SAGA PART 3 - Air Maybe? Definitely!!!

But the eclipse did not only save Tintin from getting burned at the stake. It also saved me from a whole day of work….

At noon on the 30^th of March, I landed in Abidjan, only to find out that Air Ivoire had forgotten to mention that our flight had been cancelled.

I must say that flying with any airline in West Africa is folkloric at best. First, on arrival, one has to board the plane by walking on the tarmac and walking on these:

Second, (and this is where Air Ivoire’s reputation is made true) flights get cancelled ALL THE TIME.

Lucky for me, there was a flight the next morning, and Air Ivoire was sweet enough to accommodate the other cancelled travelers and myself at the very lofty Hotel Ibis Plateau.

I did not visit Abidjan though. In fact, I made arrangements with the hotel’s driver to visit, but he cancelled… because he had to go pick up more cancelled passengers!

I nevertheless had the pleasure to see the skyline of Abidjan, and to observe the city during the 30 minute drive.

Despite Cote-d’Ivoire’s troubled events of last year, the city appeared unscathed and relatively peaceful. Nevertheless, I was not inclined to tempt my fate and go around. The troubles of 2004-5 were a recent memory, and I had no intention of being another casualty on the already long list of expats that got hurt in this violent town.

That night, I had dinner and got tipsy on account of Air Ivoire, in the gracious company of my petulant American colleague, a cynical and amusing Croatian doctor, and a warm and funny businesswoman from Cameroon.

The Beaver


Thank you Emmanuel.K.Bensah II in Accra, GHANA, for posting on my guest map!

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

SAGA PART 2 - ONCE IN A BLUE MOON

Leaving Accra:

The next morning, I woke up at 5AM to make my connecting flight to Abidjan. I was both lucky and unlucky: while I was in Ghana on the day of the eclipse, I was also unlucky because I was flying DURING the eclipse, and thus, missed the whole thing. Here is what I missed:

(Courtesy of Middle-East News)

This raises some amusing thoughts for me, as I would remember the famous eclipse that saved the Cartoon hero Tintin from being burnt at the stake.

When we got out of the airplane, the light was strange, but what tipped me off on the eclipse (sharp as I am) was that passengers and crew alike were :

1) wearing paper sunglasses;

2) snapping pictures at the sun with the paper sunglasses over the objective.

No, it wasn't a blue moon that day, but never the less, on a black sun day, things happen...

The Beaver

Thank you, Adrianna and Will in Australia, for posting on my guestmap!

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

PAC MAN

Once again, I am ready to embark on a new journey.

In fact, a conversation with SFTC has made realize how hectic the weeks to come are going to be. Tonight, I am packing because tomorrow morning I am flying out.

I will be flying on SLOK AIR.

My colleague says it sounds like something nasty in a bucket, which it does.

My cousin, who has been in the flying business says it might stand for Sometimes Lands OK.

Me? I don't care, man. It's getting me where I need to go.

It'll be my 3rd flight with them so I know what to expect: an overbooked flight, a stampede at boarding, bad food and lousy service. What ever. The flight is only one hour anyway.

First, I'm flying to Accra in Ghana. I'll spend tomorrow's night there and then take a flight to Abidjan in Cote-d'Ivoire where I will sit and rot for 10 hours until my flight on Air Ivoire, SLOK's distant cousin, , also referred to by the locals are : Air Peut-Etre (Air Maybe) to Cotonou, in Benin.

I'll work 11 days in Cotonou and then fly to Paris in France (duh) where I'll be meeting up at last with my only love.

10 days and 2 buckets of tears later, I'll fly out again to Miami where I'll spend an overnight before my flight to Port-au-Prince, in Haiti, where i'll be working 6 weeks before I go home to Montreal, Quebec, Canada for 2 weeks of rest (and then it's back out again - but let's not go there yet).

I calculate that I will pack and unpack another 6 times before I get home 2 months from now. That means I go through this about every 2 weeks.

And even after I get home, I'll have to pack again 2 weeks later.

(Maybe I just just start living in my suitcase.)

Oh boy. I need to get real. I'm way too big.

I'm getting pretty good at this though.

1. For example, I know to always have a spare change in my hand luggage in case my main stuff gets lots by the morons at the airport company.
2. I have those cool anti-air bags to make sure I don't lose any space in my luggage.
3. I know not to unpack too much.
4. I know exactly what goes where in my suitcase.

Nevertheless, whenever I pack up, I always have the same comment:

"! Good grief, I carry way too much crap ! "

The Beaver

Thanks, Chris in Puebla and Ryan in Madison for posting on my guestmap!

My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Elmima... a European Castle in Africa... Chateau Europeen en Afrique

I left Pakistan on February 16th, and made my way to Accra, Ghana, where I was to meet up with my colleagues and both take the opportunity to rest and to prepare for my next mission to Sierra Leone.

One of my colleagues being local, we took advantage of his knowledge of the area and travelled to the Cape Coast, to Elmima Castle, to visit the most ancient slave trade castle is West Africa.

