2020 GeoEx Catalog

West Africa

MysticalWest Africa  TRADITIONS, VOODOO, AND CRAFT TOURING | 13 DAYS · GROUP AND CUSTOM

MICHELE BURGESS / ALAMY

A bewitching dance through Benin, Togo, and Ghana, this unusual voyage dips us comfortably in the truths and beauty of West Africa. From rain forest and swampland to ocean and coastline, we witness extremes— the Abomey royal courtyard, for example, built from clay and slave blood, contrasts with the stunning stilt village of Ganvie, bubbling with joyful children and standing over water ever fertile with fish. Through distinctive ceremo- nies, like the powerful, shape-shifting Egun mask dance, we learn the importance of textiles, handicraft, and color to West African tradition. In the spiritual capital of voodoo, Ouidah, the high priest welcomes us to a ceremony and sheds light on the notion that “in your churches you pray to God; in our voodoo shrine we become God!” We are further capti- vated as we momentarily immerse ourselves in the lives of fishermen who exist in rhythm with the seasons, the wild challenge of the ocean. We meet a more contemporary side of West Africa in Lomé, Togo’s capital, exploring its cosmopolitan, com- plex life and art and fetish markets. En route to Kumasi, Ghana, we wind through villages in which age-old crafts like glass bead making are still practiced, testaments to the

enchanting traditions that are West Africa. We visit Elmina’s slave castles, where doomed souls experienced their last hours on their home continent, and walk suspension bridges through the canopy of Kakum National Park. Once in Accra, we spend time at the National Museum of Ghana, an opportunity to deepen our under- standing of African history. In the old quarter of James Town, we appreciate vibrant fantasy coffins, sculptures that exemplify fruit, animals, and even vehicles—works of art resplendent with the imagination of their makers.

group trips from $9565 apr. 24–may 6; oct. 9–21 also offered as custom trip year-round

Day 1  arrive in Cotonou, Benin  ✦  2  drive to Ganvie and Ketou  ✦ 3  Gelede and Egun mask dances  ✦  4  on to Ouidah  ✦  5  pirogue excursion, Zangbeto ceremony  ✦  6  drive into Togo to Lomé, voodoo rituals  ✦  7  fetish market, on to Akosombo, Ghana  ✦  8  craft villages  ✦  9  drive to Kumasi, Ashanti funeral  ✦  10  Akwasidae Festival  ✦ 11  on to Elmina  ✦  12  drive to Accra via Kakum National Park  ✦  13  Accra, depart.

BELOW  Zangbetos (guardians of the night in the Yoruba religion) travel to a voodoo ceremony, Benin.  ABOVE  Batik textile, Ghana.

CHRISTOPHE COURTEAU / MINDEN PICTURES