COO | Jason Around the World

Lomé, Togo to Niamey, Niger and Hotel Terminus in Niamey

Airports, Flights, hotels, Niger, Restaurants, Togo, West Africa 2012 No Responses »

Nov 012013

My driver showed up right on time in the morning, and soon we were off to the airport. About one or two miles into the drive, the car started going slower and slower…and slower…until it completely stopped. I asked what the problem was, and the driver said he didn’t know…but it seemed pretty clear to me that this had happened to him before. He just pulled over to the side of the rode, and flagged down a passing taxi.

He loaded my bags into the new taxi, and said we would go together to the airport. I am guessing since I was paying him a good rate, he wanted to settle at a lower rate with the replacement driver, so he came along. Clearly, the new driver was pro-America:

No problems at all, and soon we were at the airport post office to mail my post cards. After I got them mailed, the original driver walked me over to the terminal so I could check in. I settled the bill, got a passport check by a security guy, x-ray of my bags, and was in the check-in area. While I was waiting to check in, there was a very loud (and apparently drunk) man yelling at the security officers. It seemed, he was claiming, that someone had planted drugs on him and security found them. Of course, they were asking him to pay a fine on the spot or turn him over to the police…

Finally got to the front of the check-in line, and they said the flight had some problems, and was not open for check-in. Please step aside for 15 minutes. ut oh…are we going to cancel? I went back up to the counter 15 minutes later, and checked in no problem. Who knows what the original drama was about.

Cotonou, Benin to Accra, Ghana on Air Cote d’Ivoire

Airports, Benin, Flights, Ghana, hotels, West Africa 2012 No Responses »

Oct 182013

Up nice and early to get to the airport well in advance of our flight. In most places, I don’t take airlines’ recommended check-in times too seriously, but in Africa I definitely do. Corrupt immigration officials are often looking for any excuse to “fine” you, and I didn’t want to take any chances.

One last word about the Novotel hotel, since I realised I haven’t mentioned the breakfast yet. We had asked the night before and they told us it opened at 6am, but when we got down there around 6:45 it wasn’t yet open. Turns out it was 7am on weekends, but the helpful staff member just told us to be seated and help ourselves – they were still bringing food but we were welcome to get started. Very nice! Lots of fruits, breads, cold cuts, etc, and made to order eggs – quite a decent breakfast spread. More than enough to get fueled for the day.

Got to the airport roughly two hours before scheduled departure time, which turned out to be more than enough. There was a bit of a line for check in, but approximately 15 minutes later we had checked one bag each, and were walking around the corner to immigration. No questions at all from immigration, a quick stamp, and we were at security. There was a small business lounge before security, and according to the Priority Pass app they would accept it…we decided to try. No problem at all, and John was able to access with a Canadian AmEx card for some reason. Unlimited booze in the lounge and a few tiny munchies, but more importantly an air-conditioned comfy place to wait for the flight.

30 minutes or so later, it was downstairs, through a quick security check, and time to walk out to the plane:

It wasn’t reassuring that this plane was parked right next to ours, LOL!

…and this ancient L1011 was parked just a short way away!

Brussels to Cotonou, Benin on Brussels Airlines and night in Cotonou

Airports, Belgium, Benin, West Africa 2012 No Responses »

Oct 172013

So, up the next morning to try again. Hopefully after nearly a 24 hour delay I would finally make it to Benin this time. Unfortunately, I had only planned 36 hours in Benin, which was now reduced to basically one evening. Kind of disappointing, but somethings things just don’t work out. It’ll be an excuse to get back to Benin another time!

Down to the hotel lobby to check out after a good night’s sleep, and had a box of chocolates and an apology letter from Brussels Airlines waiting. Better than a kick in the face I suppose!

Brussels had arranged a special bus for the passengers to the airport, but I wanted to get there a little earlier so just took the regular hotel shuttle. No problems at all checking in, quickly through security, a little bit of caffeine at Starbucks, and soon I was in the lounge waiting for the flight. Now, the flight being over two hours earlier today was nice because it would give me a bit of time in Benin, but bad because I almost felt bad sampling some of Belgium’s finest in the lounge. The guilt lasted all of zero seconds, and it was time to sample! A Leffe Bruin to start:

Followed by a delicious Hoegaarden:

There was a pain au chocolate or two as well, but I must have forgotten a picture. Off to the gate shortly, and time to board.

Brussels Airlines special flight 1255
Brussels, Belgium (BRU) to Cotonou, Benin (COO) continuing onto Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Depart 11:30, Arrive 17:10, Flight Time 6:40
Airbus A330-300, Registration OO-SFW, Manufactured 1994, Seat 3A (solo aisle)

I was excited to be back on this plane, because I really like the configuration…as long as I get one of the solo seats. It’s kind of odd, because the solo business class seats are SO much better than the pairs….unless you’re traveling with someone I suppose. A couple of cabin shots to show how the seats are staggered:

Two trips to West Africa

Airports, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Flights, Francophone West Africa 2012, Ghana, Niger, Togo No Responses »

Sep 162013

I know, I know…I’ve gotten way behind. A few weeks ago I was in Nigeria (country #137 visited) for a few days with a friend and I owe a trip report for that one which I promise to get done soon. All in all, it was a great trip!

Next trip is coming in just a couple of weeks. It started as a trip to see the same friend while he does work in two more countries (Benin and Ghana) and I figured, while in the neighbourhood, I’d see a few more places. Now, it’s turned into a six country trip adding Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Niger to the list. The rough plan is:

One major challenge will be that a couple of the tickets can only be bought locally, so we will see if I manage to sort out all the plane tickets. Of course, there’s also the issue that flights in this part of the world don’t always run so on time, so there will be that too. Also, this assumes I manage to get all six visas on time. It’s also the most number of airlines I’ve ever taken on one trip I think:

Air Canada
Lufthansa
Brussels Airlines
Air Cote d’Ivoire
ASKY
Air Burkina
SWISS
United

Of course, assuming everything works out….that will bring the total country count up to 143 visited…only 53 to go!