Freetown, Sierra Leone

Freetown is a fun town with a nice resort area not far from the city center. Having gotten to Freetown by bush taxi, it appears the area near the airport which Ferries run from the Lungi Airport town to Aberdeen, is quite nice as well. Having spent a night a beach hotel within walking distance to the airport, it seemed like not a bad place to be stuck. Speedboat can be taken from Aberdeen directly to this beach hotel which I would recommend if time was a pressing constraint.

http://wikimapia.org/country/Sierra_Leone/Western/Freetown/

http://www.visitsierraleone.org/fishing.asp


The Aqua Club has a small marina, a salt water pool, and squash courts. Peter, the manager, was kind enough to bring out the old fishing log book from the 1970’s which contained various fish and a description of how they where caught. Worth the visit.


Amazing Grace (interesting story of the origins of the song)

-1741 (approximately) - John Newton was a slave on a lime plantation in Sierra Leone, Africa.
-1745 (approximately) - John began to work on ships that transported slaves.
-1748 - John almost lost his life at sea in a dreadful storm off the coast of Newfoundland. He prayed, "If this will not do, the Lord have mercy upon us." The ship survived the storm.
-1754 - John Newton resigned from his job as captain of a ship that transported slaves.
-1763 - John became a clergyman in Olney, England.
From: http://www.tundrabooks.com/teacher_resources/teacher_guides/tg_amazing.html


Bonthe - Sherbo Island ( did not get a chance to visit but wanted to check out the fishing)



Accra, Ghana

Accra is a strange place, located along the coast; the beaches accessible from the city center are along a small strip sandwiched between two hotels. While this seems odd to comment on, it is important to note as transportation is important in seeing the rest of Ghana. Having spent almost a week in Accra, attempts to see other parts have to been successful to date.

Some of the tourist attractions are quite different from other parts of West Africa. The area along High Street and 28th February has some interesting spots stretching from the Lighthouse to Independence Park. It a appears that Intercontinental Hotels was / is attempting to develop a 250+/- luxury hotel at 28th February Avenue – however the progress looks a bit slow and the location itself may be suspect. On another note, still searching for the “Port” and a marina.

There is a pub / bar where you can watch football called “The Honeysuckle” located on Ring Road near Independence Ave.

Art & Stuff

Nicholas Kowalski - STEP IN GALLERY

A small gallery, owned by Nicholas Kowalski, which carries quite a good sample of his work, along with the work of a few other artists, such as Aryeetey and Tarot. His new painting of horses and townships are worth the visit.

Farrar Avenue, Adabraka (just down the hill from the Office Max, a shopping mall)
Accra, Ghana Tel: + 233 21 220129


http://www.millenniumartgallery.com/cgix/os.cgi?set=osg&b=2&aid=nkowalski&an=Nicholas%20Kowalski&ls=10&cart_id=373502.654

Hustling is Not Stealing: Stories of an African Bar Girl

By John Miller Chernoff
Published 2003
University of Chicago Press
496 pages
ISBN:0226103528

http://books.google.com.gh/books?id=D0Zo7d9sV24C&vq=%22hustling+is+not+stealing%22+chernoff&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0


Guides and such:

“No Worries – the Indispensable Insiders Guide to Ghana!”
http://www.noworriesghana.com/nw_home/default.asp?cid=31

http://www.ghana.co.uk/food/Ghanian_Resturants/Ghana.htm
http://www.ghana.co.uk/travel/index.htm
http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2007/04/17/advice-for-travelers-to-accra/
http://www.superfuture.com/city/home/
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/tourism/restaurants.php

Bissau

Places to note:

CISCO - Cyber cafe (Internet) on SETC road

Malaika Hotel - very nice new moderately priced hotel in the Central area - outdoor rooftop bar / restaurant to open soon - The Artwork is the very well done in an African - Bissau modern manner (wall painting are in reception area and lobby bar) MalaikaBissauHotel@gmail.com ; +245 20 7474

Gelataria Baiana (Parq Ché Guevara) cool place to hang out (no a/c but the seen eliminates the heat) good music selection

Buba

Getting from Buba to Guinea-Conakry is no small task; the travel options are limited and roads are like a motorcross track. The rainey season must add a bit of fun. Spending the night in Buba at the Pousada Bela Vista was not necessary in retrospect, however it did give the opportunity to check out the pier (again nop operational Ferry or boat system). The River looked great for fishing and boats were leaving the hunting and fishing club in the early morning.

