well, after the other days lengthy blog, just thought i would write some quick notes while the internet is working. wasted heaps of time trying to upload pix to facebook yesterday, finally got it done today at the one posh internet cafe out of town. We are still staying in the church yard. Probably the only such place that has a bar, comfy sofas, rastas and soccer, so spent the last couple of nights in there. funny how everyone staggered out last night when the guys starts stacking the empty seats.
we should leave here on saturday if we get our visas sorted. 5 people are leaving, for various reasons so we are going to a chinese restaurant for dinner for farewell. i knows its going to be silly expensive but it will be fun so will just have to bite the bullet. some of these overlanders have too much money for my taste! Lena is one of those leaving so i will need to get a new cook group member from somewhere. We made curry last night and it went pretty well as we are normally a bit slow when it comes to cooking, but we havent had any disasters so far.
bought a couple of pairs of shorts at the Big Market because mine are falling apart. As soon as you get to the market, guys will follow you around and try to direct you to shops for a commission, but it was driving us nuts as we are perfectly capable of shopping by ourselves. i might have bought more stuff if they had left me alone. i think i got a fair deal on the shorts, hopefully they wont fall apart!
25.2.10
22.2.10
Yaounde, Cameroon
its been a while, but i think the last few weeks have probably been
the best so far....
we left the Sheraton, thank heavens. it was horrible there; although i
did get to play soccer with some local boys on the soccer pitch behind
the hotel. a bit flippin hot for running around even at 6pm.
We bushcamped for a couple of nights on our way to the Cameroon
border. Very glad to have mozzie net/hat as there were lots of bugs
around. i may have looked ridiculous but i reckon i could have sold it
to any of the others for 20 bucks that night. Stopped in a random town
and a lady was cooking ommelette at the roadside so she got unindated
by hungry overlanders. We brought our own dishes and ketchup from the
truck, would have looked funny to the locals.
As expected, the Nigerian immigration people tried to give us a hard
time when we left; telling us we needed documents that we didnt have, then taking
us in groups of five into a small dark room to fill in poorly photo
copied random forms. They tried to get money off us and when we said
no they wanted our books from the truck library but after about 3
hours of nonsense they let us through to Cameroon. We camped at the
border in a hotel car park.
Next day we started on the infamous logging road. We knew it would
have lots of holes and during the rainy season it could take a week to
do 80kms. As it is the dry season it only took a day and a half but we
certainly got to do some digging. There were a few huge holes that we
had to cover over so the truck could get through, especially as the
fuel tanks are quite low to the ground. We had 5 spades, a useless
pick axe and a couple of big crow bars. Most people got stuck in and
it was great fun attacking the road. I was mostly hammering the crow
bar into the edge of the road to break it up and use it to fill in holes. It took 20
of us a few hours to fix some of the holes. And a few of us ran ahead
of the truck on scouting exercises to find the next hole. It was lots
of sweaty fun and good team bonding! At the end of the road we bought
hard-boiled eggs with bread and homemade chilli sauce. Yum.
We were in no hurry so on consecutive days we camped near waterfalls.
This meant that we could have a wash and swim and enjoy the scenery.
Apparently no crocs, but we stayed in the shallows anyway. It was a
great place to chill out and be at one with nature! I had expected
more of this kind of thing on the trip rather than all the towns.
Happy days. Another time we camped under a big road bridge and walked
to a couple of waterfalls, not really knowing where we were going
through the bush and the river. But we made it, high-fived, whooped
and swam. I ended up with one mozzie bite; i am very lucky that they
dont really like me, cos some of the others get heaps of mozzie bites
and other bites.
Next stop was the seaside town of Limbe. Oasis, the other overland
group, was there so it was good to catch up with their gossip; i like
hanging out with them when we are in the same place, which is quite
often. Limbe is also the place from where we started the 3 days hike
of Mount Cameroon. So on day one, the ten of us were up at 6am and
started climbing to the 4200 metre peak. Apparently the porters had
been out the night before so they struggled a bit with our bags but
they were cool. The walk was really tough. Its all uphill, obviously,
but there were just no flat bits and with the altitude too we were
moving pretty slowly. At one point we walked 1km up and only 3 across.
We had quite a few reststops and kept together at the same pace. We
arrived at 2800 metres on the first night, where we cooked vegie stew
in the bush. There was a cabin so we slept in there. It wasnt long
until we heard mice going through our food; well, luckliy not my food.
