Posted by Seth on January 3, 2011 under Trip Reports | 
It is now the new year, with new goals and new milestones on the horizon. But not too late to take a quick look back at 2010 and the travel milestones I hit during the year. Not surprisingly, the more I travel the harder it is to reach new and different accomplishments. Indeed, 2010 had many fewer than 2009, though in a couple categories it surpassed the previous year.
Perhaps the most significant numbers of the year are the total amount of time in the air:
- 151 segments
- 208378 miles
- 18 days 13:31
Those numbers are “butt-in-seat” and based on the distances between the starting and ending airport as calculated on www.openflights.org. They do not include 500 mile minimums or the like. In most cases the durations are based on wheels up to wheels down as tracked by the appropriate authorities, not the block time of the flight or estimates. The 208K miles is the most ever for me in a calendar year as is the 151 segments.
Of the 151 segments flown, more than half (86, to be precise) were routes I had not flown previously. It is certainly becoming more and more difficult to find new ways to get to different places but I continue to try. New lines and new dots are still of value to me and I’m finding that I’m paying a bit more to get them.
I also passed through 77 airports during the year located in 18 different countries. I actually Immigrated 31 different times, including the various times I returned to the United States. On four of my trips there were multiple foreign countries involved.
I visited 15 distinct countries, plus the USA. Eight of those countries (St. Maarten, Sint Martin, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Togo, Guyana, Morocco and Tunisia) were new to me. Two of the crossings (into Togo and back into Ghana were on foot while the Sint Martin/St. Maarten crossing were by car; The others were all by plane. I also added a new state visited – Idaho – to my list even though I drove over from Spokane to get there rather than flying in.
My travels included flying on 24 different airlines (possibly a few more if regional/express carriers are included by I’m not great at tracking those). Of those 24, 13 were airlines I had not previously flown on (AC, AT, BA, BD, BE, HA, LC, RW, SN, TGY, VS, YV & YX). Again, it is getting much harder to find new ones at reasonable prices but I’m doing my best, including a couple booked for the early part of 2011.
None of my milestones north, south, east or west were new extremes for me this year. Nor was my longest flight (SYD-SFO) longer than previous records. I did get a new shortest flight for my list, one that will almost certainly never be broken.
Somewhat amazingly, of the 151 flights I only had three instances where I was struck by operations so irregular that they caused a missed flight. One of them – during my JetBlue AYCJ adventures wasn’t a big deal and I got back on track without really missing anything along the way. Two others – a US Airways delay out of Belgium and a Royal Air Maroc fiasco in Casablanca – caused me to overnight unexpectedly. The US Air incident wasn’t so bad but the Air Maroc one was pretty awful.
Finally, I managed to pick up five new aircraft types during the year. My favorite was probably the smallest, the Cessna 208 Caravan I, though the
| Saab SF340 was fun, too, and the Embraer 175LR was the best ride of them all.
And I got robbed once where the guy took money directly from my hands and probably a couple more times due to bad negotiating skills in markets. At least I robbed the guy who physically took the cash out of my hand back. |
And while I sit on the airplane now, enjoying a flight from Lufthansa into Frankfurt and on to Munich, I realize that I may only be three days into the new year but I’ve already got a new line for my map and tomorrow will bring another one, along with a rubber duckie souvenir. Not a bad way to start the year.
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Tags: Air Canada, bmi, British Airways, Brussels, Dominican Republic, Embraer, FlyBE, Flying, Ghana, Guyana, LoganAir, Lufthansa, Morocco, Togo, Tunisia, Virgin Atlantic
Posted by Seth on August 24, 2010 under Trip Reports |
Spend enough time driving in Ghana and you’ll be singing this Bob Seger ditty, too. In my case it only took about an hour for the tune to percolate to the top of my head. Why? Because we’d endured two or three traffic “checkpoints” by then and, well, they mostly seemed to be shake downs.
I’m sure that there are plenty of typical traffic laws in Ghana. Things like no speeding, stay on your side of the road and mostly stay in a straight line. And we were mostly doing those things.There are taxes and registrations that need to be paid as well, and my driver had all of those covered and current. The stickers were right on the windshield. Still, we kept getting stopped and kept having to talk our way out of “fines.”
