The Ivory Coast

May 17, 2023

We had a short visit to the Ivory Coast, or Cote d’Ivoire. The visit was short because we docked 4 hours late for some unknown reason and the scheduled tours had to be shortened so we could sail on time later that evening. Instead of going on a scheduled tour, we decided instead to take a shuttle bus into an area known as the Plateau in Abidjan to do a little exploring.

Our first stop was St Paul’s Cathedral, one of the largest in the world. It was designed by the Italian architect Aldo Spirito in 1980, was consecrated by Pope John Paul II and serves as the main church for the Archdiocese of Abdijan.

One of the more notable things about the cathedral is the immense stained-glass windows. Because the windows are so large, they let a lot of light into the church. Another thing to note: the windows’ religious imagery is placed in African settings. There are, for instances, scenes with elephants in them. 

After exploring the Cathedral we stopped off for lunch.  The restaurant, L’Ambassadeur, at the Hotel Tiama was French.

There are quite a few French restaurants in town largely due to the fact that the Ivory Coast was once a French colony. Anyway we had a delightful lunch complete with wine. 

Then we caught the shuttle back to the ship which was being given a touch-up painting by the crew and by 5:00 PM we sailed away toward Dakar, Senegal, our next port of call. 

JFB

Takoradi, Ghana

May 16, 2023

We arrived in Ghana, officially known as the Republic of Ghana, on May 15. Located on the West Coast of Africa, Ghana was the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence from colonial rule on March 6, 1957. Ghana is the second largest cocoa producer in the world, and claims that it produces the best quality cocoa. It has a growing oil industry, is a major exporter of gold and has large deposits of bauxite, manganese and diamonds. 

Ghana is classified as a lower middle income country. It also has a medium Gini  coefficient of 43.5 signifying a  relatively benign distribution of income. Per Capita income expressed in terms of Purchasing Power Parity is just under $7,000, about 2.5 times that of  neighboring Togo.  

When Mary Anne and I got there it poured rain, so our tour was kind of attenuated. But from our vantage point, Ghana looked like a fairly poor, but developing, country. There was the usual assortment of shacks, and a limited number of top hotels. One hotel we visited was billed as a 5 star hotel and we saw African dancers perform in native costume. Another aspect of the continuing story of West Africa is that the people with whom we came into contact were very friendly.  

Ghana is generally regarded as a stable democracy. But it wasn’t easy getting there. Its first President as an independent state was was Kwame Nkrumah who ruled as president and prime minister from 1957 to 1966. Nkrumah was an authoritarian leader however and aligned himself with Mao Tse Tung’s China. He was deposed in a military coup in 1966.

Nkrumah eventually became known as Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and formed the Kwame Nkrumah Technological Institute, dedicated to teaching his theories of communism and socialism. 

Ghana seems to be on the right track, but it has a lot of challenges, not the least of which is the influence China seems to have in Africa with its belt and road initiative. We can only wish Ghanians well.

JFB

A Voodoo Ceremony in Togo 

May 15, 2023

We sailed into Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, on Sunday May 14 to witness a Voodoo ceremony in a village named Sanguera. In a way it was a study in the contrasts that are endemic to so many African countries. 

On the one hand we witnessed a Voodoo ceremony that included energetic, almost frenzied dancing in which the participants supposedly went into trances. One goal of the ceremony was to serve as protection against witchcraft.

At the same time, a native professional photographer was there, complete with pro equipment, to photograph the proceedings. And it looked like plenty of villagers had smart phones, regardless of what any witches thought.  

Throughout the villagers were extraordinarily friendly and welcoming. They, as well as virtually any other Togolese people with whom we came into contact, or even just passed by as we drove along on a tour bus, smiled and waved. The people to all outward appearances, are just plain friendly. 

What is really surprising is that Togo ranks dead last in the UN Happiness Index. Perhaps it is because Togo is a desperately poor country with a Per Capita GDP of only about $2,600 expressed in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). Anti-poverty protests in 2017 resulted in a crackdown by security forces. 

Another factor could be the nature of the government. Essentially it’s a one-party state. The current president, Faure Gnasssingbe, took over after his father’s death in 2005. His father became president in 1967 and by 1969 banned opposition political parties. Regardless, what we was a group of very warm and friendly people.

We did have a bit of an altercation with the local gendarmes on the way back to the ship from the Voodoo ceremony. It seems that the bus driver was accused of going through a red light.

