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Dec 21
Passed through Lome the capital in less than 2 days, as required by my visa which I almost extended purely on the basis of the good food there. But an evening in Lome wasn't without excitement. Alpha Blondy, the Ivory Coast reggae star was playing at the stadium. I went along with two friends from Brittany that I met.

Togo & Ghana

Stevemonty
2005-09-23 19:14:12

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Dec 21
Passed through Lome the capital in less than 2 days, as required by my visa which I almost extended purely on the basis of the good food there. But an evening in Lome wasn't without excitement. Alpha Blondy, the Ivory Coast reggae star was playing at the stadium. I went along with two friends from Brittany that I met.The music was excellent and the crowd certainly loved him. People were dancing, singing, smiling and shouting Rastafari all around us. A lot however did not like being in the stadium stands and managed to climb over the fences and push a few of the guards away to sit with us on the field in the expensive seats. The atmosphere was then really friendly but some individualls loved to taunt the police by running and dancing in front of them and quite a few were hit with sticks or whipped back.
Ghana
Dec 24
It was a good feeling to be back in Ghana again and to be able to easily communicate in English once more. I spent a week around the Volta region in the east. This area around the towns of Ho and Ho Hoe is surrounded by steep hills and tropical forest. I visited the small village of Tafe Atome and their eco-tourism project to improve facilities and protect the rare Mona monkeys, sacred to the locals.

The annual harmattan winds have now reached West Africa, dust from the Sahara hangs in the sky blocking out the sun and creating a mist in the hills. It also makes it's cooler at night and you no longer perspire in the evening. During the week I visited 3 beautifull waterfalls including Wli falls the highest in West Africa. Visiting the upperfalls involved a slightly worrying ascent along a narrow path macheteyed back from the scrub above the cliff edge, but worthwhile as the guide and I were the only 2 people there.
I also climbed Mount Afadjato, the "highest mountain in Ghana" at about 880 metres. But on reaching the summit and when you leave the tree line there is another mountain visible next to it which is even higher. You have to laugh at these things. However The eco-tourism project there was very well run and was doing a lot for both conservation and the local community. I shall be creating a free website for them in the new year.
Lastly I got the date wrong on my flight home for xmas and only realised the morning after my flight had left. I was really angry with myself for missing it and felt sad at the thought of not being home for xmas. But I was lucky in being able to go on the Sunday night instead and arrived back in the UK on Monday morning.
Home for Xmas
It's been an amazing experience for me, I wouldn't call it a holiday and sometimes it was very trying. But I had some great adventures and made some good and interesting friends along the way. I hope you enjoyed reading about it.

There are many problems in Africa and their causes and solutions are equally confusing. I believe one of the best ways of helping is by sponsering a child's education. In reality this can cost as little as Ł16 per year and I intend to do some research to find a suitable organisation, contact me if you are interested. Otherwise one existing reliable charity is: http://www.plan-international.org

Merry Christmas