Our Route through GHANA. Covered approx. 1350km on the motorcycles.

May 17, 2008. We entered Ghana at the Klouto border post from Togo.

20km west of Hohoe lies the Wli (Agumatsa) Falls. View from our campsite.

We set up camp at the Waterfall Lodge, ...

... which is run by a German couple. A beautiful spot.

The campsite is located beside the Wildlife Office and the start of the hiking trail.

It is only a half an hour walk on a well maintained trail...

...through butterfly filled jungle and trees...

...and we reach the WLI WATERFALLS.

The waterfall is spectacular.

Water gushes down from a 75m cliff into a pool below.

We are overheated and like a couple of children...

...jump into the pool of water (Mike takes the first plunge)...

...and ventures directly underneath the waterfall.

Ruby is not far behind in taking a dip.

Spider.

May 18, 2008. 55km west of Accra, we de-tour to the coast to have a peek at a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ruby taking shelter from the sun and resting on a canon.

The view from the fort...

...over the fishing harbor.

Fishing boats anchored off-shore.

Our de-tour leads us through an orphanage...

...and children are playing with large snakes.

This snake was starting to shed its skin.

It is the first time for Ruby to touch a Boa snake.

One of the 17 out of once 140 remaining forts and castles.

In Cape Coast we head straight for the Oasis Beach Resort.

Half a bungalow goes for 16.00Cedi ($16.00CDN/night). Mike using the broom.

May 19, 2008. At 6am we watch fishermen...

...prepare to launch their boats out to sea.

The incoming waves are large and it is all timing to get past them out to the calm sea.

Fishing boats with their sails up.

At 8am we have ridden to Elmina located 15km west of Cape Coast.

The St. Jaco Castle overlooks the harbor.

As we have an hour to kill before the opening of the famous St. George Castle...

...we take the opportunity to watch...

...fishermen return from the sea with their catch.

It is a vibrant and busy area.

The view from the bridge.

Hundreds of colorful fishing boats line each side of the sheltered harbor.

The fish market area.

Cleaning the nets.

View from the castle of the bridge, fish market and harbor.

Women carrying buckets of sea shelles.

Local food stall.

These fried bananas are a nice snack.

The ST. GEORGE CASTLE (also called Elmina Castle).

A UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the most moving and sad places.

We enter the castle, which was originally constructed by the Portuguese in 1482...

...10 years before Columbus discovered America and the oldest castle in the tropical area of the World.

Originally the castle was used for trade of Gold with the local tribes.

Unruly Slaves were placed into this room to die.

The entrance fee to the castle includes a guided tour, which is outstanding & a wealth of historical information.

In the 1600's the Dutch wanted a piece of the action & fought the Portuguese, who in the end were besieged.

There was more money to be made in the export of slaves then gold and the Castle was converted.

We enter the female dungeons.

In this courtyard, females were punished by being left chained to a canon ball to roast in the sun.

Hundreds of female slaves were kept here, with no toilets or sanitary areas.

They were kept here for three (3) months without seeing daylight. Only the strongest survived.

From the balcony above the man in charge would pick a female slave for his personal pleasure.

This is the only time the female slaves were allowed to see sunlight.

The female slave picked would ascend these steps to the upper living quarters.

Beside the entrance to the female slave dungeons are the male dungeons.

Ruby stands inside the male dungeons, where each slave was chained to a canon ball.

Entrance to the room of no return.

Standing in the room of no return. Slaves would wait here for the ship that would take them to the Americas or Asia.

They were pushed through this small opening like cattle.

A plaque that shall always be remembered.

The fishermen return from the sea outside our "Resort".

We check out what they have caught.

This is a nut from a tree sold in the midst of all the fish.

A (2) minute walk from our place is another UNESCO world Heritage Site.

Walking around the castle, we stumble upon these canons...

...which have seen better days.

The view of the sea from the castle.

This castle lacks the historical importance of the St. George Castle in Elmina.

The main entrance to the CAPE COAST CASTLE.

Inside the courtyard.

This castle has a massive selection of canon balls...

...and actual canons.

Again this castle was used for slave trade.

An impressive view from the upper living quarters of the soldiers & men in charge.

Judging from the ammunitions, it was a well protected castle.

View of the living quarters.

The Cape Coast Castle has an outstanding museum,...

...well labeled and with lots of information.

The British came out with an actual plan layout how to maximize the number of slave that could fit a boat.

An original poster from the Americas advertising slaves trade.

Outside the castle walls, local fishermen proceed with their day to day activities.

Cleaning the net.

Pushing a wooden fishing boat out to sea.

The fishing port of Cape Coast.

Today's living area of the locals. View from the Castle.

Freshly washed laundry is often laid out on the road or on bushes to dry.

May 20, 2008. On our itinerary for the day is the KAKUM NATIONAL PARK...

...a perfect day trip from Cape Coast.

The national park is located approx. 40km north of Cape Coast.

It protects one of the few patches of rain forest left in this part of Africa.

The canopy walkway was built by a couple of Canadians & a Swiss guy.

Completed in 1994, (7) canopy walkways connect to a total length of 350m.

At its highest point we are 40m above the ground.

It is very unique to be walking above the dense forest below...

...seeing monkeys jump from one tree to another.

We are a bit sad as this was going to be our last visit...

...to the rain forest & jungle. Okay Mike does not look sad in this picture.

Our walkway to the canopies.

The stump of an old tree giving birth to a new tree.

How to make Chocolate.

The fruit tree that contains cocoa beans.

We are lucky to experience first hand the taste of the cocoa beans.

Prior to drying the beans, they are very slippery and taste sweet, nothing like chocolate.

May 21, 2008. From Cape Coast we ride north to Kumasi, past Techiman to Tamale.

On May 22, 2008. We cover the last stretch of Ghana road before hitting the Burkina Faso Border.

The northern part of Ghana has unique circular mud house complexes dotting the landscape.

Each country we visit the construction of homes are slightly different.

It is true that most of Africa still lives in houses like this.

We say good-bye to English speaking Ghana at the Para Border Crossing into Burkina Faso.

Our Route through BURKINA FASO. Covered approx. 650km on the motorcycles.

Free Camping at the OK Inn Hotel in Ouagadougou, Capital of Burkina Faso.

Temperatures soar into the 40Deg Celsius in the shade.

We have free range of the pool. At the Malian Embassy it took only 1/2 hour to get our Visa's. A record.

We decide to stay an additional day to update the website & take advantage of the pool.

A Tuareg who sold us a leather bound knife. He tried selling us the big sword, but how do we carry that.

May 24, 2008. We travel from Ouagadougou to Bobo-Dioulasso.

En-route a gas (petrol) station.

Outside the main cities gas (petrol) station are very simple.

The villages are circular fortress-like, window less traditional mud/straw houses.

Food and other items are kept in the smaller round silos.

They are elevated from the ground to keep the termites away.

The material used for the roofs.

Small water bodies along side the road.

They seem to be seasonal.

In them locals use small fishing nets to catch fish.

The manufacturing of mud bricks to build houses.

Bricks are laid out to dry. It is the same process as we had seen in Yemen.

We called Burkina Faso the country of bicycles. Ruby surrounded by locals. The usual attention we get stopping on the side of the road.

In Bobo-Dioulasso we visit the unique Sahel mud structure mosque.

The Grand Mosque is located downtown and ...

...resembles the Sudanese architecture.

It was constructed entirely out of mud in 1893.

On May 25, 2008 we proceeded to the Mali border.