bit of an adrenalin rush this morning, but first.......
after millys we bushcamped near the Togo border and crossed the next morning. stayed at another hotel with a swimming pool. most of us camped in the car park as usual. Went into Lome and although it is nothing special, we had a good time at the markets and at Al Donalds restaurant, the sign for which is a blatant rip off of similar-sounding western fast food restaurant. After a lot of walking, towards the end of the day we got hassled a bit, guys grabbing your arm trying to get you to take their taxi and being a bit too persisent with the girls. But it was all good. Some of the guys went fishing in the Atlantic and caught some seriously big fish, enough to feed all 26 of us for 2 nights, huge chunks of fish. We are 26 because we have 2 newbies, Swiss Mike and French Martin. They are good guys qnd, obviously, speak French which is helpful.
After Togo we crossed into Benin. I had me head out the top of the truck and listening to the Africa Nations Cup and the Premier League on the World Service as we went. We stayed a couple of nights at Grand Popo. In the morning we did a river trip. First to see some mangroves anf then to a small village where the kids dashed up the cocunut trees and cut down coconuts with machetes. The water from inside the coconut was sweet and tasty, but i dont like coconut. The villagers didnt seem to happy for 15 of us to be wandering around, i felt a bit bad about that. In the afternoon we went to a voodoo dance but it was pretty disappointing except for the music and dancing. Its too hard to explain what went on but it was like a pantomime and towards the end they kept asking us to give them coins before the next part so a bit of scam really. Also surprised that neither of our tour guides came with us to check it out as they have not been here before. It was an expensive day. But in the evening a few of us went to a beach bar and there were five guys playing bongos by a campfire. They were really cool and made us dance with them. It was more fun than the days activities and so i was more than happy to put some coins in their bowl at the end. Those two nights i was sweating buckets all night. Its not really hot but it is sooooo humid, i had to hang my sleep sheet and pillows out to dry in the morning; it was gross! So when we arrived at Cotonou yesterday i set up my mozzie net on the sand attached to a small soccer goal and was much cooler in the night.The hotel looks like it was once a prison.
Watched both African nations games yesterday. Nigeria are in the semi final and we are going there on Thursdqy for a week or so thqt should be fun, watching it with the locals.
anyway, this morning we had to get motobike taxis into town which was scary and fun. This town is a bit rough and dirty and the traffic is a bit mad, lots of pollution but to be fair the drivers were pretty skilled and it was all good.
thats it. gotta go.
26.1.10
20.1.10
Accra, Ghana (again)
doh! back in the same yukky shopping mall exactly a week later.
We had a couple of nights at Milly's Backyard which apparently is a 'boutique hostel', but dont believe the hype. no showers, no running water in the morning, prostitutes being assertive (although there are rumours that 2 made a sale from guys on our truck) and more dodgy-looking guys looking displeased when you dont buy drugs from them. Still, i had a bucket bath with the water out of the well and that was very refeshing, and the 'bathroom' wall is quite low so you can watch the world go by while you wash your bits. The rival overland company 'Oasis' were there too and its good catching up with them. I did most of my washing but, paid the hostel to clean my filthy shorts and sleep sac, and they did a great job. Bought a pair of white pants which have a flour bag design on them. Many of us bought them so they are all the rage on our truck. And they are lightweight so ideal for when the mozzies are about. My self-inflating mattress has been pretty flat for a few weeks, but i finally got round to locating the 6 tiny holes, using water, and putting patches on. Surprisingly they seem to be fixed, which is good cos i ran out of glue.
From Milly's we headed to Cape Coast. There they have a slave castle. When the British, and others, colonised this part of Africa they built castles as a look-out, an administration place and to keep slaves locked in dungeons underneath for upto 3 months before shipping them out to other parts of the world. They showed us the dungeons and described the terrible conditions men and women were kept in. How could the white man have possibly thought that this was acceptable? Oh, and the dungeon was directly under the Anglican church....how disgusting.
It seems strange that the people would then take on the religion of their oppressors, but Ghana is a very religious country. Indeed just about every shop has a religious name e.g. 'God is good car mechanics' or 'Jesus is in you suipermarket' and 'God's own image barber shop'.
Next we went to a rainforest to walk through the canopy. Well, i have done that a few times before so was not too bothered and apprently the walkway was wobbly and scary. But i did it anyway. The first 'bridge' was a bit scary, a long drop down but pretty difficult to fall off the side of the bridge. Feeling ok i then realised there were another 5 wobbly rope bridges to cross. I decided the best action was to just stride confidently along and not be a woose. I had a bit of look down but not much to see apart from trees, obviously. And that was it. So it didnt seem like very good value.
