Journey Without Maps

Blurb

Journey Without Maps is a travel account by Graham Greene, about a 350-mile, 4-week walk through the interior of Liberia in 1935. It was Greene's first trip outside of Europe. He hoped to leave civilization and find the "heart of darkness" in Africa. The interior of Liberia was at the time unmapped, and so he relied on local guides and porters.
Greene set off from the northernmost point of the country bordering Sierra Leone near the town of Kailahun and traveled in a south-eastern direction through the jungle highlands. He crossed through a section of French Guinea, going between the Liberian towns of Zorzor and Ganta, before turning south-west and arriving at the coast at Grand Bassa. He then traveled to Monrovia.
Greene's account provides many insights into what Liberia was like in 1935. The country has not modernized much since, in particular away from the coast, so much of it remains unchanged to this day. Greene did encounter a number of whites along the way including American and English missionaries, a German adventurer, gold seekers and beachcombers.