Grand Expedition “A once-in-a-lifetime experience”

(Friday 7^th March 2025)

Arrival at Airport and transfer the hotel.

We will leave our vehicles and cross Lake Nokwe on a motorized boat to reach Ganvié, the largest and most beautiful African village on stilts. The approximately 25,000 inhabitants are part of the Tofinou ethnic group and build their wooden houses on teak stilts. Breeding fish with an ancient tribal technology is their main activity. Ganvié has managed to preserve its traditions and environment despite the long-lasting human presence in a closed setting; and the lake is not over-fished. Daily life unfolds in the dugout canoes that adults and children row with ease using brightly coloured paddles. From these canoes, men fishing, women expose goods at the “floating market”, children go to school and play, in Ganvié children are said to learn to swim first than to walk.
Travelling miles on the fishermen’s track between endless yellow beaches, tall palm trees, thatched huts and colourful dugouts pirogues, we early arrive at one of the best coastal resort in the region.

The small town of Ouidah was conquered by the Dahomey Kingdom during the 18th century and became a main slave shipping port. We start the visit following the “slave road” to the shore, “the door of no return” where slaves were shipped to the Americas. Ouidah enjoys a rare Afro-Brazilian architecture, as a unique mix of cultures, where the python temple faces the Catholic Cathedral. The laid-back attitude of the locals blends with the thunder of the distant waves and the rhythm of the drums seem to bring back the murmuring echo of the columns of slaves embarked from these beaches – a timeless atmosphere described by Bruce Chatwin in his novel “The Vice-Roy of Ouidah”. On foot we visit the Python Temple and the Portuguese Fort (currently under renovation), now a small but interesting museum on the history of Ouidah, the transatlantic slave trade and the links that the trade has created between West African costal countries and the Caribbean Voodoo culture.

Between lagoons and ocean, we will discover the Zangbeto cult. The Zangbeto Mask is very tall and covered with coloured straw. It represents wild, non-human spirits (the forces of nature and of the night that inhabited the Earth before humans). The mask wearers belong to a secret society and keep their identity hidden because the non-initiated cannot know who they are. When Zangbeto dances is an event for the village. Its performance guarantees protection against bad spirits and witchcraft. The spinning movement of the mask symbolizes the spiritual purification of the village and Zangbeto also performs « miracles » to prove its powers.

Arrival to the tiny town of Grand Popo.

Border with Togo.
Voodoo is the main religion in the coastal area of Togo and Benin and authentic ceremonies are common: the frenetic rhythm of drums and the chants of the followers “call” the Voodoo spirits who take possession of some participants. The possessed fall into a deep trance: eyes rolling back, grimaces, convulsions, insensitivity to fire or pain. Sakpata, Heviosso, Mami Water are just some of the voodoo divinities who can manifest… Surrounded by the magic atmosphere of the ceremony, we will understand what people mean when they say: “In your Churches you pray God; in our Voodoo shrine we become Gods!”.

Lome, the vibrant capital of Togo, is the only African city which had been ruled by Germans, British and French and had attracted traders from different African countries. It is also one of the rare capitals in the world bordering another nation. These elements have developed a unique lifestyle of its inhabitants, its multifaceted cuisine, and its architecture. Lome is a meeting point of people, trade and cultures, a cosmopolitan but still human-scale capital. We will visit: the central market with its famous “Nana Benz”, women who control the market of the expensive “pagne” (colourful cloths) sold all over West Africa, the colonial buildings and the largest “fetish market” in whole Africa, where we can find an eclectic assortment of all the necessary ingredients for love potions and magical concoctions. Afternoon drive to Ghana border and to Accra.

Morning dedicated to visit Accra. Ghana capital has maintained its special identity despite the fast-paced development currently underway. We explore the old neighbourhood of James Town, inhabited by the local people known as Ga. Our tour ends with the visit of a workshop specialized in building fantasy coffins. These unique handcrafted coffins can take any shape: fruit, animals, fish, cars, airplanes…. the only limit is imagination! Drive to Kumasi.