We stayed at a hotel (camping out the back) which called itself a botel on all of the signs. Not sure what that was about, but that evening we got our first rainfall, and it bucketed it down. Somehow our cooks still managed to come up with tasty dinner, even in the storm. And we watched Ghana lose to Ivory Coast.
The last few nights we stayed at Elmina which was much better than Milly's. We had the beach resort pretty much to ourselves and they had proper showers, cheaper beer and friendlier staff. The sun shining right into my tent at 7am was enough to get me out of bed. The waves were pretty big and crashing. It was great to sit there at night watching the white surf crash onto the slope in front of us. Also, we had a truck cleaning day which took 24 of us 3.5 hours to complete. I did my fair share, though not as much work as others who were on a mission.
I had been buying the plastic bags of water from street sellers and it was much colder, cheaper and environmentally friendlier that bottled water. But the last few bags have tasted like muddy water so given up on that for now.
Craig the Kiwi left the trip yesterday as was always his plan. Shame, cos he is a nice guy and also in our cook group. We get 2 newbies today, (we are waiting for them here at the mall) so hopefully one will replace Craig, especially as it is our turn to cook tonight. Having simple spicy Spag Bol since we will be out in the bush and we dont know at what time. Last week it took us 3 hours to make bangers and mash and beans!
Yesterday was my birthday. Up early and a stroll along the beach while chatting to Mum and Dad. Slept on the truck then we had to go back to Milly's. We went to the building next door and with the locals watched Ghana beat Burkina Faso. The gang sang happy birthday and i had a couple of beers and a heavily- made-up lady of the night threw herself at Canadian Dan and I on the beach. Dan took a bit longer than i to shake her off but she got the message.
Once we get out of this mall we are heading to the Togo border tonite and then crossing tomorrow. This feels like the end of the the first third of the adventure, and about to start the second part down to Cape Town. Time to take a deep breath and plunge into whatever Central Africa has in store for us.
thats it.
We had a couple of nights at Milly's Backyard which apparently is a 'boutique hostel', but dont believe the hype. no showers, no running water in the morning, prostitutes being assertive (although there are rumours that 2 made a sale from guys on our truck) and more dodgy-looking guys looking displeased when you dont buy drugs from them. Still, i had a bucket bath with the water out of the well and that was very refeshing, and the 'bathroom' wall is quite low so you can watch the world go by while you wash your bits. The rival overland company 'Oasis' were there too and its good catching up with them. I did most of my washing but, paid the hostel to clean my filthy shorts and sleep sac, and they did a great job. Bought a pair of white pants which have a flour bag design on them. Many of us bought them so they are all the rage on our truck. And they are lightweight so ideal for when the mozzies are about. My self-inflating mattress has been pretty flat for a few weeks, but i finally got round to locating the 6 tiny holes, using water, and putting patches on. Surprisingly they seem to be fixed, which is good cos i ran out of glue.
From Milly's we headed to Cape Coast. There they have a slave castle. When the British, and others, colonised this part of Africa they built castles as a look-out, an administration place and to keep slaves locked in dungeons underneath for upto 3 months before shipping them out to other parts of the world. They showed us the dungeons and described the terrible conditions men and women were kept in. How could the white man have possibly thought that this was acceptable? Oh, and the dungeon was directly under the Anglican church....how disgusting.
It seems strange that the people would then take on the religion of their oppressors, but Ghana is a very religious country. Indeed just about every shop has a religious name e.g. 'God is good car mechanics' or 'Jesus is in you suipermarket' and 'God's own image barber shop'.
Next we went to a rainforest to walk through the canopy. Well, i have done that a few times before so was not too bothered and apprently the walkway was wobbly and scary. But i did it anyway. The first 'bridge' was a bit scary, a long drop down but pretty difficult to fall off the side of the bridge. Feeling ok i then realised there were another 5 wobbly rope bridges to cross. I decided the best action was to just stride confidently along and not be a woose. I had a bit of look down but not much to see apart from trees, obviously. And that was it. So it didnt seem like very good value.
We stayed at a hotel (camping out the back) which called itself a botel on all of the signs. Not sure what that was about, but that evening we got our first rainfall, and it bucketed it down. Somehow our cooks still managed to come up with tasty dinner, even in the storm. And we watched Ghana lose to Ivory Coast.