They chewed a hole in Kiwi Phils backpack and the metal lid on his
bottle of peanuts and got to see a mouse climb out of his cup. My
runners were used as ammunition.
We were woken by Mayumi at 6am banging on the cabin wall and telling
us all to get up! Her improving English has its downside! More very steep
climbing on day 2. I started off pretty well but the altitude was hard
to deal with. Lots of heavy breathing and it got colder so we wrapped
up. I was a bit burnt out and happened to be at the back of the pack as we
reached the summit, but it was great when we were all stood on the
summit after a day and a half. We started the long walk down; a
different route. The scenery in the afternoon was excellent. Lots of
different coloured landscapes and cold mist coming across us as we
walked. We also went to the top of some craters that were formed in
the 1999 and 2000 eruptions, in which nobody was hurt, and the resultant lava flow.
Camped that night in a clearing. Tasty vegie stew again.
Day 3 we carried on down, now through dense forest for five hours. It
was a bit slippy and the path had lots of holes and branches and roots
to fall over. We were a bit over it by the time we finished, in a typical small African village. 50kms in " days. Ten exhausted people but satisfied with our conquering of Mount Cameroon. We rewarded ourselves at the Pizza Restaurant. In the evening a few of us went to a local bar to watch the Champions League, they had two games on at the same time, so we sat there and sweated and drank beer, watching the footy.
Spent the weekend in Kribe, camped by the beach. On the way the checkpoint people asked for 250 dollars for us to go over a bridge. So we reversed through the traffic and found a policeman who came back with us and told the checkpoint people to get lost. Anyway, the sea was actually warm so not very refreshing but we walked along to the waterfalls which run into the sea. In the evening we went to town, but its about 7kms. There were some mototaxis around but i was a bit unsure about that, some didnt have lights. So we carried on until Mac flagged down a big tipper truck. The driver was cool. Four people in the cab with him, and four of us stood up in the back, in the empty tipper bit. He drove us to the pub, and wouldnt accept any cash. We had a good night out, a few drinks. Got a taxi home down the broken road. We crashed into the ditch about 200 metres from home. We helped to get the taxi out and sent him on his way.
Left Kribe and bushcamped along the way. Bushcamping is the best. We are normally out in the middle of nowhere, just a few locals looking on. Sometimes we have a look around and often have a river or something to hang out near while the cook group gets busy. Unfortunately this bushcamp wasnt so good as Mayumi had her bag stolen from her tent when she got up in the night. Someone must have been watching. So she has lost her passport etc. We searched all along the roadside looking for her stuff but it wasnt there.
In the small villages we passed in Cameroon the local kids would rush out and shout "white, white, white" at us which is pretty funny. We started shouting "black, black, black" back at them.
Played soccer at the campsite here in Yaounde last night which was very competitive and fun. We played in bare feet so the top of my other toenail has finally come off! Painlessly. I think we are playing again tonite, after baking cookies.
I bought a couple of t-shirts cos mine are getting wrecked. With the sweat, it is hard to get t-shirts off and mine started to rip so i bought a bright orange one and a yellow one, much to the others amusement. No danger of them losing me.
So Cameroon is definitely my favourite place so far. The people are kind and helpful, the logging road was fun; the natural landscape is lovely and the Mountain was a great experience. We are here in Yaounde waiting for visas until the weekend and then to Gabon, Congo, DR Congo and Angloa in the next month. These countries will be more of a challenge so just going to enjoy relaxing here for the rest of the week.
Thats all
3.2.10
Abuja, Nigeria
Looking for snakes at the Sheraton Hotel? Yep!
So we left Cotonou, Benin and went to Abomey and to the National Museum. But the guide's English was very poor, though he did try, and they wouldnt let us go round without him so it didnt mean much, except for the old throne which had a human skull under each leg which was a bit scary. There was another voodoo dance, which apparently was a bit better, but i was on cook duty so missed it, which was fine. It rained alot and we had crepes and cakes with a twist.