No seatbelts for part of the trip (I’m actually a bit surprised they worked at all) and apparently that’s an offense. Still, we actually had them on for most of the trip and the attempted fines kept coming. They also insisted on checking the trunk several times. I have no idea what they were looking for or what the rules are about carrying cargo, but apparently they take them somewhat seriously.
At one point an officer showed us a speed on a radar gun. I would guess that it was pretty accurate, but I honestly cannot say that I had seen a speed limit sign for at least 20 or 30 minutes at that point, so I’m not sure we were actually speeding. Still, my driver had the wonderful opportunity to get out of the car and chat with the officers. The speeding ‘violation” conversation ultimately was explained back to me in rather simple terms:
I told them that 85 [km/h] isn’t really speeding. Going 100 or 120 would be speeding but 85 is just normal driving. Once they realized I wasn’t going to pay they waved me on.
Of course, the whole conversation happened out of earshot and likely in a language I have no comprehension of, but my driver didn’t seem all that upset about the outcome so if it was anything else he did a pretty good job of hiding it.
At one of the stops the officer notices a couple small bills in my driver’s shirt pocket, maybe a total of CH¢5 (~USD$3.50). Some comments were exchanged and eventually one of the GH¢2 notes disappeared. The driver simply shook his head, chuckled a bit and we continued our drive. That was actually the only time there was actually a payment, but not for a lack of effort on the part of the cops.
Ultimately, the opportunity to get out of town and to see the countryside and get photos like these was worth a few extra Cedis and probably worth the hassle, too. Especially because the officers were so willing to talk to the white guy and see what I was willing to say.
Oh, and I got to sing this a bit…
Posted by Seth on August 19, 2010 under Trip Reports |
After crossing the border between Aflao, Ghana and Lomé, Togo twice last week I have come to the conclusion that granola bars are incredibly valuable currency. The chocolates were good, too, but maybe too much as I think I overstepped my bounds with that gift. Oh, and the value of the Ghanaian Cedi is still the same. These are the lessons I took away from my little jaunt to Africa.
I understand the concept of a little gift, just to grease the skids. It is a way of life in many places and, indeed, in many places that don’t want to admit it. So I wasn’t all that surprised when I approached the immigration official at the border in Aflao, Ghana and she asked me what I had brought her as a gift. Okay, I was I little surprised. She caught me off guard and all I could think of that I had other than cash – and there was NO WAY that was going to happen – was a couple granola bars that I always have in my bag. They’re light, cheap (especially when pilfered from the Continental Presidents Club) and can generally be trusted to hold me over if I’m on the road and don’t have time to stop for a meal. And in this case they also made “F”, the immigration officer, very happy. We joked a bit, talked about where I was from and I thought nothing more of the incident.
Fast forward about 20 hours as I’m passing from Lomé back to Aflao. “F” is sitting at the same desk when I walk in to the building.
Hellooo, New York. Do you have any more granola bars for me??
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Posted by Seth on August 17, 2010 under Trip Reports |
Wrapping up my main afternoon in Accra, Ghana I headed back to my hotel, the Afia Beach Hotel. Located just west of Independence Square on the water front the hotel is a good combination of price (rooms started at USD$65/night) and quality. The restaurant on property offered up both local and western dishes that were tasty and the 625ml beers were only GH¢3.25 (~USD$2.25) so having a few through the afternoon was hardly a bad deal. The hotel sits on a small bluff up from the beach, providing easy access for a walk in the sand or soaking your toes in the Bight of Benin if the fancy strikes you. The beach is not a swimming beach at all though it is used as a regular thoroughfare and gym for many of the locals.
Sitting on one of the benches at the hotel, reading my Kindle and drinking my beer, I was treated to watching locals playing a bit of footie out in the sand. Not real matches but guys out running and exercising, working on some ball handling skills and otherwise just having some fun as the sun went down on another lovely afternoon in Ghana.
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Posted by Seth on August 16, 2010 under Trip Reports |
Although not rich in traditional tourist attractions, Accra, Ghana still presents a number of sights and activities for visitors. Maybe not enough to consume several days on the ground, but plenty to fill an afternoon or two. And when all else fails, the people watching opportunities are spectacular. The people I met were wonderfully welcoming and friendly, if not a bit over-eager to take a few extra cedi off a tourist. Still, the exchange rate is reasonable enough that it wasn’t too much of a problem.