The last few nights we stayed at Elmina which was much better than Milly's. We had the beach resort pretty much to ourselves and they had proper showers, cheaper beer and friendlier staff. The sun shining right into my tent at 7am was enough to get me out of bed. The waves were pretty big and crashing. It was great to sit there at night watching the white surf crash onto the slope in front of us. Also, we had a truck cleaning day which took 24 of us 3.5 hours to complete. I did my fair share, though not as much work as others who were on a mission.
I had been buying the plastic bags of water from street sellers and it was much colder, cheaper and environmentally friendlier that bottled water. But the last few bags have tasted like muddy water so given up on that for now.
Craig the Kiwi left the trip yesterday as was always his plan. Shame, cos he is a nice guy and also in our cook group. We get 2 newbies today, (we are waiting for them here at the mall) so hopefully one will replace Craig, especially as it is our turn to cook tonight. Having simple spicy Spag Bol since we will be out in the bush and we dont know at what time. Last week it took us 3 hours to make bangers and mash and beans!
Yesterday was my birthday. Up early and a stroll along the beach while chatting to Mum and Dad. Slept on the truck then we had to go back to Milly's. We went to the building next door and with the locals watched Ghana beat Burkina Faso. The gang sang happy birthday and i had a couple of beers and a heavily- made-up lady of the night threw herself at Canadian Dan and I on the beach. Dan took a bit longer than i to shake her off but she got the message.
Once we get out of this mall we are heading to the Togo border tonite and then crossing tomorrow. This feels like the end of the the first third of the adventure, and about to start the second part down to Cape Town. Time to take a deep breath and plunge into whatever Central Africa has in store for us.
thats it.
13.1.10
Accra, Ghana
So i am sitting in a Western-style shopping mall, more of that later.
Lots has happened in the last few days, lots more activities and doing stuff. We went to Mole National Park in northern Ghana. We started walking in the bush quite early and for ages we only saw Bush Bok - like Antelopes and it was a bit dull. We had been promised elephants and crocs. We were just heading back when the guide got a phone call and we went back to where we had come from and lurking behind some trees was a huge African elephant. I have only seen Asian elephants before and they are smaller. This one was 80 years old, apparently, and he didnt seem to mind us being there, just 30 metres away. We stood and watched, and took pictures, for ages. He was eating bits of tree and we followed him to a waterhole. He did take a bit of step towards me and Greg when we thought he was staying put but the guide clapped and stamped his foot and the elephant stayed still. Then walked to another watering hole and there was a gang of small crocs who just slinked into the water as we got closer. Anyway, that made the whole day alot better. When we got back to the start there were some baboons going through the rubbish bin, picking through it like a person would. A couple of our guys got too close and the baboons ran towards them, i just heard the screaming!
Back on the truck for a while and then stopped at a small town so that two of the guys could be taken to hospital. Although they have different sympoms, apparently they both have dysentary. Everyday at least one person has some kind of sickness....While they we at the hospital, most of us went to the New Trafford theatre, which is large tin/wood shack where they had Arsenal v Everton on a big screen, which was great.
The next day we made it to the waterfalls. A chance to get clean! There wasnt much room to swim but i led on the rock under the falls and let the water rush over me, like a bath and a shower at the same time. It was nice and cold and i felt fresh for the first time after 3 days of bush camping. Lots of fun. There was a bushfire nearby as we left, in fact there have been lots of small bushfires since we got to Ghana. The locals dont seem to worry about it, except for standing nearby with an axe hoping to catch small animals running away!
We also went to a monkey sanctuary - they actually just live in the forest. We were able to buy bananas from the locals and then hand feed the monkeys, they came down out of the trees as soon as they saw us. I didnt really think that this was the right to do but finally succumed and fed one since everyone else had. The monkeys are very important to the locals and they even have a monkey cemetery. We had a great game of street soccer with some local kids. I set up the goals and the teams! At the lodge we had to pump our own water from the well to fill buckets for washing and flushing, although the locals seemed to insist on doing it for us. On the way we went over an old wooden bridge that looked like it wouldnt take the weight, though clearly it did or i wouldnt be here.
Am very comfortable in my dome tent, having taken it over from the guy who went home. More room and easy enough to put up, even in the dark, though its easier when someone helps. There are only three of us now who have never upgraded, i.e. taken a room when we could camp. Perfectly happy in me tent. Lots of vivid dreams.
