Page 9 of Stuart Travel Blog Posts
Piroque on lake Nakoue
Benin was for a short period after independence called Dahomey, in honour of the Dahomey empire. Dahomey was famous for its Amazon female warriors, who were far more vicious than the men. The other main attraction I've just visited is the stilt village of Ganvie, built in the middle of a lake, which is Benin's main tourist destination. So to catch up with recent events... WED 6th By the time I'd booked into a Hotel in Cotonou, I was too late to get to the Niger Embassy. I needed to be in Cotonou in order to get a Visa. I lazed around for the rest of the day. THURSDAY 7th I found the Niger Embassy and sorted out my Visa. They asked me to return the next day at 5pm. I had some difficulty finding the ... read more
In the Temple of Pythons
I've just returned to Cotonou, the capital of Benin from Ouidah. Ouidah is the centre of Voodoo. It was also a place from which slaves were sent to the Americas taking the Voodoo religion with them. I'm back in Cotonou in order to sort out a Visa for Niger. I'm watching the situation in Niger, as there has been considerable political unrest in Niger in recent weeks. A General Strike had been called for the 5th of April but it was called off by the political opposition at the last minute. At the end of the last blog I had just arrived in Cotonou. So, on April 1st when I wrote the last blog I was in Cotonou the capital of Benin. FRIDAY APRIL 1st First thing I had breakfast of Pain au Chocolat and coffee ... read more
Lome - Marche des Fetishiers
"Issuing useless communiques and condemnations by toothless organizations such as the African Union and the ECOWAS group (of West African countries) won't get democracy restored anywhere on the continent, especially in Togo. It is simply pathetic. It won't work...What happened in Togo is a disgrace and shameful. It would greatly set back the course of democratization in Africa." (Ghana's National Democrat in February 2005). I've just had an enjoyable stay in Togo, but back in February, knowing that I intended to visit Togo, I was worried that things there might turn ugly. Lome, the capital could be a beautiful city, the country prosperous and the tourism industry vibrant. For those of you that don't follow African politics on February 5th, Africa's longest serving President in power Gnassingbe Eyadema died. He had run the country ... read more
Lake Volta
I've been taking it easy for the past week, spending a lot of time in Accra, with trips to Lake Volta and Kokrobite. Lake Volta is the largest man made lake in the world, the lake was created when the hydroelectric dam was built in the first years of independence, under the government of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana and independence leader. The lake and the scenery around it are spectacular. The rainy season seems to have started early. That doesn't mean it's been raining all the time, but there has been a lot of heavy rain. Parts of Accra have suffered from flooding as a result. This is not helped by the fact that many of the streets that have flooded are low lying, with no drains by the side of the ... read more
Kumasi City Centre
Ghana was the home of one of Africa's richest, gold dripping empires - which is why the Europeans came sniffing around this part of the West coast of Africa in the first place. The golden stool is used in the enthronement of the Ashanti kings. The Ashanti are matrilinial - it's the mother's clan that is important. The Golden Stool was also implicated in sparking off the Ashanti War of Independence of 1900 -1901. The British had demanded that they should be given the Golden Stool. When no one offered to give them the stool, the British tried to steal it. The war was led by a woman Yaa Asantewaa, she died in exile in the Seychelles. I've just spent some time in the Ashanti areas, and I have also visited the slave forts on the ... read more
Mole National Park
I've just been to Mole National Park. The 'e' at the end is pronounced. I visited it from the Northern town of Tamale. I spent rather longer in Tamale than I planned because I arrived in the town during a national holiday. I arrived in Tamale on Ghana's 48th anniversary of its independence. Mole National Park is Ghana's best place for viewing classic African wildlife, and it's cheap! The entrance fee to the park was 40000 Cedis, which is about 2 pounds sterling. A 2 hours walking tour in the park with an armed guide was only 18500 Cedis, that is only about 1 pound sterling. Added to which the lodge I stayed at was in the park - so you could watch the elephants at the waterhole from the lodge swimming pool! The lodge itself ... read more
FESPACO
I spent my week in Burkino Faso at FESPACO - the Pan African Film Festival. The festival is held in Ouagadougou every other year. This year was the first time that a South African film won the major award and only the 2nd time that an English language film has won. The film that won, Drum was a very good film, but it wasn't my favourite. My favourite was another South African film, Max and Mona - it was funny and that goat was a star! During the week I watched a lot of films, some of them were dreadful, a few were world class, and well worth an international release outside Africa. I've been to quite a few film festivals and it is quite usual to have to sit through some bad films! The festival ... read more
Djenne
I didn't go to Timbuktu! Everyone I spoke to said it was disappointing and it is a very long journey to get to from Mopti. Although the journey itself is the highlight. Instead I chose to go to Bankass, which is one of the bridgehead towns for the Dogon county. It was on my way towards the Burkino Faso border, and I thought that a Dogon Cultural Festival was more important and interesting than having a Timbucktoo stamp in my passport! This festival was the first ever Dogon Cultural Festival - it was a celebration of Dogon Culture for the Dogon people. I think there may be plans to make it an annual event, to celebrate and preserve the culture. Timbuktu was a very important and wealthy trading city centuries ago - but these days you ... read more
Pays Dogon
Some places are tourist honey pots for a good reason. The Dogon country is one of Mali's tourist honey pots. It deserves its status. The villages of the Dogon people are clustered around picture postcard scenery - a remote escarpment that was easy to defend from rivals. The Dogon people also have a unique culture. It's a must see destination best done by walking from village to village. This means you must be prepared to do without electricity, to use bucket showers and squat toilets, and sleep on the roofs of houses with only the stars and the moon for illumination. I've just come back from the Pays Dogon - it was brilliant! I booked with a tour company - a mistake. It's always better to book direct with the actual guides. You get the same ... read more
Bamako
I've been taking it very easy for a few days, in fact I spent several days in bed! The morning after I arrived in Bamako I fell ill, with Malaria. That is despite the prophylaxis I have been taking. Malaria can never be taken lightly - it kills one million children in Africa every year. I arrived in Bamako on the evening of Tuesday 8th of February. At that point I felt fine. When I got up on the Wednesday morning I didn't feel rested. I also had loose bowel movements and felt nauseous. I went into town to find the banks - they wouldn't accept my travellers cheques and Mali's only ATM didn't like my Visa card. I wasn't desperate for money so I went to an Internet cafe. I had to give up on ... read more
