Abidjan (Ivory Coast or Côte d'Ivoire)

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You might not think Abidjan is all that from the pictures, but for someone(me) who is from Conakry, Abidjan is very much a metropolitan city with overpasses, skyscrapers and nice neighborhood with fancy restaurants. Before the civil war broke out in Ivory Coast, Abidjan was like Paris of West Africa. Although the war didn't really hit the city, the city was not maintained for many years, therefore look a bit run down (it doesn't help it wasn't a sunny day when I was there). Ivory Coast just recently became peaceful with a brokered deal by the president of Burkina Faso to help the country to form a coalition government between Laurent Gbagbo continuing as the president and the opposition leader (rebel) as the prime minister. It was totally safe traveling along the coast of Ivory Coast, but I didn't dare going to the northern part of the country and crossing border into Guinea. They say you are suppose to get permission from the rebel to travel up country.
Anyway, I took a World Food Program flight (a UN humanitarian flight free for us PC volunteers) from Abidjan that took me to Liberia, then Sierra Leon and then back to Conakry.

Ghana - Cape Coast, Akwaaba, Elmina

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both Cape Coast and Elmina has a castle that was used for trade and slave, where most of the slaves were held before their journey on the Middle Passage. The slaves are kept in the dungeons is most inhumain conditions, packed in like sadines, sleep, pass the day, eat and defecate in the same chamber day in and day out, with a single peep hole that let in the light, while the slave traders held lavish parties in the fancy halls above ground.

Akwaaba is a small fishing village with a quaint eco-friendly lodge called Green Turtle Lodge for most of western independent travelers.

Ghana - Boat ride on Lake Volta

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Ghana - Tamale et Mole National Park

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2 days later, I was ready to bus down to Tamale, Ghana, where a former PCV Guinea is working for a company that export shea butter. Tamale is a transit town, so I got on another bus the day after I arrived Tamale and head out to Mole National Park, a safari reserve, where I saw wild elephants 10 ft away, had some monkey snatched my bag of peanut right at the pool and saw elephants (there are lots of them) bathing in a watering hole. It was a relaxing 2 days to hike and hanging at the pool.