Ivory Coast To Guinea: Basilicas, Stilt Dancers, Jungle Roads, And Chimpanzees!

It's been a while since the last blog entry from the beautiful Banfora region of Burkina Faso.....so here's the latest!

A bumpy drive south from Burkina brought us into Korhogo, where we spent time visiting the artisans in the surrounding villages. Many of their crafts are for sale in the town, but visiting the villages gives you a great insight into how the crafts are made, the artisans beliefs and their culture.

After a hectic day out some of the group spent the night at a club in the hotel we camp at.....probably just as well that we don’t have any photos of the evening, although some of the moves on the dance floor would have made for great shots!

A Day Out Visiting The Craftspeople Of Northern Ivory Coast (Photos From Martin, Gary And Laura)

Lisa Learning Local Trades From The Craftspeople (Photos From Claire)

From Korhogo we headed south to Yamoussoukro. The basilica comes in for alot of criticism for the enormous sums spent on building it, but there's no doubting it's an incredible structure and certainly complements a very unusual 'capital' city. It's a bit like Ashgabat and Brasilia in terms of the money spent on building the architecture there.......a most intriguing place indeed!

The Basilica In Yamoussoukro (Photo From Nicky)

The View From The Top Of The Basilica (Photo From Gary)

The stilt dance ceremony we saw in Cote d’Ivoire was, as usual, a real highlight of the trip. The energy of the music and dancing, the involvement of the whole village, and the hugely welcoming reaction we received all made for a fantastic and memorable evening of entertainment.

Ivorian Stilt Dancer Impresses The Crowd In The Village We Spend The Night In

The Night We Spend In An Ivorian Stilt Dance Village Is Always A Real Highlight! (Photos From Nicky And John)

Warming Up For The Stilt Dancer With Some Hypnotic Drumming!

We got caught out from a thunder storm at a village bush camp in central Cote d’Ivoire, sending the curious locals running back to their huts and us frantically pulling out our truck awning to stay dry. Some of us soon realised it was a great chance to have a decent body scrub, hair shampoo, and dance around in the cooling rain to the music coming from those hiding from the rain in the truck. A few did become a little ‘over-refreshed’, a phrase Jane memorably came up with the next morning!

The Rain Caught Us All By Surprise At A Bush Camp In Ivory Coast! (Photos From Martin)

Derek Got A Valentine's Surprise...Only Derek And Jane Were Unsure Who Put It There!

Heading from Ivory Coast towards the border with Guinea we stopped for a bush camp in a disused logging camp. It made a great spot for the night, though we were delayed for a while the next morning by a broken down logging truck!

Always Some Surprises When Driving Through The Jungle! (Photos From Claire And Gary)

The road deteriorates rapidly as you approach the Guinean border making for a pretty bumpy afternoon of driving. We were met with an incredibly friendly reception by the officials who put on a great border opening ceremony in the morning! The river in no-mans-land between the two countries gave us all the chance for a refreshing wash.

Always Good Fun Driving From Ivory Coast Into Guinea (Photos From Gary And Curtis)

Broken down trucks blocking the road became a common sight over the next few days as we headed further into Guinea. Fortunately the road is rapidly being upgraded which certainly makes life easier for Aminah!

A Real Overland Adventure Through The Jungle (Photos From Curtis And John) 

Our first stop in Guinea was a small village where we went trekking to find a group of wild chimpanzees. We had some very close encounters this time around! Sometimes you have to trek far into the forest to see them. At other times, some of the group are led on a long trek deep into the forest, only to end up not finding them and then seeing the chimps when back near our camp spot. On this occasion we were quickly taken to see the chimps waking up right by our camp spot!

Trekking For Chimps In Guinea (Photo From Claire)

Gary Crossing The Vine Bridge We Visit In Guinea (Photo From Claire)

Now we head off into the north of Liberia and down to the beautiful beaches along the Atlantic coastline....the first time we've seen the ocean since we left Accra.

Stay tuned for the next update!