The Parue Natural da Lagoa de Cafatada is next to the river and the Pousada Bela Vista (lodge near the peir). While there is no Solar, the area is quite nice. (IBAP - 207106).


Guinea-Bissau to Guinea-Conakry

From Buba the path leads to Quebo which again is a wait on the side of the rode for transportation kind of place. This resulted in a night spent in Cuntabane that reulted in being the entrance to the being of the no man's land between Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry. The people in Cuntabane were extremely accommodating. This was the first true "roughing it" experience although my guess is that it will be much more raw in the months to come.

After the boarder crossings in the "Slave Truck" (aka sardine container - which is interesting as it stopped after a river crossing and the passengers ate sardine sandwiches - we also ate Gazelle stew which was quite tasty) we arrived in Boké and got a taxi to Conakry (four hours). The Guinea-Bissau to Guinea-Conakry trip took a total of 60 hours. One additional note the beach / rain forest area around "Bel Air" appears quite nice.

Conakry

Not much to say.

Cacheu

Cacheu

Overview:

The town of Cacheu on the Rio Cacheu is home to a National Park, the fort of the English pirate Drake, and a pier (ferry services have been discontinued – local boats provide trips to San Domingo. The ferry services at the San Vincent crossing were not function as well and the new bridge is years away from being completed. Access is approximatively 100 kilometers from Bissau via auto. Once there the options are the “bungalows (7 well equipped huts – A/C, fridge, tv, private bathrooms – assumes electricity and water are operations). The other option is the rooms at the Park.)

Many species of fish, wildlife, etc are to be found. A recommend trip would be to boat from Verala in Senegal to the port although whether this is possible is uncertain. Commercial agriculture would be a sound use of natural resources. Exportation of specific items is what drives the economy. Cashews are in abundance and the derived uses of tree, fruit, juice, and nut are still being developed.

(Note: English is not readily available and the trip is not traditional tourism.)

Visit to Cacheu National Park – Guinea Bissua

*The park has traditional villages with in the boundaries
Protection of the mangroves, vegetation and wildlife appears to be an objective
*The funding organizations are IUCN (The Green Web) and IBAP are working on ecotourism, conservation and biodiversity projects although formal measurable progress and continued support are uncertain.
*Two reports by IUCN (WWW.IUCN.ORG) can be obtain:
1. The Economic Value of Wild Resources in Senegal
2. Managing Wetlands in Arid Regions
*Solar power is used for electrical generation

Additions (needed and ideal)

*A pump system for the well or a fresh water feeding system
*Electricity generation – generators would be a helpful start
*Water trailers – tow-able with pumping systems
*Linking the water way access to the ocean

*Lightweight carbon fiber piping to carry water from the river via an aqueduct would be an interesting project for an area so dry yet fertile
*Development of rice or other agricultural products in the region with possible genetic standardization of Cashew trees planted and cultivated in a systematic meaner

Dakar

• Food, Restaurant, Bar, Hotel
  
  * SEVEN. Rue Mohamed V x Felix Faure Tél. : 33 842 6911
  * Bar of the Hotel Miramar - try the La Gazelle Beer
  * http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/bi%C3%A8re-la-gazelle/22537/
  * Hotel Monaco Plage - Bel Air - 832 66 76 (Beach recreation - 4x4, etc) - 772 72 4625)
  * Salon de Thè (near parc de indepence)

Areas, Points of Interest, Links

• Pointe de Bel - Air / Hann
• Japan Embassy
• New Raddisson Hotel (Radisson SAS Hotel, Dakar)

Need a guide - call Samba -(221) 76 334 04 65

Ziguinchor / Cap Skiring

• Hotel Kadiandoumagne