The "Golden Kingdoms" of Africa
After experiencing West Africa's "Timbuktu & Beyond" (read previous articles) with the incomparable Roberto, we were eager for more. And Mountain Travel Sobek had another one in their brochure, "African Golden Kingdoms."
This trip also took place in West Africa, visting the three different and fascinating countries of Ghana, Togo and Benin. A 17-day comprehensive immersion into their tribal worlds with nine nights in hotels and five nights camping. Each departure also included a special festival and ours, over Christmas, 2001, was the Gelede Fon Mask festival in Benin. There is a saying that..."you visit East Africa for the animals, and West Africa to see the people"...and based on Mali, we heartily agree.
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Mountain Travel's detailed itinerary stated ..."we'll visit a traditional healer, witness the hidden world of voodo....attend the festive Ashanti funerals....visit Ganvie, a village built entirely on stilts...and end our West African adventure with a sobering visit to the Slave Coast..." This, and much more, was very exciting to "ex-Marine" (husband, Steve) and myself.
Since we had already traveled with Roberto Cerea and Susan (TransAfrica, based in Togo) and knew what to expect (they had filled us in on many details while in Timbuktu), booking was easy. Sent a deposit to Mountain Travel and contacted Roberto directly to arrange some additional time in Ghana and Togo before the scheduled trip.
Lots of e-mails before we came up with a one week, pre-trip itinerary... three days additional sightseeing in Ghana, and four days in Togo which included an invitation to the baptism of Roberto's son in his home, and dinner with Susan and her family. There would also be time in Lome to look at antiques, paintings and artifacts because Lome is considered one of the best places to buy African art. (I do love to shop!)
If you travel as much as I do, check out Magellan's Catalog.
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