Next day we left Abomey and crossed the border into Nigeria, after 3 hours waiting at the border. 100 metres down the road we came to an unofficial checkpoint where they tried to bribe us. This happened about 30 times in the next few days. They sometimes but a piece of wood, with nails sticking out, in the road so you have to stop. They show you "permits" that you need tocarry on. Driver Gav is pretty Africa smart and talks his way out of it. And we really didnt have any Nigerian money to give them. The proper police are friendly and dont usually ask for money. They also carry AK47s which they were firing onto the tarmac about 100metres down the road from our bushcamp at 7 in the morning, in between asking us if we had any alcohol for them.
We then went through Ideban which was scary. We got stuck in traffic until some crazy local guy decided to help us by shouting and screaming at people to get out of our way and hitting their vehicles with a big stick if they didnt move immediately. This created a bad atmosphere and a couple of guys climbed onto the steps of Gavs cab and threatened him and wouldnt go away for ages. But at the same time, the other locals were waving and smiling and shouting "hello" and "where are you from?". Eventually we got out of town. After a long day we bushcamped in a random petrol station, where we cooked dinner by roadside! Another night we stopped at a random church and they let us stay and we were able to watch soccer in the pub next door. At the church, the truck accidently knocked an ants nest out of a tree and loads of ants fell into the truck so they was a fenzy of squashing ants with our flip-flops. The scenery in Nigeria was good, a few big hills and pine trees and stuff and we crossed the River Niger which we had sailed down in Mali. So I kept my head out of books. The people are really friendly although their English accents are a bit hard to understand.
So it took from Thursday morning until Sunday to get to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. Bushcamping, no showers along the way. Now we are staying at the Sheraton Hotel. No, honestly. There isnt really anywhere else to put 25 people and a big truck in Abuja (its a bit like Canberra, purpose built, because the South of Nigeria is Christian and the North is Muslim and they wanted a compromise). So we are camped in the small soccer field at the back of the hotel, for free. The only condition was that we had a buffet meal the first night, which Africa Trails paid for. We were allowed to use the hotel pool for the first couple of days but now they want 20 euros! Stuff that! We have had a few confused passersby asking what we are doing cooking in the car park. Even the chef came out last night, when we had almost finished cooking! The hotel bar is very expensive but the only place to hang out at night. Also, pretty much the only women there are prostitutes. Telling them that you are sleeping on a flat air matress in a tent out the back doesnt seem to put them off. Its annoying really cos they grab hold of your arm and ask stupid questions and for drinks and we cant just chat among ourselves. Clearly though, the Western Busimnessmen are not so bothered.
So we are here waiting for our Cameroon and Angola visas. That has been a bit of a downside to the trip. Sometimes we come to places, just to wait and dont see the rest of the country. There seems to be an emphasis on just getting through to Cape Town and not enough of actually seeing the rest of the country. Today we went to look at the church, mainly cos it is airconditioned (its about 39 degrees outside) and to the mosque but they didnt seem to want us there.
You might possibly have heard that the President of Nigeria has gone AWOL. He has gone to Saudi Arabia for treatment but that was before christmas and nobody can decide who is in charge so now we have a constitutional crisis (they are talking about it on the TV as i write). So the papers are talking about a coup. Also in Jos, about 100kms away, 450 were killed in riots between Christians and Muslims so Nigeria is not that stable at the moment. But there are no signs of trouble around town, except for the long queues at the petrol stations.
Last night i went for a pee behind my tent and spotted a metre long thin shiny green snake. My torchlight reflected in its eye. So i went to the truck to get my camera. I turned my camera on and it took a few minutes to find him again and i was thinking how brave i was to be hunting a snake, but when my camera beeped to say it was turning itself off i did jumpand my heart missed a beat, so not so brave after all! Anyway, i found him and got some pictures, and checked my tent bag was empty before moving it inside my tent....
There are lots of other things going on of course, like the dynamics in the group and the gossip and rumours going round. I guess we each have things that we enjoy about the trip and things and people that annoy us. But some of the people are leaving the trip in 8 weeks when we get to Cape Town and i am already thinking we will miss them......
I wish i could post pix but its just to slow...
Finally, i have a blog follower called Jane....is that Jane as in Brett and Jane?
.
So we left Cotonou, Benin and went to Abomey and to the National Museum. But the guide's English was very poor, though he did try, and they wouldnt let us go round without him so it didnt mean much, except for the old throne which had a human skull under each leg which was a bit scary. There was another voodoo dance, which apparently was a bit better, but i was on cook duty so missed it, which was fine. It rained alot and we had crepes and cakes with a twist.