The roads in Ghana are much better than we are used to, though still pretty rough at times. The people in the north were really friendly and lots of fun. Down south, where we are now, they are bit more grumpy. As usual we are surrounded by curious, staring locals when we bushcamp, there is always a few kids and adults watching us have breakfast. And they take our empty water bottles of us, which is a bonus. We have the roof open at the front of the truck which lets a breeze in, but i am usually directly in the sun so have to cover up a bit. When the sun is not so strong, we can stand on the seats and look out of the front of the truck which is cool, waving to the locals and listening to my tunes.
Yesterday we were in Kumasi which has a huge, crazy market which takes up most of the town. A disused rail track goes through part of it so we just followed that. I didnt buy anything but they had loads of Obama merchandise, as in the other African countries - you can buy Obama shirts, keyrings, boxer shorts, everything, they love him in Africa, which is fair enough.
So, we are staying at Big Milly's backyard which is a backpacker hostel next to the ocean, 30kms from Accra. We will be here for a few days as we wait for visas. A few days is ok, longer will seem annoying. the plan was to head to Accra today to have a look around, but some people asked the taxi driver for the shopping mall cos they wanted clothes so we ended up in a horrible shopping mall, and 10kms from the city centre and now i can't be bothered to get another taxi in etc. I dont think i will be missing much.
thats all for now. probably offline again for a while.
Lots has happened in the last few days, lots more activities and doing stuff. We went to Mole National Park in northern Ghana. We started walking in the bush quite early and for ages we only saw Bush Bok - like Antelopes and it was a bit dull. We had been promised elephants and crocs. We were just heading back when the guide got a phone call and we went back to where we had come from and lurking behind some trees was a huge African elephant. I have only seen Asian elephants before and they are smaller. This one was 80 years old, apparently, and he didnt seem to mind us being there, just 30 metres away. We stood and watched, and took pictures, for ages. He was eating bits of tree and we followed him to a waterhole. He did take a bit of step towards me and Greg when we thought he was staying put but the guide clapped and stamped his foot and the elephant stayed still. Then walked to another watering hole and there was a gang of small crocs who just slinked into the water as we got closer. Anyway, that made the whole day alot better. When we got back to the start there were some baboons going through the rubbish bin, picking through it like a person would. A couple of our guys got too close and the baboons ran towards them, i just heard the screaming!
Back on the truck for a while and then stopped at a small town so that two of the guys could be taken to hospital. Although they have different sympoms, apparently they both have dysentary. Everyday at least one person has some kind of sickness....While they we at the hospital, most of us went to the New Trafford theatre, which is large tin/wood shack where they had Arsenal v Everton on a big screen, which was great.
The next day we made it to the waterfalls. A chance to get clean! There wasnt much room to swim but i led on the rock under the falls and let the water rush over me, like a bath and a shower at the same time. It was nice and cold and i felt fresh for the first time after 3 days of bush camping. Lots of fun. There was a bushfire nearby as we left, in fact there have been lots of small bushfires since we got to Ghana. The locals dont seem to worry about it, except for standing nearby with an axe hoping to catch small animals running away!
We also went to a monkey sanctuary - they actually just live in the forest. We were able to buy bananas from the locals and then hand feed the monkeys, they came down out of the trees as soon as they saw us. I didnt really think that this was the right to do but finally succumed and fed one since everyone else had. The monkeys are very important to the locals and they even have a monkey cemetery. We had a great game of street soccer with some local kids. I set up the goals and the teams! At the lodge we had to pump our own water from the well to fill buckets for washing and flushing, although the locals seemed to insist on doing it for us. On the way we went over an old wooden bridge that looked like it wouldnt take the weight, though clearly it did or i wouldnt be here.
Am very comfortable in my dome tent, having taken it over from the guy who went home. More room and easy enough to put up, even in the dark, though its easier when someone helps. There are only three of us now who have never upgraded, i.e. taken a room when we could camp. Perfectly happy in me tent. Lots of vivid dreams.
The roads in Ghana are much better than we are used to, though still pretty rough at times. The people in the north were really friendly and lots of fun. Down south, where we are now, they are bit more grumpy. As usual we are surrounded by curious, staring locals when we bushcamp, there is always a few kids and adults watching us have breakfast. And they take our empty water bottles of us, which is a bonus. We have the roof open at the front of the truck which lets a breeze in, but i am usually directly in the sun so have to cover up a bit. When the sun is not so strong, we can stand on the seats and look out of the front of the truck which is cool, waving to the locals and listening to my tunes.
Yesterday we were in Kumasi which has a huge, crazy market which takes up most of the town. A disused rail track goes through part of it so we just followed that. I didnt buy anything but they had loads of Obama merchandise, as in the other African countries - you can buy Obama shirts, keyrings, boxer shorts, everything, they love him in Africa, which is fair enough.
