Blogs from Africa - page 2967

THERE ARE 38 SLAVE CASTLES IN GHANA BUT THIS IS ONE OF THE LESS FAMOUS WITH THE MOST BRUTAL HISTORY.... HALF OF THE CASTLE HAS BEEN CONSUMED BY THE OCEAN RECEDING..... THIS CASTLE RESIDES IN KETA.... KETA WAS THE CAPITAL OF TRANSVOLTA/TOGO LAND UNDER THE GERMANS..... (ITS AMAZING HOW OTHER COUNTRIES COME AND CLAIM OUR CONTINENT)..... I WAS TOLD ABOUT THIS CASTLE FROM THE LOCAL NATIVES.... THIS IS NOT ON ANY MAJOR "TOURIST ATTRACTIONS" LIST..... BUT IT IS A "MUST SEE" IF YOU COME TO GHANA..... THE MOST HEART WRENCHING PART OF THIS TOUR WAS THE TORCHORING DUNGEON WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE EVIDENCE OF SLAVES TRYING TO DIG THEMSELVES OUT WITH THEIR OWN FINGERS..... THE GUIDE ADMITTED TO WITHOLDING MORE INFORMATION OF TORTURES THERE TO KEEP ME FROM CRYING.... I GUESS HE COULD SEE THE ... read more

Up early for the plane to the Masai Mara this morning. It’s being throwing it down all night and the morning brought more of the same. Terry drove us through the deluge to Wilson airport. We made a dash across the tarmac to the 8 seater Cesna that would whisk us off to the Mara. The flight was only 45 minutes and despite the poor weather, it wasn’t too rough. By the time we landed the rain had stopped and the sun was even threatening to make an appearance. Our guide and driver, Simon, was there at the airstrip to meet us and transport us to Governors Il Moran camp. The camp itself is very small, only ten tents. It’s separate to the other Governors camps and each of the tents overlooks the Mara river. We ... read more

Richard has written about some teaching expertiences in Savelugu.. Children the world over are similar. A classroom will have bright lazy pupils, hard working less able pupils, characters who are cheeky and hard grafting solid citizens. I have found the children in Africa a delightful mix of the above. The chemistry here is quite a challenge and some of it is of a higher standard than much of the diluted A level that I have been teaching recently. My teaching load is not heavy and it is great fun to have time to prepare a few lessons! The pupils are very good at sitting there taking notes but I’m not sure how much is going in! They are well trained in copying off the black board. Dictation is a different thing even though we all speak ... read more

Hi there! I'm back, to share the adventure of the long drive to Masai Mara! It was rather interesting. It gave us time in the van to get to know each other a bit better. We had a "shopping" stop along the way, at a gift shop. One of the vans had a flat tire, so everyone stopped to help (we had a convoy of about 20 vans, I believe). We stopped for snacks, had some rain, had a snooze here and there........it was all good! Along the way, we drove by the Rift Valley. This is a major geological phenomenon here in Africa. Look it up for more information. So much to see.........it still seems surreal to be here, in Africa! Wow, am I a lucky person! Enjoy the pictures, Happy Pat... read more

Thursday 22nd November Time is running away too fast as it always does at the end of something so special. We can’t complain too much though because we have experienced so much and had so much fun, but it is a bit like Christmas day that you don’t want it to ever end. One of the other drawbacks is that the next part of our adventures become a reality and we are starting to plan for the next stages, which is why I am wide awake at 0500 and writing to you. Our last and best adventure so far was a very exciting journey to the far north of Ghana to Weichau to see hippos and what a time we had……… Thursday 16th November There were times when we wondered if our great adventure would get ... read more