I have been meaning to update you on recent ‘re-visits’ and ‘expanded’ visits -
In October I went to Zanzibar for the first time and while Tanzania has been on my circuit for some time, the magic of the legendary island did not disappoint … nor did the Safari beers and South African wines.
Also in October I made my first ever legal visit to Ghana … yes, I have been to and imbibed of local nectars, bottled and not, but never before having transited a legal border with a visa …
It was hardly a visit as it was largely spent in the Airport Holiday Inn in a meeting – the Accra Airport Holiday Inn is still very much more Accra, West Africa than Holiday Inn, Generica. We did manage to fit in – no exaggeration – the most harrowing, scary, holy-shit-we-are-all-gonna-die taxi ride of my life! One of our local hosts decided to have a bunch of us – five taxis worth, plus one lost taxi – over to his house for dinner. His very nice house, deep in an Accra neighborhood, a la quartier ouest-africaine, would have taken us 90 minutes to 2 hours to reach had we labored through the absurd rush hour. Instead, a scene out of Too Fast Too Furious ensued in which these guys decided we would emulate a VIP motorcade – lights flashing, horns blaring, high speed overtaking with a game of chicken with each oncoming lorry – we are talking West African long-haul semis – as one of the drivers put it, with 5 cars, even the cops are afraid to stop us in case there really is a VIP in the group! It was 25 minutes of dusty, wrong-way around-the-roundabout, who can cut it closer, scariness followed by a delightful peanut stew with cold beers, wine and Talisker, and a much quieter trip home.
So no new countries, but memorable nonetheless!
Best,
Duncan
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