Category: Journal

  • Wandering about in Cotonou

    Not feeling like getting in another taxi or bus, we decided to spend the day wandering around Cotonou. We needed to find a bank machine to get some cash, and we wanted to pick up a different SIM for my phone in hopes of figuring out why text and Internet were not working. Since we…

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  • Bussing to Benin

    Today we took the ABC bus to from Accra to Cotonou. The bus cost was 79 cedi each (about $40). We also paid 20,000 CFA for Togo visas (about $40 each). The bus company guy did a really good job of guiding us through the visa crossings – which was really nice – it made…

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  • A private tour of Accra

    We were a bit more adventurous today. We were reminded of our friends in Turkey who once told us “if you don’t ask us for what you want, we will think you do not like us.” It reminded us that what we consider “polite” in Canada may not be considered polite elsewhere. We also realized…

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  • A visit with locals

    Saturday and Sunday night we are couchsurfing with a generous local host Aba. Aba’s family is from the Cape Coast area but her parents move to Accra so this is where she grew up. She runs a catering company, cooking food on contract for weddings and other special events. Before coming to Aba’s house, we…

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  • Arrival in Ghana

    I’m in denial. The reality started to sink in when we landed, but it hasn’t really sunk in yet. We are in Accra, Ghana – that is – West Africa! The smells remind me of a combination of Costa Rica and some kind of burning smell. Scott said it reminded him of diesel, I thought…

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  • Funny the things you didn’t realize you enjoyed – reading serendipity

    When we were on our trip, I often found it difficult to get my hands on English books. When they were available in bookstores, they were horribly expensive (I paid 20 Euro or $30 CAD for a paperback book!). This was in the time before kindle, so there were limited options for eBooks – Scott…

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  • An Outrageous Weekend

    We had an Outrageous weekend – that is, we spent two days and one night enjoying Big Rideau Lake on our friends boat, Outrageous. It is a 32 foot Carver cabin cruiser – as they so aptly but it a “floating cottage”. Life aboard is pretty relaxing – with a routine of swim, eat, chat,…

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  • A bike tour around Ottawa

    Since I haven’t had much opportunity to get out on overnight tours this year, I decided I’d do a photoblog of a cycle tour along the pathways in Ottawa. I’d also like to put out a challenge to all my cycle touring friends out there – if you aren’t blogging and aren’t touring, then how…

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