One of the best known sites in town is Independence Square. The square is really just a large parade grounds, with some bleachers surrounding the vast central area. Used mostly for rallies and such, the square is often deserted making for some interesting photo opportunities. There is also a memorial in the square and Independence Arch in the traffic circle just inland form the square. Not really a ton to see, but it is one of the main landmarks in the city and certainly worth paying a visit. Don’t be scared off should one of the security suggest that photos are prohibited and try to exact a fine from you. Your choice whether to fight it or pay the couple cedi, but either way you’ll likely be fine. I was also fortunate to meet a few other tourists while snapping photos at the arch, a rather fortuitous meeting in the end.
The most popular neighborhood in town is Osu. Just inland from the shore and north of Independence Square, Osu has shops, restaurants and residences covering a broad swath of the populace but mostly in the middle-class range. Lots of tourists out and about in the area and plenty of shopping and dining choices, from local fast food to some more upscale restaurants that are still reasonable values. I had both lunch and dinner in the area and both meals were quite good. The dinner was at Buka, a more upscale shop that I chose mostly due to it being listed in the Brussels Air in-flight magazine. Great grilled fish, start to finish. Watch out on the salsas. They were HOT.
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Posted by Seth on August 9, 2010 under Trip Reports |
I’m throwing in the towel. Conceding defeat. Packing up an going home (well, not until tomorrow). Lomé, Togo has defeated me and my irrational sense of invincibility. Indeed, I now have precisely one country on my “do not return” list and Togo is it.
Maybe it is because of the schmucks who tried to rob me while I was getting my visa in order at the border. Sure, that was partly my fault. I played right in to their game. At least they were bad at it and I managed to catch them and recover the cash. Still, not a great way to start a visit.
Maybe because the border crossing experience – even before the attempted robbery – made a Tijuana to San Diego crossing 20 years ago look organized and functional. And my memory was that it was anything but. The guy in charge walked off twice with no explanation, once while holding my passport. At one point another guy, this one in civilian clothes, just sat down at the desk and started processing the visas himself rather than wait. Oh, and their idea of records is a paper ledger. Nothing electronic to be seen.
Maybe it is because the best thing to do in downtown is to hang out on the beachfront promenade and apparently that’s too dangerous to do on my own as a white guy here.
Maybe because going out alone after dark is considered ridiculously unwise.
Okay, I knew that last one before I got here so maybe I shouldn’t hold that against the place since I made the choice to visit anyways. Still, it seems that he cards are heavily stacked against anyone who wants to visit Togo without an organized tour. And I’m not entirely convinced that would help enough to make it worthwhile.
I leave in the morning. It cannot come quickly enough. The Fetish Market was cool (photos and details from that coming tomorrow) but I’m not sure it makes up for the rest of the experience. At one point while planning this trip I considered taking the midnight flight from Lome to Accra but I wrote it off as a silly move and depriving myself of the overnight experience here. I now believe I would have rather enjoyed such deprivation.
In short, Togo has earned a place on my “do not return” list. It is currently the only country on that list. Even Trinidad is just on the “dislike” side of the ledger, not all the way to the “never again” column.
p.s. – Mom & Dad, I know you’re likely reading this. I’m fine. Really. A bit bitter and annoyed, but I’m fine.
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Posted by Seth on August 9, 2010 under Trip Reports |
As we finally pulled in to the parking lot in Aflao, on the border between Ghana and Togo, the crowds grew and touts started clamoring at our car. Clearly being the white guy made me a target. It was an unfortunate end to what was otherwise quite a nice ride across the eastern edge of Ghana. The road is mostly paved, and the parts that aren’t are under repair. There wasn’t too much traffic, though part of that is because we got out of Accra early this morning and beat the local mess that occurs daily. And there were cute little towns every five or ten kilometers along the way.
Okay, calling them towns may be a bit of a stretch, but there are clusters of buildings, some more permanent than others, nestled alongside the road and a decent number of people generally milling about in between them.
I got to cross the Volta river (no photos; the side rails are too high and get in the way). I also saw people with all sorts of stuff stacked on their head, on carts, on bikes and on motorcycles making their way into or between the towns.
