Hey everyone

I’ve been doing very well the last couple of weeks. Dad flew in and we enjoyed a holiday away from my holiday together. It was grand as he would say :)

I left Chloe’s Elephant’s Nest in Grand Bassam, Ivory Coast on 5. January 2020. In total I ended up spending 12 days there over Christmas and New Years. It turned out to be an extended stay for multiple reasons: the holidays, motorcycle maintenance, getting the Ghana Visa but more importantly: all the people at the nest (mostly because we had some epic rounds of celebrity heads :). It was nice to stay put for a while with other travellers. I’ll link our friend Simon’s blog for a description of the gang (http://bigtrip19.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-elephants-nest.html?m=1).

However as always, the day finally came to say goodbye. Dad was due in Accra on 8. January 2020. Because I don’t have a Carnet for Diddy Kong (btw. the TCS is going to give me my cash deposit back for King Kong - the Guinean documents check out - awesome :) I took a detour and crossed into Ghana at the small border of Niable in the North. According to Chloe the officers are much more relaxed about paperwork up there. I took my time in the morning with getting ready and saying goodbye to the gang. I was especially heavy hearted to leave Max (btw. Max got Malaria - the guy wasn't taking any medicine - he's fine - see photo below). He has friends coming to visit at the end of the month and our time schedules no longer matched up. I have learned a lot from him and we’ve shared some extraordinary experiences together. I’m glad to have won such a friend.

All this being said: that feeling of leaving a friendly place and finding yourself alone on the move again - freedom as pure as it comes I think.

The road from Abidjan to Abengourou was in great condition. The Ivory Coast is definitely the most relaxed country so far. No corrupt policemen and omelette bars in every half sized town. I reached Abengourou at nightfall after a pit stop at Kouame’s. Kouame is one of the elder’s of a 5000 person village (like Oberägeri :) outside of Abengourou and had made the 200 km trek down to Chloe’s some days prior. He was accompanying Crystal, a young girl from the village and her mother. Crystal suffers from a severe dental problem. Due to lacking treatment in the early stages the problem has progressed and she has learned to live with a swollen jaw, a hole in her neck (because the jaw is being pushed out) and a constant pain. Simon and Angelika from the elephant’s nest had visited the village and decided to help Crystal as their means allowed. Kouame is an intelligent and kind man and we enjoyed each other’s late afternoon company.

Chloe was nice enough to let me spend the night at her up and coming charity that helps street and trafficked children in the region (www.creer-africa.org). There were already two children staying at the centre when I was there. The cocoa industry (the Ivory Coast is one of the world’s biggest exporters) has a child labour problem. This is something you do hear about in our chocolate producing country of Switzerland. It is still another level of realization when you’re directly confronted with scarred children.

The next day, 6. January 2020 I headed to the Ghana border. Sure enough, everything went smoothly. I had been slightly worried because Max and I hadn’t gotten our bikes registered (after trying two different customs offices in Abidjan and officials sending us back and forth between the two :). Exiting the Ivory Coast, I drove right past the customs office and nobody stopped me. Entering Ghana went well and by 1 pm I had a belly full of fufu, a local SIM card and was navigating the backroads towards Bibiani. I made it there before the sun went down and found a very local “coconut view guesthouse” (not sure where the name is from) complete with bucket shower and blue neon light. The next day, 7. January 2020 I managed the 350 km to Accra on what was pretty much a highway and arrived at the sleepy hippo hostel at around dinner time. I was happy to be in town. The hostel crew and terrace were very agreeable and I was treated to some nice curry and nan by Naresh, Rajesh Kumar and their gang of Indian expats in Accra.

The following day, 8. January 2020 I moved from the sleepy hippo to the alma house hotel on the other side of town where dad had booked a room for us. From there I went over to the Togolese embassy to apply for my next Visa (same day service!) and then enjoyed the comfort of having my own hotel room for a couple of hours (internet and aircon wow :).

It was great to see dad. He looks as handsome as he always has :). He’s the most intrepid (yes mom :) person I know - there isn’t a place in the world he’d be out of place. We made it to the hotel ok and found our new favourite Lebanese restaurant (Accra has good food from all over the world - it’s awesome).

I also had a little belated Christmas. Dad brought a bunch of things I had ordered to Oberägeri (you can clearly see Max’s influence in these items): cooking gear (I can’t go back to bread and fruit in the evenings after getting used to sardines and pasta ;), a jbl speaker, a SPOT GPS tracker (in addition to the app “polarsteps” you can now check my location via this link https://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0BIOBNHr2dL291maoDIRRTMj6mSyGOj5C also the device has an SOS function which would alarm the company GEOS - apparently they would come and rescue me anywhere in the world ;), motorcycle parts and other bits and bobs. In addition: a bigger bag to fit everything in. Tanti and Gotti also sent some Christmas travel support (merci viel mal!).

Dad and I spent the next day visiting the sights of Accra (Makola market, Osu castle and Tawala beach - shout out to Elie :). On 10. January 2020 we boarded a plane (stand by - what fun) North to Tamale. On the flight we made friends with Mr. Mohammed an agriculturalist who had been in Accra for a job interview. He gave us a lift into town and after stopping at his place for a quick sit down, he organized a ride to take us the 140 km to Mole national park.

People had told me beforehand that the wildlife in West Africa doesn’t compare to the Southern African big game. Dad and I however enjoyed Mole so much that we decided to stay for three nights :). There was something about the silence, the dry heat (and swimming pool) and the baboons and elephants just minding their own business in plain sight of our evening beer. We made friends with Luc and Nadine from France and together visited a local village with the oldest (1421) mud mosque in Ghana.

On 13. January 2020 Mr. Mohammed picked us up early in the morning and with Nadine and Luc we made our way to Tamale. After an airport breakfast with Mr. Mohammed and again succeeding in getting a stand by ticket (phew) Dad and I were back in Accra by lunch time. We wanted to charter an Uber (they have Uber here :) to Cape Coast but our driver refused and so Dad got some backpacking experience as we found the bus station and got on the coach heading West. We were glad to arrive at Joseph’s in Moree in the evening. Joseph left Ghana for a life in England and is back now for his retirement running a hotel on the beach. We enjoyed the good vibes of Cape Coast and also visited the fort. I think for all tourists who come to Ghana the many forts and castles used for the slave trade by European colonialists leave an impression. Dad and I were particularly struck by the missionary chapel right on top of the slave dungeon both in the castle in Accra and the fort in Cape Coast.

We were back in Accra on 15. January 2020 and spent the last two nights at our home base the Alma house hotel. I got a haircut, we got my Benin Visa sorted, visited the botanical gardens and had dinner with Max who has arrived in Accra in the meantime (yay :). Dad left yesterday (buh :( and is already safe and sound back in Oberägeri. Max and I are chilling in Accra and will head out to the Volta region on Monday. From there Max will return to Accra to meet his friends and I will continue to Togo.

To me it’s weird and also comforting that home is only a nights sleep on a KLM flight away. It was relaxing to spend time with my dad in this part of the world. I know how very fortunate I am. I feel like I’ve had my batteries recharged and am ready for the next leg of the trip. After four months I am now about half way to Capetown. Not exactly according to schedule but quite the distance nonetheless. Let’s see if we can get all the way down to the Cape in the next four months.

Here’s to the road ahead

Chris