The police held up our party of maybe 30 people; a crowd gathered while we sat and waited and there was plenty of shouting back and forth between our security guard and the police. Eventually they got it sorted out, which probably means a bribe, and we made it back to the ship. 

Now we head off for the Ivory Coast.

JFB  

Sao Tome & Principe

May 13, 2023

We arrived in Sao Tome, the capital city of Sao Tome and Principe, on May 12, 2023. Sao Tome and Principe is a tiny island country with a population of about 225,000. The country achieved its independence in 1975 and promptly declared itself to be ”a revolutionary front of democratic, anti-neo-colonialists, and anti-imperialist forces.’’ (See the NY Times at this link).

Shortly afterward then President Manuel Pinta Da Costa, a Marxist, nationalized the country’s cocoa plantations and put them under state management. It should be noted that President Da Costa had studied economics in Cuba and East Germany. 

To the surprise of roughly nobody this side of rationality,  cocoa production collapsed. Since cocoa was the principal source of Sao Tome and Principe’s foreign exchange earnings, this was a problem. Combine that with the collapse of the Soviet Union and by 1990 democratic reforms began.

But even after reforms, Sao Tome and Principe remains a lower middle income country.  Real GDP Per Capita is estimated to be about $4,400. Recent growth rates have been between 2% and 3%. The unemployment rate is about 15% and  inflation, according to the latest available statistics (2017 & 2018), has been running between 5.6% to 7.8%. 

The literacy rate is high at just under 94%. The median age of the population is 19 years old. The government owns 90% of the land. There is still a corruption problem that impedes economic advancement. 

Mary Anne and I went on a tour that included the capital city of Sao Tome, a coffee museum situated on the island’s largest coffee plantation, a fort turned into a museum, and a cathedral. We also stopped at the island’s only 5 star hotel for lunch and saw local dancers and performers in native costume. 

The people were very friendly. But quite a few young people, according to our guide, are moving out, primarily to Portugal. Portugal and Sao Tome and Principe maintain good relations. In fact Portugal, has a gun boat standing guard in Sao Tome’s harbor.

So it was good to see the country, and its going to interesting to see how things turn out.

JFB

Pirates!  

We recently have learned a few things about pirates in the Atlantic Ocean – yes that’s right, the Atlantic.  

Apparently, piracy is big business off the West coast of Africa, as cargo ships with refined petroleum pass through these waters.  Several African countries on the West coast are rich in oil, and ship it through the Gulf of Guinea.  

Highly organized pirates board these ships, which often have small crews (therefore easy to control).  The pirates use weapons to force the crew to stop the ship (or, if the ship is already anchored, to turn over control).  Then, the ship turns into an illegal bunkering stop  – other ships can obtain the fuel from the pirates for a price much lower than obtaining it legally at a port.   Once the fuel vessel is empty, the pirates move on to the next fuel vessel and repeat the process.  

In the past, when fuel prices on the legal market dropped, the pirates would ransom crew members instead of selling fuel, as it was more profitable to collect ransom. 

Government corruption appears to be heavily involved in this petro-piracy, either through government action/inaction in conjunction with the pirates, or through corruption in general.  In this latter instance, the pirates take matters into their own hands to grab “their share” of the wealth.  

An excellent article from March 2022 on this issue can be found at:

https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/piracy-gulf-guinea/

As oil production around the world changes in the future, petro-piracy is an issue about which we may hear more.   

MA

Cape Town, South Africa

May 9, 2023

We flew into Cape Town from Durbin on May 5 at the conclusion of our Safari. Then we headed off the next day on a half-day tour of the city. Last time we were in Cape Town (back in 2018) we didn’t think much of the place. In fact we were amazed at the number of people who told us that Cape Town was their favorite city. 

When we went on tour this time we were very pleasantly surprised. The city had its gleaming office towers and apartment buildings, elegant modern homes in the coastal areas, and bars and restaurants galore. We concluded that we just visited the wrong parts of the city the last go around. 

A bit surprising because we had stayed in a first rate hotel. In fact, one of the best. We must have just made a wrong turn. Some sections we visited this time were just a few blocks away.

Not that the country South Africa, and the city Cape Town, don’t have their problems. They do. The South African rate of unemployment is estimated at anywhere from 30% to 40%. (Nobody really knows for sure what the real number is).

The population of South Africa is about 60 million people. It has the 39^th largest economy in the world and is classified as a newly industrialized economy. It has the most technologically advanced economy on the African continent. But crime, poverty and inequality are widespread. 

