West Coast of Africa with an Explorer.

[drron29]

If you ever wondered where jazz has it's roots watch this fellow on the trumpet-

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So much energy and joy.And he sure had rhythm.

[ijkh]

Dr Ron did you take any video of this?

 

Togo sure looks a lot nicer than Ghana. I am surprised but have so much to learn about West Africa.

[drron29]

Yes ijkh I did take videos but my new computer wont recognise them.Last night I did set up my old computer so must download to that and see if I can get them that way.

 

Back to the party-

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[drron29]

I had to interrupt my enjoyment to have lunch.I washed it down with a beer as usual but couldn't resist a glass of what was called "palm grappa".Actually distilled palm wine known as sodabe in Togo though our guide said it was known in Ghana as "fall down wine".He was wrong as I had a second glass and didn't fall down.

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Lunch here was the best of the African meals we had.The mango for dessert was appreciated.And while I ate our trumpeter was entertaining us-

[drron29]

Now the next two posts will be of the dancers.I am going to give you a quiz.Two of the dancers became my favourites.The question is which two?

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[drron29]

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Now I will be out of action for a while so the answer will come in roughly three days.I think it is easy to choose though.

[spinnaker2]

I am enjoying and following your exploits...we are on the explorer june 4 for arctic, i hope i can do a similar saga.

thanks for this!

[CruisinPashmina]

I have an obviously rude question, but after following this thread with such excitement, I'm finally breaking down. How much is this costing you??? With the Internet so much $$$$, and so slow, you must be spending an incrediable amount of money! That said, I appreciate every wonderful photograph and all the captions, and am almost holding my breath for the next " installment", but my goodness! You are both so generous with us!

 

Is there anything you are doing to circumvent the usual SS on board Internet procedures? Doubt if you are finding Starbucks and free Internet along the way!

 

Bottom line; whatever you are doing to give us the fabulous gift of your experiences, I can't thank you enough. Please stay on the Explorer forever, and continue to take us all along!

[drron29]

CruisinPashmina we left the ship on the 11th April so OK.But onboard for a 19 day cruise we got the 1000 minute package.

As to posting from the ship all it took was to get the photos into Picassa web and then do my post offline so ready to go when next online-and it could be posting whilst reading emails etc.

[RachelG]

My son just read your entire thread and loved it. Had some interesting comments as he has been to Benin and Togo, but is waiting for the Ghana part.

[drron29]

Back on deck now.Had an appointment with the proctologist.

 

So back to Togo.During the dancing two of the women put a spell on drron.That's my story and I am sticking to it.These two had the biggest of smiles,asked for their photos to be taken and asked drron to join them dancing.These are the two-

 

The bands manager took this photo for me and I promised him I would put his details on line.They are trying to get some money together to make a CD so that they then may be able to raise some revenue for the village.

his email address which is also his name is-adzimakwadzo@yahoo.Fr

And here is the bands name-

 

I thoroughly enjoyed these few hours at the village.it will be remembered for a long time to come.Drron even bought two dolls here for his grandaughters which passed muster with Rojaan but more importantly his granddaughters-

But the day isn't over.We are heading back to Lome but will stop at a village to observe a vodun ceremony.Each bus stops at a different village.but first a few shots along the way starting with a teak nursery-

 

and a market-

[drron29]

We left the bus and walked down a lane.People went about their work-

 

and I intrigued this fellow who followed me around-

 

But these four caught my eye.They will become important later.

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But this is not a picture of overeating-

 

However virtually all the children we saw during this cruise appeared reasonably nourished and a great majority appeared happy.

Then to the site of the ceremony.The heirarchy was already there-

[drron29]

People were ready to make music-

 

And the dancing began-

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The youngsters played to the visitors-

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[drron29]

Now who could resist these faces-

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So when asked to dance Drron just had to say yes.And this time there are pictures to prove it.

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[drron29]

An older woman took me up to dance but gave up very quickly.So the young boys took over my tuition-

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They thought it was pretty funny so one of the young girls cut in and took over the teaching role.I think I might even have got it right-

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Our maitre'd got in on the act as well.