Kumasi, the historical and spiritual capital of the old Ashanti Kingdom. The Ashanti were one of the most powerful nations in Africa until the end of 19th century, when the British annexed Ashanti Kingdom to the Gold Coast colony. With more than three million inhabitants, Kumasi is a sprawling city with a fantastic central market, one of the largest in Africa. All kinds of Ashanti handicrafts (leather goods, pottery, Kente cloth) and virtually every kind of tropical fruit and vegetable can be found here.

The visit includes the Ashanti Cultural Centre, a rich collection of Ashanti artifacts housed in an interesting reproduction of an Ashanti ancient house. Participation to a meeting or traditional event of Ashanti culture.

Morning departure to Elmina to discover the ancient slave trade castles. The oldest European building in Africa. “Sao Jorge da Mina” was erected by the Portuguese in 1482. At different times the castle has been used as a warehouse to trade gold, ivory, and eventually slaves.

The castle we visit today is the result of successive extension works and is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Facing the castle, the fishing harbour with hundreds of colourful and large fishing wooden canoes.

Early departure. In an ancient village, we will discover the Posuban, shrines of the “Asafo companies” where the Asafo “warriors” still pour libations. The alleys of the old city have a unique atmosphere, taking us back to the time before colonial times, when this region was the first place of fixed trade between Europeans and sub-Saharan Africa. At Axim we will visit the San Antonio Fort built by the the Portuguese in 1515 near the estuary of the Ankobra River, in a region extremely rich in gold. Heavily fortified and built on a naturally protected site, by a rock facing the ocean, this fort was the main gold trading point of the former Gold Coast. From Axim we will drive to the country that took name from the ivory trade. Border with Ivory Coast and arrive to the town of Aboisso on the Bia River.

Dinner at the open air and animated local restaurants in the central square, a safe and tasty experience of African street food.

Arrive to Grand Bassam: an old town built on a sand bank between the lagoon and the ocean. It was the former capital of the French Ivory Coast colony and now a maritime leisure resort for the Abidjanese. Thanks to its calm avenues shaded by tall trees, large bougainvillea and well-preserved colonial buildings, Grand Bassam has a magic atmosphere. The old post office is a jewel of colonial architecture. The Costume Museum, at the former governor’s palace, with its grand outdoor staircase is an architectural gem and its unique collection of tribal costumes, masks, ornaments and ethnographic photographs offers an interesting insight into the country’s history and culture. We continue in a westerly direction to Abidjan.

Beyond the lagoon, the “plateau” (the City District) is growing very fast, not horizontally as in most African towns but vertically, with its large modern buildings and skyscrapers. Not much land is available and the little available must be continually recovered from the waters of the Ebrié Lagoon. The modern City District is defined to the west by the harbour and its endless queues of people waiting for a public boat, and to the east by the silhouette of Saints Peter & Paul Cathedral. The chaotic traffic is the negative result of the country’s rapid economic development, which has reached 6% of GDP since the civil war. Afternoon, Motorway departure for Yamoussoukro.

Yamoussoukro is the country’s formal capital since 1983 and native village of Houphouët-Boigny, the first President of independent Ivory Coast. Here the Ivorian dream of the 1970s and 1980s has come true, the dream of a country that, despite its shortage of major natural resources, has create the largest economy in French speaking West Africa. We visit the Basilica of the Virgin of Peace, inspired by St Peter’s in Rome, the largest Christian building on earth, with unique high colourful glass windows. We see wide boulevards where the few cars try to avoid the big potholes, zebus and chickens. The huge government buildings, large hotels up to 14 storeys high and even an artificial lake inhabited by crocodiles give a feeling of abandonment.

In a village we attend the Zaouli dancing masks. Zaouli is a traditional dance of the Guro tribe. The Zaouli mask, created in the 1950s, was probably inspired by a girl named “Djela Lou Zaouli”. However, origin stories are varied and each mask may have its own symbolic story. The uniqueness of the Zaouli dance is the fine and sophisticated movement of the legs and feet.

We start our journey across coffee and cocoa plantations, dotted only by small villages. Ivory Coast is the world’s main cocoa producer, the second is Ghana and together, they represent more than half of the world production. Leaving the main road, only 4×4 vehicles can drive to remote villages in the forest, where the arrival of foreigners is a rare event to encounter the Guere ethnic group. We will discover the powerful Guéré Mask that leave the sacred forest to dance in the village when important guests arrive. (If we are lucky) the rare “Jugglers” will perform: girls initiatory Juggling is an ancient tradition now vanishing. We have discovered one of the last villages where is still practiced.

