http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/johnnyrivers/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from johnnyrivers en-us Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:20:20 +0000 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:20:20 +0000 Hey AllWowhellipthis is ithellipitrsquos all overhellipfour and half monthshellip or eighteen weekshellipor one hundred and twentyseven dayshellip ManhellipTime flies. Though I am left with a few questionshellip How have I changed What have I learned Well let me share with you a few of my reflections. A little warning this last entry is pretty sappyhellip kinda preachyh http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/blog-397995.html Here it is The final gallery Shots taken from...ummm...everywhere Check out this visual recap of my semester in Ghana...and Cote D'Ivoire...and Togo...and Burkina Faso... and Mali... Life is good Enjoy http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/blog-396477.html Now roughly speaking we only had approximately one thousand kilometers to cross to make it back to the capital of Ghanahellipgive or take a hundred Khellip and we had a little over three and half days to do it. So in theory we would make it back with time to sparehellipeven if you factor in long waiting timeshellipwhich happenedhellipTro Tro and bus breakdownshellipalso happenedhell http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/blog-395414.html The Dogon is incrediblehellip Irsquom not going to waste time trying to explain the awesome hiking adventure we had there. Words cannot do this magnificent beauty justice. So Irsquoll let my pictures do most of the talking Our basic schedule from Sunday afternoon until Tuesday Afternoon composed of hiking the land visiting the villages meeting the locales sleeping on rooftops watching t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mali/Dogon-Country/blog-395412.html Our mission for Saturday was to merely make it back to Moptihellipjudging from past experiences that was all we could feasibly accomplishhellip and plan our next move from there. Earlier that week we had gotten the phone number of a reputable Dogon Country guide from the Peace Corp volunteers we had met on the bus to Ouagadougou. While we were still in Mopti waiting to get to Timbuktu I had http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mali/Dogon-Country/Bandiagara/blog-395157.html Great After sixteen long hours we've finally made it to Timbuktu Where are we gonna sleepThat was the general sentiment that prevailed Friday at five o'clock in the morning. Our growing anxiety however was soon put to rest when we met up with a guy named Ali. Interestingly enough I had actually talked to him on the phone in Mopti . Funny thing was we never discussed what time or where in th http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mali/North-West/Timbuktu/blog-394956.html Man...and I thought the trip from Ouaga to Mopti was long... boy was I wrong Sixteen hours... that's how long it took to reach Timbuktu. Sixteen hours cramped into the back of a Tro Tro filled with eight people in the back four in the middle three in the front and one guy on top. Sixteen hours of minimal water and no food. Sixteen hours of hot hundred degree weather amplified exponentially by http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mali/North-West/blog-394593.html The road to Mopti was...eternal Yeah that's a good word for it Long and hot dry and dusty. We soon found that the further north you go the more expensive water got...which is kind of a no duh statement since we're traveling into the Sahara desert...hmmmm... At any rate crossing the border was a pain not because of any large amounts of paperwork but because of the excessively spread out p http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mali/Dogon-Country/Mopti/blog-394293.html While I slept most of the way to Ouagadougou from what I did see I noticed that the landscape of Burkina Faso was very similar to that of Mole National Park. Vast savannah grassland dry and sparsley covered with various trees and shrubbery. As soon as we stepped off the bus you could immediately tell you were in a different environment. The very air that greeted us was arid in nature and abbras http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Burkina-Faso/Centre/Ouagadougou/blog-393545.html Ladies and GentlemenI give you the crowning glory of my West African experience. My ultimate adventure of epic proportions...the bankbusting highflying sometimes frustrating yet always exciting triple country tour affectionately dubbed The Mali Finale An escapade that spanned three countries twelve days and over twenty townships. How'd I travel You name it I probably took it. Private http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Upper-East/Bolgatanga/blog-393535.html Hey AllHappy Easter Man this is my first Easter away from home...awwww...now I'm sad...but maybe if I start writing about my trip this weekend I'll feel better...sure that sounds good. Unfortunately I forgot my camera on this little excursion...yeah...it's a shame too because the country was beautiful. Oh well guess that means I'll just have to go back...oh darn. Okay so for this weekend http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Togo/Lome/blog-389754.html Hey AllGot another long one for ya Grab a snack yoursquoll be happy you didhellipOkay the gloves are off the warmups are over and the time for sand bagging has just expired. I have less than forty days to see as much of West Africa as I possibly canhellipchallenge accepted let the April rush begin My first stop The infamous ivory coast Cote DrsquoIvoireSo when building a team http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Cote-d-Ivoire/South/Abidjan/blog-388520.html Hey AllTwice in one week Yeah I'm in a generous mood...and I'm kinda backlogged So I thought I would play catchup before taking off on another farflung adventure.So this past weekend marked my second extended visit to Kumasi and while the quantity of the itinerary was relatively small it was more than made up for in the high levels of quality What was the mission this time Cheer on Gha http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Ashanti/Kumasi/blog-386585.html With half of our trip completed we decided to make our way our next destination the Wachiau pronounced Wachow Community Hippo Sanctuary. Our only problem was figuring out how to get there. Transportation up north is limited at best so our options were few. We could either hope to catch the bus going to Wa as it passed through Larabanga and maybe get a seat if it wasnrsquot already full. And http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Upper-West/Wa/blog-384017.html Planshellipwho needs them That was the moral of the story last time. The moral for this tale Never give up.Now where was I Oh yeah Mole pronounced Molay. We arrived at the park mid morning Sunday. Needless to say that after thirty hours of traveling all we wanted to do was sit back and relax. And that was indeed all we did. The Mole Hotel sits on top of a hill overlooking a manmade wat http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Northern/Mole-National-Park/blog-384015.html Hey AllSorry for the long delay the internet here at times can be such a pain Anyway... with my batteries recharged it was time for another high flying adventure. And this time I pulled out all the stops. The destinations Mole National Park the largest wildlife refuge in country and The Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary. The team Loren Bethany Melissa and myself. This trip was so big I http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Northern/Tamale/blog-384014.html Hey AllSo to quell any feelings of confusion disillusion or cynicism yes I do indeed studyhellipjust not that muchhellip well to be fair the structure of the African educational system is not quite as demanding as its American counterpart. Not to say that Irsquom breezing through my courses by any means but the methodology of instruction is a tad archaic in the sense that it relies heavi http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Greater-Accra/Legon/blog-380550.html Hey AllWhere on earth has the time gone Here we are. Nine weeks down and only nine to go. Act 1 is over. Everything is down hill from herehellip when did that happen Oh well life goes on. But hey if Act one is over that means intermission has begun. But before I touch on that letrsquos back track a little since Irsquove been kinda negligible with my updating. My last trip in a five http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/blog-380547.html Shots taken at Hohoe Liati Wote Likpe Todome Likpe Bakua Wli mountains caves waterfalls the works Big thanks to Jessica for letting me use a lot of her pictures Enjoy http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Volta/blog-376960.html Hey AllI've adopted a new policy...well actually it's not really new I've just finally given word to my strategy while abroad. Weekdays belong to the University but the weekends belong to Ghana That being said as soon as I got back from Dreamland I began to plan my next trip... Yeah maybe a little eager...just a little. After surveying beaches I thought it was time to head north. So myself http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Volta/blog-376221.html