9/5/12-6:10AM Depart Lagos, usual traffic and annoying oncoming buses driving the wrong lane,still made good time and arrived Badagry 7:20 AM, met a friend Kenny who escorted me to Seme border in his cage.Handed paper work to an agent, made my ecowas brown card in Kano N1500(Used for my usual travels through Niger Rep borders) but discovered i have to buy the new digitally inclined ECOWAS brown card for N10,000.
Lezze pazze = 10,000CFA
The new togo police bribe =35000CFA
Etc.
Finally left border at 10:40AM and headed for Cotonou, discovered that bikes have a driveway separated from the main road in Cotonou(like the service lane in Lagos), decided to follow the rules and joined the bikes in the slow moving narrow stripe of bike driveway, soon got impatient and revert to main road as its too narrow(with my saddlebags) for comfortable overtaking.
After a roundabout i find myself approaching a toll gate that is meant for cars only, bomboclat!!!. The toll gate attendant saw me coming, he frantically waved me to turn back, as i turned back a police man quickly mounted his bike and came after my. I could easily outrun him in 1st gear, but i pulled over and waited for him 2000CFA for my bad. Went back against traffic to join bike driveway.
12:20PM -Took my brunch at Agoueland(Quidah) a few KMs to the Togo border.
Light formalities at Togo/Benin border lezze - pazze 6000CFA.
3:16 PM - Arrived Aflao -Ghana border. Most significant expense is 120 CD(N12000) for police undertaking, i guess cos i dont have insuarance and my bike is rated as a small car.
4:30PM - Left Aflao, Nice silky smooth road with light traffic, soon in Tema. Be wary of the rumble strips desgned to slow traffic in towns(Eg at Agbakope the strips are not painted white).
6:00PM - Arrived at Sunlodge hotel Tessano west. Made my reservations online already.
11/5/12 -3:00PM Left Greater Accra for Koforidua - Eastern region to attend Bob Nesta celebrations. There is a Homowo tradition that forbids loud music for the period of 1 month in Accra in preparation for a traditional religious celebration so Marley day shifts to Koforidua- Eastern region.
My new GPS 27 African countries download were a must have, i followed them to the latter, but on this trip i could have sought some native intelligence.
I took Nsawam-Suhum road from Accra to Koforidua only to discover half way that the road is under construction, it was a tortuous dusty potholed and rocky 50KM to reached paved road, pitied the bike mostly.
5:30PM Arrived and Lodged at Mac Dic hotel Koforidua, the home of OBUOTABIRI - the rock of Tabiri.
Had a nice 11 May celebration at the cultural center with artists singing Bobs songs along side local tunes. Meaningful reasoning's with an elder of the Rastafarii council of Ghana Ras Asante Tano.
12:30PM -Left Kof-city for Accra through the picturesque Akuapim hills -Aburi road. This road is twisting and turning continuously with lots of hair pins, i think its a must for any rider coming to Ghana to enjoy.
Visited the museleum of the great KWAME NKURMA in Accra with my rastaful guide Ras Kweku, he showed me the cave he lived in retreat for almost 2 years, facing the sea studying his bible, and how rats bit him when he first move into the cave, untill he larnt to feed them some peanuts, after which they became friendly and allow to sleep in the cave. When he graduated, he became a Rastaman, vegetarian, use only herbal Medicine for all ailments and shun material things.
Also Visited Usher slavery fortress, one of the several slavery fortresses dotting the coast of Ghana. The ancestors of most blacks in the US pass through this ports. Notorious bandits normally raid villages and kidnap the villagers and sell them to the middlemen(Normally Arabs) who in turn sell them to westerners for shipment to other parts of the world,any slave that cross the door of no return is shipped out.
A Baobab tree under which the slave market thrives still stands today.
Sorry for long post, signed, Longerone.
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