The local cheif of police didn't seem impressed though-

[drron29]

Two women went into a trance.This one we were told was not from the village but had come here to sell books.She however got caught up in the ceremony-

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She was taken into the village,another covering for her top and her face painted-

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At one stage it seemed our guide was in a trance as well-

 

But now our day in Togo was coming to an end.So back in the bus.At points along the road there were checkpoints.Locals took advantage to try and sell some goods-

[drron29]

So some last photos on the way back to the Explorer-

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[drron29]

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And for the last time on this voyage I say goodbye to our guides and prepare to board-

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Only Ghana to come but this will not have any pictures just a narrative of what we did and some hints for future visitors.

[drron29]

That day in Togo I will remember for some time.However it was a long day and we didn't get back to the ship until 6pm.to top of the day we had dinner with Stefan.Once again my beef came just as ordered and full of flavor.

Before dinner we had a performance by a local Togo group.Didn't do much for me.The dancers though were good-

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The dinner was the Captain's farewell dinner.fortunately as the tour had got back late we did not have to have our bags out this night we were given an extension until 6am on the morning of departure.

So we went up to the bar for some last drinks.the last song was performed by our wine waiters Ricci and Eva.Both were exceptional at their job and they could sing too-

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Alfredo at the piano was as good as ever-we had met all 3 before.

Thursday and we were up early and Rojaan finished off the packing.I used the last 30 minutes of our internet time.A leisurely breakfast and then waited until we got cleared to disembark.We had hired a 12 seater van for the 6 of us for the day.I was half expecting it not to turn up but it was there at 7am.Africa never ceases to amaze.

A last problem,the Ghanain authorities decided to do random bag searches before clearing the ship.A suite from each deck was selected and they had to open their bags and everything inside was inspected.Fortunately we were not selected.

 

Finally got clearance a little after 0830.went to our minibus and met Sammi our driver.He turned out to be a gem.

The day in Accra next.

[drron29]

The first bit of advice I have if there is a small group with a day pre or post cruise in Accra is to consider hiring a minibus.We did this through Avis for the 6 of us.In Ghana Avis will only rent you a vehicle with a driver.The cost $US170.Compare that to the SS day tour at $US209 per person.

Our only problem was American express.despite my giving them our itinerary before leaving home and specifically telling them I would be renting from Amex in Accra they knocked back the charge.I ended up paying cash.But that was a saga.The woman had to ring to get permission to access my booking.Then ring another person to authorise her to accept cash.Then I gave her $200 so she had to ring yet another person to bring the change.keeps employment figures up.

 

So our itinerary was worked out by Rojaan.It had a very heavy shopping bias.So first we went by the motorway to Wild Gecko crafts.This had a very good selection of crafts,fixed price and about 40% cheaper than the same items in South Africa.And Amex accepted the charge.

 

Sammmi then took me to an out of the way currency exchange.I did get about a 5% better rate than the banks.This was close to our second stop-Woodin a material and clothing store.again a very good range and what Rojaan wanted.The prices were 70% less than in the Duty Free store at Accra airport.

Next was the African Craft Market.However this was mainly wooden articles which we basically cant take back into Australia.it was interesting to look around however.Sammi had now worked out what we were about and took us to Oranyane Crafts overlooking Osu beach.Up market but a great range of products even including coffins so we didn't have to go to a coffin makers.The beach however has a terrible rubbish problem

 

The last thing for the morning was lunch.Rojaan had chosen Buka.it has a good variety of Ghanain and Nigerian dishes plus roast chicken and fish dishes for the less adventurous.very clean and well appointed.I had a local stew.the others stuck to more conventional dishes.

Seated at the next table was an American couple.They were boarding the Explorer for the next voyage so we had a good chat.

 

The afternoon next.

[drron29]

Time for the last post about the trip-though I do intend to do one more post with my final thoughts and some links.

After lunch we let Sammi choose.Rojaan had basically got what she wanted apart from some Dutch wax fabric for our son.We were taken to the final resting place and memorial to Ghana' first president.We had some inside information as two of the passengers on board had been in Ghana from it's Independence to Mr. Nkrumah's overthrow.Naturally their stories are different to the stories told by the guide at the Memorial.

 

Certainly he led the move to Indepence but by 1964 he had himself declared President for life and called himself an unaligned Marxist.Of course he had 2 palaces and drove around in a Cadillac.He was overthrown in 1966 in a military coup.The memorial was built by the Chinese.

Rojaan had done extensive research on tour guides and despite saying she didn't want to go to this memorial all of them insisted it be part of the tour.