J'ai quitté le Pakistan le 16 février, et ai fait mon chemin vers Accra, Ghana, où je devais rencontrer mes collègues et prendre l'occasion de me reposer et mee préparer à ma prochaine mission au Sierra Leone.

Un de mes collègues étant locaux, nous avons tiré profit de sa connaissance du secteur et avons voyagé au Cape Coast, au château d'Elmima, pour visiter le plus antique château de commerce l'esclave d'Afrique occidentale.

DSCN03172006-02-18_09-01-25, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

DSCN03182006-02-18_09-01-39, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

Leaving Accra, I couldn't resist taking some street pictures. The African ability to make do with anything has always amazed me.

Quittant Accra, je ne pourrais pas résister prendre quelques photos de rue. La capacité africaine de se debrouillerm'a toujours stupéfié.

DSCN03122006-02-18_08-44-52, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

Apparently, the coast of Ghana is scattered with forts used for the slave trade. The one seen here in the back ground is called Fort Amsterdam.

Apparemment, la côte du Ghana est dispersée de forts autrefois utilisés pour la traite d'esclaves. Celui vu ici en arrière plan s'appelle Fort Amsterdam.

DSCN02962006-02-18_07-54-36, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

Elmima from afar... at last, I see the sea again ! Elmima is the oldest slave trade castle in West Africa: it's been around for over 500 years.

Elmima de loin... enfin, je revois la mer! Elmima est le château du commerce d'esclave le plus ancien en Afrique occidentale: il existe depuis plus de 500 années.

DSCN02582006-02-18_05-19-12, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

Let's enter the castle and take a trip in history. Weak hearts, stop your visit here.

Entrons dans le château et voyagons dans l'histoire. Coeurs sensibles, votre visite s'arrete ici.

DSCN02922006-02-18_06-04-14, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

Elmima's inside yard.... where the slaves arrived the first time.

La cour d' Elmima .... où les esclaves arrivaient la première fois.

DSCN02812006-02-18_05-50-55, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

Fishermen in Elmima, at the bottom of the castle.

Les pêcheurs d'Elmima, au pied du château.

DSCN02592006-02-18_05-27-07, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

This is the men's cell. 600 men were chained here, without light, air, or sanitary facilities.

C'est la cellule des hommes. 600 hommes ont été enchaînés ici, sans lumière, air, ou équipements sanitaires.

DSCN02632006-02-18_05-29-16, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

This is the entrance to the ladies' area. Not very different from that of the men, really, but with the added burden of the repeated rapes perpetrated by the guards and the governor, who apparently took pleasure in choosing his captives personally. Note the cannonbal embedded in the ground. Elmima was the object of quarrels between the Portugese (original founders), the Dutch (who ruled Elmima for centuries) and the English (who had custody of Elmima for 80 years, and after the abolishment of slavery in 1838). Ghana has retaken Elima for a bit over 50 years now, since decolonization.

C'est l'entrée au secteur des dames. Pas très différent des cellules des hommes, vraiment, mais avec le fardeau supplementaire des viols repetes par les gardes et par le gouverneur, qui prenait plaisir a choisir ses captives personnellement. Notez le boulet de canon incursté dans le sol. Elmima était l'objet des querelles entre les Portugais (fondateurs originaux), les Hollandais (qui ont régné sur Elmima pendant des siècles) et les Anglais (dont la suprematie a dure 80 ans, datant d'apres l'abolition de l'esclavage en 1838). Le Ghana a repris Elmima depuis la decolonisation depuis un peu plus de 50 ans.

DSCN02892006-02-18_05-53-51, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

These canons are still there, as a testament to the Greed of Man, ready to defend their priceless asset in the slave trade.

Ces canons sont toujours là, attestant à l'avarice de l'homme, prête à défendre leurs interets capitaux dans la traite d'esclaves.

DSCN02772006-02-18_05-48-07, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

The Death Cell: this is the room in which caught escapees were locked to die. 2 dozens of men could be locked here. The only way out was in a coffin. As long as there were survivors, no body would be removed.

La Chambre de la Mort: c'est la cellule dans laquelle les évadés etaient enfermés à clef pour mourir. 2 douzaines d'hommes pouvaient être fermées à clef ici. La seule sortie était dans un cercueil. Aussi longtemps qu'il y avait des survivants, aucun corps n'etait enlevé.

DSCN02732006-02-18_05-40-08, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

Door of no return: This is the door taken by the survivors, to be taken overseas as slave for plantations of Louisiana, the West Indies, and the Portugese colonies.

La porte de non-retour: C'est la porte prise par les survivants, pour être transportes outre-mer comme esclaves pour des plantations de la Louisiane, des Indes occidentales, et des colonies de Portugese.

This is where the road stops for us today. Soon, pictures from Sierra Leone, a small country in West Africa recovering from civil war, and where hope is very much alive.

C'est ici que la route s'arrête pour nous aujourd'hui. Bientôt, des images de Sierra Leone, un petit pays en Afrique occidentale récupérant de la guerre civile, et où l'espoir est tres vivant.

The Beaver
My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !