Charles Apple

Last November, Nicolas Rapp stepped down as art director for the Associated Press’ graphics operation in New York City to embark on a grand adventure: To drive around the world.

We last updated you on New Year’s Eve. At that time, Nicolas was in Nicaragua, having driven there from New York via Atlanta, Texas, Mexico and Guatamala.

In the four-and-a-half months since then, Nicolas made his way through Central and South America and to Buenos Aires, battling a variety of mechanical difficulties…

…enjoying incredible sights, such as this canyon near Bogota, Colombia…

…and this giant cactus near Tierrandentro, Colombia…

…but also dealing with surly border officials, some of whom expect exorbitant bribes…

…suffering from altitude sickness while stuck in the mud…

…and then finding the road blocked by a landslide near Cusco, Peru…

…and then running into protesters intentionally blocking the road coming out of La Paz, Bolivia…

And flooded salt flats in Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, where the road was actually closed but no one happened to tell him about it.

He arrived in Buenos Aires around March 20 and shipped his trusty 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser to Durban, South Africa.

Nick is flying to Johannesburg today and will hang out there for a while before retrieving his vehicle and resuming his voyage.

One big change is to his route. He discovered the country of Egypt would require a deposit of $50,000 just to let him drive across the country. Plus, the political situation in Nigeria worried him a bit. Plus, it’ll be the rainy season there soon. (See the photo of Nick’s vehicle stuck in the mud flats, above.)

Therefore, he’s decided to drive up the East coast of Africa instead and completely skip Europe, which will save him a lot of money:

The other big change is that his companion of the past four months — Nadia, his childhood friend from France — has departed for home and will no longer be featured in Nick’s various photo reports.

In a Q&A he posted in his blog last week:

Q. Have you had anyone offer to travel with you through Africa?

A. Yes, people contacted me to come along. I may have visitors. In general, there were more people interested in easier parts, like Asia. There are currently not too much people interested in the Pakistan or Yemen leg of my journey!

Follow Nicolas’ journey around the world here. Find his expedition Twitter feed here.

Go here to find a list of folks helping Nicolas with his expenses — and, better yet, help out yourself. Click here to learn how to join a letterwriting campaign asking Toyota to kick in a little mechanical assistance.

Find my earlier posts about Nick and his trek here and here.

I’m in D.C. today, speaking to a group of editors of newletters for postmasters.

We couldn’t quite see the capitol building from our room, but we did see just a bit of the Potomac:

Bringing me in for this gig was the editor of the national postmasters’ newsletter, Eva Finley of the Bradley, S.C., post office. Who happens to be my mom:

I tried to amuse early arrivers by blogging on the big screen in front of the room. Mom hates having her picture taken, so I thought I’d post two of them.

I wish I had time to drop by and see all my pals in town. But I’ll have to head back home this afternoon. I’m going to stay to watch a session on social networking and cool stuff like that by Stephanie Engle of Kalamazoo, Mich.

More later!

When we last heard from Nicolas Rapp, he had stepped down as art director of the Associated Press to drive around the world in a Toyota Land Cruiser.

He departed New York City on Nov. 14, spending nights in Virginia, Atlanta and Louisiana and meeting a high school class in Beaumont, Texas. He crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico on Nov. 25 and pressed into Guatemala on Dec. 6. He crossed the border into Nicaragua on Christmas Day.

So far, he’s had trouble with brakes, transmission, radiator and his emissions system. His SUV gets so abnormally overheated at times that he’s driving with his hood open slightly. His steering gear suddenly gave out in the mountains of Honduras, causing him to have a small accident.

At last report — Sunday — he was about to enter Managua with a jury-rigged steering mechanism and only two of his four-wheel-drive wheels actually pulling.

He’s also getting e-mails from folks who are taken with his traveling companion, Nadia, a childhood friend from France.

Follow Nicolas’ adventures here. If you’d like to help out, you’ll find a “donate” button on the right side of that page.