The ironic adventure
This pilgrimage is futile from the beginning. The only merit of the journey whatsoever is the testing of Butcher's own resilience and survival skills. In other words, there is an ironic lack of a boon in this journey. Only for pride and intrigue would someone intentionally subject themselves to the epic dangers of such wildlife, weather, and political violence. The adventure is an experiment in absurdity, designed to demonstrate the heroic qualities of the author as he willing challenges nature to a duel.
The ironic companion
The loneliness that Butcher encounters is a subtle threat against his safety. Luckily for him, he is kept company by an ironic companion of the mind, Katharine Hepburn. Just as Beatrice guides Dante into the promised land, so also Katharine's opinion of Africa offers Butcher an analog to converse with during the daily tasks of his journey. Both she and he notice the fearsome threat of nature and the genuine difficulty of survival. The irony of course is accentuated by the fact that Katharine is only there in writing.
Annoyance and danger
There are two looming threats which are defining experiences for Butcher's trip: the threat of genuine danger (like predators and snakes), and annoyance (like bugs and ants which might be threats, but might also just be pests). The presence of annoying circumstances makes Butcher's journey an epic test of patience, which is perhaps the least favorite human experience of all. At times, the annoyance of bug bites and boredom seem as great a threat to his hopefulness as the snakes are to his ankles.
The lack of support
This action was done pretty much in spite of advice from Butcher's community. Usually, the community disagreement between individual and group is something that the protagonist has to overcome in either direction, but Butcher seems ironically detached from other people's opinion of himself. The irony is that where there ought to be conflict between man and man, Butcher sees only the conflict implied by his survival, and nothing stops him from pursuing that conflict one he gets a taste for it.
Food and suffering
Imagine starving and begging for food only to find that the locals are themselves pressed for food and can offer only their generic "slop" which they call cassava. Cassava is a terrible smelling, terrible tasting, horrible food with the mouth feel of "wallpaper paste," says Butcher. But that is how he was able to survive starvation. He realizes that provision is often unpleasant, but it is still provision nevertheless. By combining the emotional suffering of poor taste with his need for food, he gains a kind of emotional clarity about his nature.