Next we were taken to the African"Cultural Centre.Quite a misnomer as it consists of a ramshackle collection of stalls with no air circulation and was unbearably hot.None of the fabric stalls knew what Rojaan meant when she asked for Dutch wax fabric.

 

At that stage we decided comfort was now important so we went to the Accra mall.A typical large air conditioned mall.However if you only have a couple of hours before needing to go to the airport this is probably where you should head as it is close to the airport.Also the craft shops and an upmarket fabric shop were much cheaper than the shops at the airport.Plenty of food options.We just had drinks so I could taste a last bottle of West African beer.

 

Now just a suggestion when leaving Ghana by air after a cruise.We had no trouble checking in but we were given many different versions of what to say on our departure forms.At the first check point we had not filled in our home address or hotel we had stayed at in Ghana.The fellow told us to just put Australia as the address and leave the hotel section blank.

Second checkpoint-told we needed to put in our full home address but leave hotel blank.

Third checkpoint-now had to put the name of the ship in the hotel section.TIA.

Security was a farce.Had to take shoes off but not belt,watches etc.Machine was obviously turned off as no one set it off and everyone then got a pat down.

Lounge facilities-only one lounge for all airlines.But also a Diners club,priority pass lounge and if you pay 20CDEs($10) you can get in anyway.So obviously it was crowded.

So now only 1 post to come.

[duct tape]

Thanx so much for sharing this wonderful trip with us. Have a safe trip home and we hope to se you both again, soon, on another SS voyage.

[CruisinPashmina]

The photographs and the narrative on this adventure are, without a doubt, the best this board has ever had. No one should attempt a West African cruise without checking out this thread. Intrepid, open minded, enthusiastic and unflinching...these are travelers I'd love to know.

Thank you so very much!

[ijkh]

So how was Ghana? What is Ghanian food like? Did you stay longer or fly out after a one night stay? I loved your trip report. This remains a trip on my wish list.

 

thank you for sharing,

Ilene

[drron29]

Time to finish off this report.Apologies but I am back to working so as to be able to do more cruising on Silverseas.

One of my reasons for doing this type of report is to provide information on some travel ideas that are different.Though to be really honest the major reason is I have something to look back on and jog my memory.

So for this report it is to bring the idea of Expedition cruising to those who have not tried it.But to me the best Expedition cruising is to do it in style with Silverseas.All the tours we did on this cruise are included in the cruise price.The destinations generally are those less visited with less infrastructure for tourists.I certainly would not have gone to the countries in West africa any other way.

 

To the Explorer.Sure it is in many ways unlike the other SS ships.It is much smaller.Restaurant choices basically are not there though in warmer climes there is outdoor dining offered as well as the Main Dining room.

Entertainment is much more limited.Though to me it is the journey and destinations are important so the comparative lack of entertainment is not a problem

There are however enough SS features that make the cruising very comfortable.You have your butler and suite attendents.The MDR is structured in the same way and many of the staff we have met on the other ships.The standard on this last cruise was excellent.Not only the service but also the food.A big call but this would have been near the best MDR food we have had on silverseas.

You dont have a CD on the Explorer but instead you get a whole Expedition staff instead.Many of them are very interesting people as well which leads me to the first link.Roddy Bray was one of the Expedition staff and lecturers.he has set up and excellent resource for researching African travel here-

http://www.greatguides.org/About.html

For Benin and Togo the land segments were organised by these people-

www.transafrica.biz

For the other countries a lot of input was from these people based in Seattle-

http://africaeasy.com/about-us/about-nadia/

Nadia was on this cruise and a delightful person to know.

 

As I said at the beginning after this cruise we went on safari in Botswana.I am doing a trip report on that here-

http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/trip-reports-and-trip-photos/a-botswanan-adventure-50060.html

I am about half way through that.It is mainly pictorial and sorting out the photos is time consuming.

I have sorted the food pictures on this cruise but no captions as yet-

https://picasaweb.google.com/ron.dolton/SilverExplorerFoodWestAfrica2013?authkey=Gv1sRgCM2lwoOkuuHnhAE#

 

ijkf-we flew out of Ghana on the day we arrived.However our flight was just before midnight so we had a full day tour.As reported that was through Avis and we felt it great value.

 

And thanks to everyone for your compliments and interest.It is greatly appreciated.

 

So the next long report will begin in August when we are again sailing on the Explorer from Reykjavik to Churchill,Canada.My wish is to be able to post pictures of walrus and beluga whales.