So, we are staying at Big Milly's backyard which is a backpacker hostel next to the ocean, 30kms from Accra. We will be here for a few days as we wait for visas. A few days is ok, longer will seem annoying. the plan was to head to Accra today to have a look around, but some people asked the taxi driver for the shopping mall cos they wanted clothes so we ended up in a horrible shopping mall, and 10kms from the city centre and now i can't be bothered to get another taxi in etc. I dont think i will be missing much.
thats all for now. probably offline again for a while.
4.1.10
Ouagadougo? , Burkina Faso
Sat here beside the pool, another lazy day, but more of that later.
Christmas Eve was lots of fun at the campsite/hostel in Bandiagara. lots to drink and general messing around. Christmas Day we had the pig and it was very tasty, a few more drinks but generally well-behaved because of the trip the next day.
Early boxing day we got up for our trip to the Dogon Country, a highlight. But i felt a bit of a cold and felt like staying in bed. Also felt stubborn so didnt take any drugs, decided to fight it. After an hour on a bumpy ride in minibuses we got to the start of the 4-day trek. The area is beautiful, lots of escarpments, cliffs, trees, plateau, forests and smiley happy locals. We were a bit behind schedule so ended up walking in the midday sun, whereas the idea was that we would only walk in the morning and late afternoon, chilling out in village restaurants during the hottest past of the day. Anyway i was ok, except my cold was making it a bit hard to breathe. We walked down crevices and across logs that had been placed between rocks with long drops if you slipped! Finished in the dark which was fun and a bit hairy. Slept on the roof with beautiful views of the valleys and rocks.
Day two was similar, but after lunch my stomach went funny. We had all been drinking treated water but i think thats what made a couple of us sick. I was exhausted by the time we reached the end, another night under the stars. Had to get up a few times in the night and all very messy and unpleasant especially when your torch stops working! but you get used to it. Sarah was busy vomitting everywhere too. In the morning I felt terrible. At least there was the option to leave that day, but via a 1.5 hour walk followed by a 1.5 hour uphill walk. Considering i had pretty much lost control of my bowels and couldnt really stand up for very long, it seemed like Sarah and I were in for a long day. Fortunately our local guide arranged for the two of us and two injured people to take an ox and cart for the first part of the trip and i managed to vomit in front of the group just in case they thought i was taking the easy way out! The ox and cart was a blessing even though a wheel fell off one of them and we had to wait a while for the guys to fix it. And when the ox suddenly decided to lie down, the driver bit its tail and it squealed and got up again. And some locals ladies started singing and dancing behind us. I know it sounds like a cliche but they are so friendly and love to dance. While the others had lunch i led and down for a couple of hours and sweated profusely and the imodium was helping. After lunch we went to see a mask dance which was great, forty or so dancers, some on stilts, lots of music. Although i missed some of it cos i fell asleep. Next was the climb up and out of the valley. I felt awful as we started but we took lots of short breaks and i actually felt better as we went on and it took about an hour to reach the top and then a short walk across the plateau to the minibus home. The imodium was still working that night but the next day i had horrible stomach cramps most of the day, which was me feel sick. Luckily we stayed there until New Years Eve and i was mostly ok by then.
We spent NYE09 in no mans land between Mali and Burkina Faso. The last few hours out of Mali, the scenery was beautiful. There was pretty much a full moon and it was above us at midnight. It was quite amazing being out there, bushcamping in the middle of nowhere, self-sufficient, in terms of food and shelter etc.
Now in Burkina Faso. Camped in the hotel car park. The city seems quite 21st century compared with where we came from. We are stuck here for various visa reasons that i wont bore you with but perhaps we could have seen something of the country while we wait. The swimming pool and the aircon restaurant are nice but not the reason i came to Africa. One of the guys is leaving for the UK cos he is bored of sitting around. And i can kind of see his point. We have only done a handful of actual activities. I always understood that we would spend a lot of time on the bus but we havent done much outside of the main cities. e.g. I was talking to a lady from another trip and she has beeen to voodoo ceremony in Togo. I asked our guide and we are just "transitting through" Togo. Why? I am keeping the faith for now but really it has been pretty straightforward so far.