Dan and Guéré ethnic groups known for their masks considered among the masterpiece of African Art.
Arrive in the evening at the small town of Man, surrounded by 18 green mountains, the capital of this forest region.

We will spend two nights at a comfortable hotel in Man.

Entire day dedicated to the region of Man. If the Guéré masks are known for their powerful and rough appearance, the Dan masks are one of the most beautiful tribal masks due to the delicate balance of shapes symbolising beauty. In a small village nearby, masks emerge from the forest towards us. In the cosmogony of the Dan people there is a creator god who communicates with human beings only through its intermediaries, the masks. During the mask dance the distance between the human and the spirit worlds disappears, the cosmic and the social orders are restored, and gratitude is expressed to the gods and the ancestors.

The Man market is an important trading point with villagers coming from the region and from the forests of the neighbouring countries. It will be possible to find a wild choice of handicraft and, with some luck, authentic tribal masks and ritual objects.

A road in the lush vegetation will bring us to a remote village and a short walk to a spectacular liana bridge that crosses a large river in the jungle. Liana bridges are masterpieces of a genuine “tribal technology”. They are built exclusively with vegetal materials, as wood and lianas without the use of nails or rope nor other materials foreign to the forest. Only the initiated can harvest the lianas and the wood, leaving them in the forest. It is believed that a powerful spirit will build the bridge in one night.

During the preparation of a new bridge neither women nor not-initiated are allowed in the forest, to guarantee the secrecy of this “magic technology”.

After many formalities we will cross the border with Liberia in a hilly and luxuriant landscape.

Arrival in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, the only African country which has never been either a colony or a protectorate. Liberia was founded by the Krio, freed slaves brought back from America to Africa. Krio represent 5% of the population. They are considered the creators of the Nation and the main actors of modern economy and politics. 80% of the population speaks Krio a sort of American English “Pidgin”.
Our ocean-view hotel is the best starting point to visit town. Freemasonry has a great impact on the history of Liberia and Krio culture. Visit of the Grand Masonic Temple imposing building. A symbol of Monrovia is what left of the Ducor Palace, inaugurated in 1960 was one of the first five stars hotels in Africa. Located on a rocky hill in the highest point of Monrovia, dominate the whole town and the bay. The hotel hosted events and parties of the African elite at the time of independences. In the large pool facing the ocean Idi Amin used to swim caring his pistol at the belt while his friend Miriam Makeba was singing. During and after the civil war the building was looted several times, the hotel is now abandoned and closed, but seeking the right permission, we may be able to visit it. In 2008 the government made a deal with Ghaddafi to rebuild this hotel, however the project, as many other Libyan development projects, never came to conclusion thanks to the war that Europe and America started to overthrow Ghaddafi.
The building of the National Museum is a display of Krio architecture. In the museum we discover a large collection of ancient masks and ritual objects and a photographic show about the long civil wars which took place between 1989 and 2003. Old colonial buildings, stone Krio churches will be also part of this intriguing town visit.

In most parts of Africa, the masks are male’s prerogative, however among the Mende people and neighbouring populations the Bundo masks are a female’s domain, and have a crucial role in the girl initiation rites. We reach a village to attend the exit of the masks, an event that calls a colourful crowd.
Mano river is a natural border between Liberia and Sierra Leone.
After the border formalities we will continue a spectacular new road in the forest to the town of Bo.

Diamond seeking is as addictive as gambling at least, the possibility of finding a “fortune” can become true, just for few most lucky. Diamonds have played an important role in the recent troubled history of the country. The quantity and quality of “stones” still to be find is important. We reach a village. After asking permission to the chief some villagers will take us to the site where we can meet the diamond seekers. A local person explains us the technics of artisanal mining and “sand washing”.
Drive to the Atlantic coast, at the village of Kent we will leave our vehicles to board on a boat for a brief navigation to Banana Island.

Full day circumnavigating, exploring and walking to discover a pristine paradise such as mountains, primary forests, villages and remote tiny beaches. For the most active travellers a 2-hour hike in the forest or continue the circumnavigation of the island.