Next day we left Abomey and crossed the border into Nigeria, after 3 hours waiting at the border. 100 metres down the road we came to an unofficial checkpoint where they tried to bribe us. This happened about 30 times in the next few days. They sometimes but a piece of wood, with nails sticking out, in the road so you have to stop. They show you "permits" that you need tocarry on. Driver Gav is pretty Africa smart and talks his way out of it. And we really didnt have any Nigerian money to give them. The proper police are friendly and dont usually ask for money. They also carry AK47s which they were firing onto the tarmac about 100metres down the road from our bushcamp at 7 in the morning, in between asking us if we had any alcohol for them.
We then went through Ideban which was scary. We got stuck in traffic until some crazy local guy decided to help us by shouting and screaming at people to get out of our way and hitting their vehicles with a big stick if they didnt move immediately. This created a bad atmosphere and a couple of guys climbed onto the steps of Gavs cab and threatened him and wouldnt go away for ages. But at the same time, the other locals were waving and smiling and shouting "hello" and "where are you from?". Eventually we got out of town. After a long day we bushcamped in a random petrol station, where we cooked dinner by roadside! Another night we stopped at a random church and they let us stay and we were able to watch soccer in the pub next door. At the church, the truck accidently knocked an ants nest out of a tree and loads of ants fell into the truck so they was a fenzy of squashing ants with our flip-flops. The scenery in Nigeria was good, a few big hills and pine trees and stuff and we crossed the River Niger which we had sailed down in Mali. So I kept my head out of books. The people are really friendly although their English accents are a bit hard to understand.
So it took from Thursday morning until Sunday to get to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. Bushcamping, no showers along the way. Now we are staying at the Sheraton Hotel. No, honestly. There isnt really anywhere else to put 25 people and a big truck in Abuja (its a bit like Canberra, purpose built, because the South of Nigeria is Christian and the North is Muslim and they wanted a compromise). So we are camped in the small soccer field at the back of the hotel, for free. The only condition was that we had a buffet meal the first night, which Africa Trails paid for. We were allowed to use the hotel pool for the first couple of days but now they want 20 euros! Stuff that! We have had a few confused passersby asking what we are doing cooking in the car park. Even the chef came out last night, when we had almost finished cooking! The hotel bar is very expensive but the only place to hang out at night. Also, pretty much the only women there are prostitutes. Telling them that you are sleeping on a flat air matress in a tent out the back doesnt seem to put them off. Its annoying really cos they grab hold of your arm and ask stupid questions and for drinks and we cant just chat among ourselves. Clearly though, the Western Busimnessmen are not so bothered.
So we are here waiting for our Cameroon and Angola visas. That has been a bit of a downside to the trip. Sometimes we come to places, just to wait and dont see the rest of the country. There seems to be an emphasis on just getting through to Cape Town and not enough of actually seeing the rest of the country. Today we went to look at the church, mainly cos it is airconditioned (its about 39 degrees outside) and to the mosque but they didnt seem to want us there.
You might possibly have heard that the President of Nigeria has gone AWOL. He has gone to Saudi Arabia for treatment but that was before christmas and nobody can decide who is in charge so now we have a constitutional crisis (they are talking about it on the TV as i write). So the papers are talking about a coup. Also in Jos, about 100kms away, 450 were killed in riots between Christians and Muslims so Nigeria is not that stable at the moment. But there are no signs of trouble around town, except for the long queues at the petrol stations.
Last night i went for a pee behind my tent and spotted a metre long thin shiny green snake. My torchlight reflected in its eye. So i went to the truck to get my camera. I turned my camera on and it took a few minutes to find him again and i was thinking how brave i was to be hunting a snake, but when my camera beeped to say it was turning itself off i did jumpand my heart missed a beat, so not so brave after all! Anyway, i found him and got some pictures, and checked my tent bag was empty before moving it inside my tent....
There are lots of other things going on of course, like the dynamics in the group and the gossip and rumours going round. I guess we each have things that we enjoy about the trip and things and people that annoy us. But some of the people are leaving the trip in 8 weeks when we get to Cape Town and i am already thinking we will miss them......
I wish i could post pix but its just to slow...
Finally, i have a blog follower called Jane....is that Jane as in Brett and Jane?
.
26.1.10
Cotonou, Benin
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.
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.
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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