Change in landscape pic, and beard update for Ollie.

I really enjoyed Ghana. I'm not sure if its the fact that most people speak some form of English, the change in landscape or perhaps the people i met. I could have stayed longer, but as with trips like this one there are always opposing thoughts about the plan. On one hand i'm thinking i may never come here again so should make sure i see everything, on the other I feel this pull south to complete my "mission".

My first full day in Ghana gave me what i had been wanting for the previous three weeks- some rain to clear the air. In much of Mali and Burkina the constant heat haze combined with dust obscured the sky and in the cities this became thick with the addition of diesel fumes from 20 year old trucks and 2 stoke mopeds. The rain, heavy and sudden took me by surprise. My waterproofs, redundant for 6 weeks were deep in my panniers and i got soaked and even felt refreshingly cold for while. The Sahel Landscape gradually gave way to lush tropical rolling hills with quaint colourful villages nestled into the forest. Each village has a clearing for a football pitch with the size depending of the size of the village. The use of timber for building huts houses was noticeable after the north where a lack of trees means mud bricks are the construction material of choice in the rural areas.

A couple of days later i hit the south coast at a place called Cape Coast. This was the former British capital of the region formally known as Cape Coast and a major port for the slave trade. I had lunch here at a beachfront restaurant with a couple of British expats who offered to fix me up with a job. They are working on a port extension project in the east of Ghana and by all accounts loving the expat life style. It was Easter weekend so they were spending their time off on a beach bar crawl down the coast with their driver waiting diligently in the 4x4.

I was going to stay here but when the police turned up, due to a Dutch tourist getting here phone stolen, i decided to move on. And i'm glad I did as I ended up here:

This is one of those gems that could easily hook you in for a week or more. A collection of bungalows, a bar and restaurant on a remote section of pristine beach. Its owned and run by a British couple and due to the Easter break was full- luckily i had my own tent. Most of the people staying here, in fact most of the westerners i met in Ghana, were either volunteers, aid workers or expats. There are as many aid and religious organisations there as anywhere else in the world (according to my guide book).

After a couple of days of lounging, swimming and playing volleyball i reluctantly left. I wanted to get to the capital Accra when the Nigerian Embassy opened on the Tuesday to apply for my Visa.

Christianity is the main religion down here and is noticeable everywhere. Many of the businesses are titled on this theme, so you get things like: "Jesus Shines Mechanical Services" and "God is Love Printing". Or a taxi will have "2 wrongs make no right" emblazoned across the back window.

Here's a work related pic of a train station in Trakadi. As you can see, the tracks make a lovely pathway! Shortly after taking it I was asked by a chap why i was taking the picture. He claimed it was a breach of security, but as I worked "in the industry" it would be OK.

I'm now in Lome, Togo in an internet cafe supplied by a very noisy generator. The power here is so erratic that that the cafe could not operate with out it. Whilst waiting for a machine i cast my eyes around the various screens to see what people were up to and chatted to others waiting. It soon became apparent that most of them were Nigerians busy scouring European web sites for contacts to e-mail with some bullshit story to facilitate some kind of scam.

It was good to get their views/advice on the potential trouble in Nigeria foll elections this weekend and again on the 21st. The feeling seems to be hold tight and wait. I think i will follow their advice.