A couple of nights ago, Mayumi, Sarah, Gav and Dan and i hit the town. First we got a cab (six in one taxi) to the cultural centre where there was some local music and artists. Unfortunately we got mobbed and surrounded by local guys who wanted the girls, beer or to buy their trinkets so we didnt stay long. But one of them was ok and he took us down some dark dusty streets to a proper local nightclub. We were the only westerners there but they were pleased to see us and we tried our best to dance like them - it turned out to be a great, fun night.
So, anyway, hopefully there is more adventure to come and not so much relaxing. I'm off for my afternoon dip.
Christmas Eve was lots of fun at the campsite/hostel in Bandiagara. lots to drink and general messing around. Christmas Day we had the pig and it was very tasty, a few more drinks but generally well-behaved because of the trip the next day.
Early boxing day we got up for our trip to the Dogon Country, a highlight. But i felt a bit of a cold and felt like staying in bed. Also felt stubborn so didnt take any drugs, decided to fight it. After an hour on a bumpy ride in minibuses we got to the start of the 4-day trek. The area is beautiful, lots of escarpments, cliffs, trees, plateau, forests and smiley happy locals. We were a bit behind schedule so ended up walking in the midday sun, whereas the idea was that we would only walk in the morning and late afternoon, chilling out in village restaurants during the hottest past of the day. Anyway i was ok, except my cold was making it a bit hard to breathe. We walked down crevices and across logs that had been placed between rocks with long drops if you slipped! Finished in the dark which was fun and a bit hairy. Slept on the roof with beautiful views of the valleys and rocks.
Day two was similar, but after lunch my stomach went funny. We had all been drinking treated water but i think thats what made a couple of us sick. I was exhausted by the time we reached the end, another night under the stars. Had to get up a few times in the night and all very messy and unpleasant especially when your torch stops working! but you get used to it. Sarah was busy vomitting everywhere too. In the morning I felt terrible. At least there was the option to leave that day, but via a 1.5 hour walk followed by a 1.5 hour uphill walk. Considering i had pretty much lost control of my bowels and couldnt really stand up for very long, it seemed like Sarah and I were in for a long day. Fortunately our local guide arranged for the two of us and two injured people to take an ox and cart for the first part of the trip and i managed to vomit in front of the group just in case they thought i was taking the easy way out! The ox and cart was a blessing even though a wheel fell off one of them and we had to wait a while for the guys to fix it. And when the ox suddenly decided to lie down, the driver bit its tail and it squealed and got up again. And some locals ladies started singing and dancing behind us. I know it sounds like a cliche but they are so friendly and love to dance. While the others had lunch i led and down for a couple of hours and sweated profusely and the imodium was helping. After lunch we went to see a mask dance which was great, forty or so dancers, some on stilts, lots of music. Although i missed some of it cos i fell asleep. Next was the climb up and out of the valley. I felt awful as we started but we took lots of short breaks and i actually felt better as we went on and it took about an hour to reach the top and then a short walk across the plateau to the minibus home. The imodium was still working that night but the next day i had horrible stomach cramps most of the day, which was me feel sick. Luckily we stayed there until New Years Eve and i was mostly ok by then.
We spent NYE09 in no mans land between Mali and Burkina Faso. The last few hours out of Mali, the scenery was beautiful. There was pretty much a full moon and it was above us at midnight. It was quite amazing being out there, bushcamping in the middle of nowhere, self-sufficient, in terms of food and shelter etc.
Now in Burkina Faso. Camped in the hotel car park. The city seems quite 21st century compared with where we came from. We are stuck here for various visa reasons that i wont bore you with but perhaps we could have seen something of the country while we wait. The swimming pool and the aircon restaurant are nice but not the reason i came to Africa. One of the guys is leaving for the UK cos he is bored of sitting around. And i can kind of see his point. We have only done a handful of actual activities. I always understood that we would spend a lot of time on the bus but we havent done much outside of the main cities. e.g. I was talking to a lady from another trip and she has beeen to voodoo ceremony in Togo. I asked our guide and we are just "transitting through" Togo. Why? I am keeping the faith for now but really it has been pretty straightforward so far.
A couple of nights ago, Mayumi, Sarah, Gav and Dan and i hit the town. First we got a cab (six in one taxi) to the cultural centre where there was some local music and artists. Unfortunately we got mobbed and surrounded by local guys who wanted the girls, beer or to buy their trinkets so we didnt stay long. But one of them was ok and he took us down some dark dusty streets to a proper local nightclub. We were the only westerners there but they were pleased to see us and we tried our best to dance like them - it turned out to be a great, fun night.
So, anyway, hopefully there is more adventure to come and not so much relaxing. I'm off for my afternoon dip.
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