Despite the skyline there’s little to do in Abidjan, and I’m glad to be able to move on. After two and a half months of travel, the last week was a designated rest week, for recuperation and birthday celebrations.
From Abidjan I made the relatively short hop by minibus back past Grand Bassam to Assinie. The village and its wood constructions manages to integrate well with the 3 or 4 upmarket hotels catering for the weekends (and weekdays in my case) away from Abidjan’s bustle. I walk the empty beach, the sands sandwiched between the Atlantic on the one side and coconut fringed lagoon on the other. A wonderfully relaxing couple of days.
Assinie on to Aboisso took little more than an hour. Abiosso is one of those non-descript towns I’ve mentioned before, but a closer launch pad for my attack on the Ghanaian border.
From Cote d’Ivoire’s border town of Noe, and Elubo on the Ghanaian side, its as rapid a tranportation as I can to Accra, capital of country number 10. And here’s why: some Solomon-like figure in Ghanaian politics has decreed that tourists must apply for visas in their country of residence. This rules out Ghana’s well travelled overland circuit, since visas expire 3 months after issue, and many including myself spend time away from embassy access for longer than this. For reference; persistence, puppy-dog eyes, or goodluck will get you a transit visa at the embassy in Abidjan, giving you 48 hours to reach the Togolese border and enjoy the warmth of the Ghanaian welcome I remember from my trip in 2006. The clock is ticking, so I’ve no time to stay and chat!