There were cows crossing the traffic, people working the fields, folks in the rice paddies and even a group of guys out freshwater fishing. Truly a little bit of everything going on.
Oh, and kids are always cute.
The ride to Togo was great, I wish I could say the same about my stay there, though that story will have to wait for another day. Suffice it to say I now have a country on my “never again” list; that’s a first for me. At least the photos mostly came out well.
Posted by Seth on August 8, 2010 under Trip Reports |
I’m sitting in my hotel room in Accra, Ghana and I’m pretty sure I don’t even need the air conditioning that they offer. It is mid-August in equatorial Africa. How is it possible that the weather is actually wonderful? My entire understanding of the world is unraveling in ways I did not think possible.
Initial impressions of Accra are very positive. The airport is decent enough for the amount of traffic it serves. The collection of Gulfstream jets with US registrations was interesting, to be certain, but there is plenty of money here so I’m not all that surprised. And the hotel sent a guy to pick me up at the airport so I didn’t have to negotiate with the taxi touts other than to get them out of my way. Very enjoyable initial experience.
Arrival at the hotel – Afia African Village – was handled very well and within 10 minutes of arrival I had my toes in the ocean, enjoying the sand and water. Lots of locals out on the beach. Some were doing laundry, some commuting and some dancing and exercising and just hanging out with friends. Everyone had a good time.
They say not to drink the water here – some even caution against the local bottled water. Given the options available I’m not really one to argue with such logic. I just pop open a nice cold Star Lager and enjoy what comes along. And then another when it is time for dinner.
Quite a nice dinner it was, too. Local fresh tilapia and banku. The waiter thought I was a bit strange for ordering the local dish but it was quite delicious. The fish was cooked to perfection and the the banku was, well, interesting. Somewhere between grits, polenta and a lead weight, it is definitely a filling grain source. I can understand why it is so popular based on its ability to fill a stomach. And with the local hot sauce drizzled on top it even has a bit of flavor that isn’t horrible. I wouldn’t want to try to live on the stuff, but as a side dish to go with a great fish it is certainly a good option.
And to come full circle from the beginning of the post, the weather. It is wonderful. A bit warm when I arrived but the hotel is right on the beach where a breeze keeps things tolerable. And once the sun went down the temperature dropped with it. Sitting at dinner it was almost cool out. Africa is full of surprises and I’m just getting started. Off to Togo tomorrow and more fun there!
Posted by Seth on June 24, 2010 under Trip Reports |
I travel a decent amount, but apparently not particularly broadly. I thought my list of 40+ countries visited so far was pretty decent but with my most recent booking I’m also realizing that perhaps I’ve visited as many as I have because they have been relatively easy. And then along came a deal that I couldn’t say no to.
I needed to be in San Juan, Puerto Rico in mid-August. Airfare was running around $300ish round-trip. Not great but reasonable for the route. I was pretty close to booking that trip until I noticed that there was, perhaps, a similarly priced deal that would get me a ton more frequent flyer points. Instead of just flying to San Juan and back I’ll be flying in via San Francisco, Chicago, Brussels, Accra and Philadelphia.
Yeah, I’m going from New York City to Puerto Rico via Ghana.
This won’t be my first trip to Africa – I visited Egypt over Christmas last year – but it certainly will be the first trip into what I consider a “hard” country to visit. Among other things, the list of vaccinations required is pretty significant. Typhoid, Tetanus, Hepatitis A & B, Meningococcal Meningitis and – the big one – Yellow Fever. So on Tuesday I found myself hopping between clinics, getting vaccinated and giving blood to test antibody levels for some vaccines. I’m guessing that I’ll need a few more shots in a couple weeks when I get home, but the big one has been taken care of. I got my Yellow Fever vaccination and the certification card that will serve me for the next 10 years.
I’m not a huge fan of needles, but if this is what it takes for me to explore Ghana, Benin and Togo in August and other more adventurous destinations in the coming years, so be it. My obsession with travel is much, much stronger than my aversion to needles.
Tags: Accra, Belgium, Chicago, Egypt, Flying, frequent flyer, Ghana, New York, New York City, Philadelphia, points, Puerto Rico, San Francisco
