Week 28 & 29, Healthy again, arriving in Accra, Ghana and Nigeria looms! TOTAL 11408 KM’S (COUNTRY# 14)

After recharging the batteries on lake Busumtwi in the Ashanti region of Ghana, I once again felt ready for the challenge at hand, the weeks leading up to my arrival in the region were quite testing both physically and mentally as the grind of crossing Ivory Coast took its toll. A huge thanks goes out to Ms. Fallon Lee for popping over from South Africa to personally hand deliver Biltong, Amarula cream and homemade baked goods, all of which were integral to getting me back to fighting ways…grin.

Wet season is about to start, humidity levels have gone through the roof and hot, sticky, clammy days are on the agenda, escaping the heat is proving to be tricky. The Ghanaian countryside plays host to long flowing hills and lush vegetation which makes for good cycling provided you can manage the heat, camping however has become somewhat uncomfortable.

Mechanical glitches continue and the constant roadside tinkering and tweaking, fixing and mending is required to keep the bike in order, Africa demands a robust ride and this unforgiving neck of the woods puts your bike through its paces as the next pot hole or stretch of unsealed gravel is never far away coupled with a heavy load, broken spokes and flat tyres are a regular occurrence.

The 250 km stretch between Ghana’s two major cities Kumasi and Accra served up a few of its own little treasures, one of which is a local delicacy of snails that can be bought on the roadside and according to locals is prepared with regional tropical fruits of plantain, pawpaw and pineapple. Not to forget the roadside hubcap man that can sort you out with a brand new set of hubcaps in tropical surrounds.

Rolling into the capital Accra which is surprisingly organised for a major West African city, not without the usual congestion, polluted air and overcrowding this city offers up a few quieter suburbs on the outskirts of the CBD that are fairly chilled in comparison to other large west African cities and so far has proved a good spot to find some western luxuries I haven’t seen for months, still on the hunt for that elusive block of cheese, rumour has it there is a spot in town and I’ve made it my personal urban mission to find it as I spend a few days in Accra preparing to cross into Togo.

The Nigerian election process has gone fairly smoothly and I feel the crossing is doable, to date I am aware of 8 people killed in the north as a result of the elections and fingers are crossed the situation doesn’t escalate to levels where the crossing is not feasible. Any developments or changes in the situation that the readers become aware of please feel free to air your views through the comments section after the publication so I can proceed with fresh relevant information, my access to radio and television is restricted and I do not have the luxury of hearing breaking news as it unfolds.

The tiny countries of Togo and Benin are next on the list before crossing into Nigeria in roughly 10- 12 days from now, thanks for the continued support and personal emails keep them coming, donations however have taken a turn for the worse so if you are following the project and can afford to part with a few bob, feel free to make a donation to the cause via our online donation platform on the Global Wheeling website.

Thanks again for all the support, much appreciated. Easter greetings to all from a hot, humid West Africa.