Continents

The Voodoo Market in Lome. Animism is the dominant religion in next door Benin – the market is run by people from Benin so I could have taken similar photos the next day while in Benin.

A visit to the tiny island nation of Sao Tome and Principe.

An ex Portugese colony it was a world leader in the Cacau trade for hundreds of years. It still dominates the island economy. However 7 years ago an effort was made to increase tourism. Flights are only from Angola, Ghana (through from Lisbon) and Equatorial Guinea.

It became independent in 1975 along with the other ex Portugese colonies but without the bloodshed.

I call it the Laos of Africa in the sense it is so chilled out.

It used to supply Cadbury until early 1900s when Cadbury, a quaker and anti slavery man, sent an investigator to see if the Portuguese were still using slavery. Seems they were but with various tricks.

I flew into the capital city Lilongwe so I could taxi out to the Lake. I would recommend instead visiting Blantyre which is the commercial capital and has the museum. There is basically nothing for tourists in Lilongwe and it is very spread out so transport tricky.

I flew into the capital city Lilongwe so I could taxi out to the Lake. I would recommend instead visiting Blantyre which is the commercial capital and has the museum. There is basically nothing for tourists in Lilongwe and it is very spread out so transport tricky.

A surprisingly nice visit to one of the least visited countries on earth.

My original plan was to photograph the famous ship graveyard of Nouidbou where 500 wrecks had been rusting in the shallows for years. Sadly they cleaned that up. Other option was 7 hour trip to see the worlds longest train and some UNESCO sites. Needed an extra day and would have.

What may be a once in a lifetime trip.

1. Djenne is a place I’ve always wanted to visit. The Grand Mosque rivals Great Zimbabwe and Ancient Egypt as the most spectacular structure on the continent.

2. In 2012 there were 17,000 tourists a year. I was the 100th person of the year and visited in November. My hotel booked 630 people in 2011 (guestbook records) and I was the 16th of the year and the first in 3 months. It is incredible to be THE ONLY tourist in a whole town.

3. In 2012 jihadis who had been on Ghadaffis side in Libya headed across the desert and went through the north of Mali on a killing spree. That scared away the tourists.

4. I wanted to go one step further to Timbuktu and given the opportunity I probably would but hadn’t booked enough time.

5. Apart from the first 10 (my faves) the photos are in order. They cover the sunset and the next morning sunrise from 6am. 

Short stop at Abidjan and Grand Bassam. Sadly the museum was looted in riots a few years back so isn’t open. Grand Bassam was a colonial capital with some wonderful old buildings. It was also the scene of a terrorist attack a month after I was there at the hotel I’m standing in front of for the beach photos.

Previously Upper Volta. Ex French colony. Renowned for its soldiers – lots of solid guys walking around. Road trip from Ouagadougou (said ‘Waga dou gou’) to Tiebele and the magnificent Cour Royale. Ended up staying on the roof top of a prince of this 500 year old village. Wild night out on $5 a 40 ounce bottles of rum then a wonderful tour. The womenfolk paint the houses . By far the most authentic visit – the shower stall walls were only 4.5 feet hight – no electricity – so showering in pitch black 4 meters from 3 women making my dinner with my top half sticking out, under the stars. If you want to visit this place contact Arnaud Ouambatoua[email protected]