The people of
Ghana seemed really friendly and laid back, they also spoke English which was quite a treat after so much time in ex-French colonies. Apart from the beaches, the real highlight of Ghana was visiting the infamous slaving forts of
Fort Metal Cross, Elmina and Cape Coast. The slaving forts built over 300 years ago were interesting but saddening. The dungeons where hundreds of slaves would be crammed were inhumanely small and unventilated - the conditions must have been unimaginably squalid. The slaves were kept in these conditions to 'break' them before they were loaded onto the ships as cargo.
From the Ghanaian coast we headed inland up to the
Akosombo Dam which has formed one of the largest man made lakes in the world. We enjoyed an interesting tour of the dam and then traveled to
Kpalimé in Togo. We entered Togo on 3rd April and after spending a pleasant day in Kpalimé headed down to Lomé, the capital. Togo is regarded as the heartland of voodooism, so we decided to visit the famous fetish market in Lomé. The market was packed with bones, dried pieces of animals and other talismans - quite eerie! Some of the skulls looked as though they could have been human! We both agreed it would not be a good idea to upset anyone around the market, we didn't fancy having a spell placed over us.
Next we crossed the border into
Benin and traveled along the coast to the capital,
Cotonou. From Cotonou we visited
Ganvie, the largest and most beautiful of all lake villages in Africa. Inhabited by more than 10,000 people, it is built entirely on stilts in the middle of a lagoon. We caught a pirogue out to the village where we saw the people and their houses at close range. The colorful floating vegetable market was an interesting sight. Back in the capital we had a luxury day at the Sheraton and telexed the overland trip to arrange our rendezvous in Nigeria...