Some of the problems most likely stem from apartheid, which came to an end in 1994. There are also governance problems. Even though it is now a democratic state, South African politics is essentially a one party state, dominated by the African National Congress.  One party states are typically fonts of corruption and poor governance. (Note: see Chicago, Illinois). But transitioning to a full fledged democracy from an authoritarian state to one that respects the rule of law, property rights and due process was never going to be easy. 

The hope for South Africa is that it can emulate the courage and vision of its modern founder, Nelson Mandela, and complete its transition to an advanced liberal democracy.  

When Mary Anne and I toured the city we spent most of the time on Table Mountain, so named because it looks like a table because the top of it is flat.

One thing we did was to take a cable car to the mountain top and hike around a bit. The view from the top was truly spectacular. We also visited some coastal areas as well as the center of the city. It is now no longer a mystery to us why so many people are so enamored of Cape Town. 

JFB

Zululand, South Africa

May 8, 2023

When we arrived in South Africa, we immediately went by van to Phinda Forest Lodge for a photo safari (we were part of a group of 8 passengers from the ship).   Phinda is one of the many lodges owned by a company called “&Beyond” which promotes sustainable travel in natural places that need to be conserved.  It is an interesting company founded by members of the Getty family and South African investors, and the business model includes alliances with local Zulu tribes, local landowners and others.  

Over the course of 3 days we went on 5 game drives.  Before we even snapped animal pictures, we learned a lot about the area and its history – it is partly a sand forest (rare), partly grasslands, partly woodland and partly wetland.   With this diverse ecosystem Phinda has trees, bushes, plants, spiders, birds, orchids, cacti and animals not found anywhere else on the planet.   The scenery was stunning. With the help of an extraordinary ranger and tracker team (Dan and Bheki) we explored it all.  

The game drives were great, and each lasted a lot longer than expected, because we found so many animals – lions (and lionesses), elephants (alone and in a big herd) , giraffes (ditto), zebras, white rhino, hippos, leopards, a cheetah, Cape buffalo, antelope, nyalas, wildebeests, warthogs, suni (tiny deer), monkeys, lizards, turtles, spiders, birds, etc.    And we saw lots of babies (lion cubs, elephant and giraffe calves, etc.), too.  

Phinda Forest Lodge was great – 16 large glass-walled cabins, lovely staff members, beautiful outdoor dining areas where we enjoyed incredible candle-lit dinners near roaring fires (it was cool and dark by 6:30 pm), and guides to get you from dinner back to your cabin after dark, as animals roam freely throughout the area.  

Joe took a lot of pictures, and tried to capture the feeling of being in Africa, in the bush.   It was an incredible experience, and we would go on another safari in a heartbeat!  

Now, off to check out the West coast of Africa, starting down in Namibia, with the world’s oldest dessert.   

Best wishes to all, 

Joe and MA

More Pics Below

Maputo, Mozambique

May 7, 2023

We just finished—wait for it—a pirate drill. Apparently we are about to enter a high-risk area (HRA) for piracy. Not something you see every day. 

Anyway, we arrived in Maputo, Mozambique on Monday, May 1^st. Now officially known as the Republic of Mozambique, it has a population of 30 million people. The country is well endowed with natural resources, particularly natural gas. But corruption is endemic and the country remains one of the poorest in the world. Its main industries are fishing and tourism and the spread between rich and poor is one of the widest in the world. 

The country gained its independence from Portugal in 1975 and immediately changed its name to the People’s Republic of Mozambique, then named streets after Mao Tse Tung, Ho Chi Minh and Karl Marx, which goes a long way toward explaining its economic condition. 

Within 2 years after gaining independence in 1975 a civil war broke out and lasted until 1992, at which time the ‘People’s” bit was dropped and the country’s name was changed to the Republic of Mozambique. Since then there has been some liberalization, economic growth has been a blistering 8% or so and thousands of state enterprises have been sold off. But the damage from experiments in Marxism-Leninism and years of civiil war have taken their toll and it will take a while for the country to become truly prosperous. 

Mary Anne and I took a half-day tour around the capital, Maputo. As it turns out, it was a national holiday called Worker’s Day, I suppose in sympathy with May Day in Europe. We saw demonstrations of solidarity in the center of town where we visited the train station. We also saw the outside of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. 

The city though, was dilapidated and the signs of its poverty were everywhere. One big problem is that the school system is an admitted disaster and the adult literacy rate is only around 60%—with 74% male literacy and only 45% female literacy. Mozambique has a lot of work to do if it is going to substantially improve its condition. 

Joe