the "Great Green Wall" project. We leave the mainland to visit the Island of Fadjouth, a special place made entirely of shells.

The turbulent Guinean roads continue to pose a stern challenge and reveal precious fragments of local existence. As we travel along these arduous trails at a snail's pace, we come across trucks crowded with people: these are some of the most disastrous and busy routes for illegal migration.

Benin City greets us with the contrasts that characterise Nigeria: armed escorts to keep us safe from terrorists and smiling faces. Despite continual suicide attacks by Boko Haram against the Nigerian people, many still believe and hope in their hearts for a better future.

As we find out more about the history of Liberia, the Civil War and misrule, the degradation we observe with our cameras becomes easier to comprehend - especially the issue of waste management. Everywhere around us - on streets, by the seaside, in courtyards and squares, we find piles of rubbish.

Surrounded by the lush vegetation of Sierra Leone, a short distance from the capital Freetown we discover the Takugama chimpanzee sanctuary which nurses, protects and rehabilitates young chimps who fell victim to poaching. We realise to our dismay that the dense vegetation beyond the park's boundaries is suddenly interrupted and that deforestation is taking place at a critical rate.

We indulge in a final bit of off-road driving in the Agafay Desert and contend with the usual issue of freeing a vehicle from the sand. Then, as we travel the last stretch of modern motorways back to Italy, we think back on the incredible adventure that is coming to an end.