Africa's Atlantic Coast & Canary Islands

Nestled at the foot of Table Mountain and flanked by Devil's Peak and Lion's Head, Cape Town is known by South Africans simply as 'the Cape,' an acknowledgment of its uniqueness and its status as the Mother City. The first area to be settled by Europeans in the 17th century, it is today a major seaport and the legislative capital of South Africa.  

Travel at sea before heading to Luderitz, Namibia. Enjoy the onboard amenities or just lounge and relax. 

In 1883, a German businessman, Adolf Luderitz, purchased a parcel of land enclosing a small bay for purposes of speculation. The so-called Skeleton Coast had limited potential in many ways, being largely made up of the shifting sands of the Namib Desert. Then, in 1906, a local railway worker noticed an oddly sparkly stone beside the tracks. It proved to be a diamond, and it became clear that there were many like it lying literally on the surface of the sands. By 1909 a diamond rush was in full sway, and a thriving, German-styled town called Kolmanskop sprouted out of the desert to house the gem-seekers. When the easy pickings ended, the townspeople simply walked away, and the desert climate preserved the town as it was slowly engulfed by the shifting sands. Today it makes an evocative and haunting place to visit. The bay still hosts a bounty of wildlife as well, including seals, whales and flamingos. Other endeavors have started, too, such as the culture of delicious oysters in the clean, cold ocean waters.

Its name in Afrikaans means "Whale Bay," but those days are long gone. Today its dramatic setting is inseparable from any impression of this deep-water port on Namibia's desolate, but beautiful "Skeleton Coast." Here the undulating dunes of the Namib Desert meet the sea, and its lagoon is spangled with white pelicans, pink flamingos and other seabirds. Up the coast road is Dune Seven, the highest along Namibia's coast, and a great place to take off your shoes and feel some sand between your toes after your Atlantic crossing.

Enjoy the onboard amenities or just lounge and relax. 

If you are a “pollywog,” who has never crossed the line at sea, you will be expected to undergo a mock trial by King Neptune and his court for the entertainment of the “shellbacks” who have already done so. Mild but hilarious indignities will be conjured, and in the end a good time will be had by most, if not all.

Cotonou is a busy port that serves both Benin and neighboring Togo. Although Porto-Novo is officially Benin’s capital, Cotonou is the economic heart of the nation, which stretches northward inland from the Bight of Benin. The city’s red-and-white Cathedral of Notre Dame and the twin white minarets of its mosque stand out about the low-lying cityscape. But in the teeming Grand Marché de Dantokpa, there is a thriving fetish market showing the continued popularity of traditional animist Vodun religion. Every sort of native botanical product and mummified portions of a wide variety of African wildlife are actively traded in this quarter of the city’s main marketplace. The Fondation Zinsou is a museum of contemporary African art. Two nearby attractions make this a fascinating stop. The stilt-village of Ganvie in Lake Nokoue is a unique offshore community where residents live practically their whole lives without touching dry land. Their houses are on stilts, and even the youngest children are gleefully acclimated to swimming and darting about in boats. The town of Ouidah down the coast was an important Portuguese colony where slaves were exported for the farms of Brazil. An old Portuguese Fortress is there, as well as an intriguing Vodun temple dedicated to python snakes which live in the temple. All told, Cotonou is a very unusual port of call with memorable highlights. 

Tema port is about 25 km from Ghana’s teeming capital. The cultures of West Africa share a traditional propensity to be busy. It’s exciting and can be dazzling to newcomers. Accra is a bustling, colorful city where everybody is rather joyfully struggling to get ahead. Enjoy it. The oldest section, Jamestown, is centered around the 17th century James Fort, where the British converted a traditional market for precious metals to a trade in slaves. Climb the red-and-white lighthouse for a view of the busy city. Visit the National Museum to get a glimpse of the elaborate and very ancient cultures of Ghana through exhibits of art and artifacts. Then survey Independence Square, and its memorial to the independent nation’s first leader Kwame Nkrumah.  Once your pulse is up to speed, perhaps venture into the sea of humanity that is the Makola Market. The Artists Alliance gallery contains works in every medium imaginable from the fertile community of Ghanaian artists. The ANO Centre for Cultural Research is another place to discover the rich vein of creativity that runs from antiquity into today’s culture. A more vivid example can be experienced at Labadi Beach, where enterprising entertainers, venders and artists gather to ply their trades among the visitors from neighboring luxury hotels. Like the pulsing, jazzy Ghanaian popular music, the beat of Accra is fast-paced and insistent, but full of joy.

Like much of West Africa, Togo is a result of European colonial disruption of long-standing African kingdoms. Togo’s long, thin territory reflects its history as a trade franchise for Germany, which controlled the coastline and plundered the interior. The country’s citizenry is made up of 40 ethnic groups. Blessed with broad golden beaches and a sunny, warm climate, Togo is a favorite of European vacationers. The huge Grand Market distributes everything required for life in the city. The picturesque and fragrant Akodessewa fetish market dispenses all sorts of botanicals and mummified animal parts to the 51 percent of Togo’s population who are practitioners of Vodun or other native animist religions. It is the largest such market in Africa and draws devotees from all over the continent. The smaller Centre Artisanal offers handcrafts. The National Museum is a good place to learn more about the history and cultures of Togo, with displays of traditional jewelry, clothing, pottery, sculpture and musical instruments.  Modernist monuments around town include the Independence Memorial and the Peace Dove Monument, while the tall steeples of the red-and-white Cathedral are a memorial of German colonial occupation. The city’s pace is slower and more relaxed than other West African capitals, and the golden sands of Lomé and Aneho beaches invite you to admire the rolling sapphire surf from the Gulf of Guinea. 

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The Gambia takes its name from the river that runs through it. In fact the nation consists largely of the river and a narrow band of riparian land on either side of it. The smallest nation on the African mainland, it is only 30 miles wide at its broadest point, and surrounded on three sides by Senegal. The capital of Banjul, formerly known as Bathurst, slumbers on small St. Mary’s Island near the river’s mouth. The town’s life centers around the bustling Albert Market, where nearly everything is traded in any (or several) of the country’s five official languages, plus French and English. The National Museum is a good place to get a look at the historic and ethnographic makeup. South of the town is Abuko Nature Reserve, a 180-acre section of savannah forest preserved in 1968 through the efforts of the country’s first forest officer, Eddie Brewer. The reserve is a good place to see examples of the native fauna including several species of monkeys, hyenas, antelope, and reptiles including crocodiles and monitor lizards. It also attracts more than 270 species of birds.

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Santiago is the largest of the Cape Verde islands, and nearly half the nation’s population lives on the island. Originally volcanic, Santiago is unusually fertile, and agriculture is an important part of the islands’ economy. The Cape Verde Islands only won their independence from Portugal in 1974, following a violent revolution. The nation is struggling valiantly to progress after a repressive history. Accordingly visitors will notice a striking difference in development between it and many of its neighbors. The Cape Verdeans, though, are friendly and optimistic, and welcoming to visitors. The old capital, formerly known as Cidade Velha, has been renamed Ribeira Grande de Santiago, which was its name when it was an important port in the infamous slave trade. Dating from 1466, it was the first European colonial settlement in the Tropics. Visitors will notice a cluster of well-restored colonial-period houses, as well as a monument to the original pelourinho, or pillory where slaves were both punished and sold. This area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The most important city on the Cape Verde island of Sao Vicente, Mindelo originally thrived as a coal depot for steamships plying the Atlantic. With the advent of diesel engines, its importance waned, although it is still an important port for the maritime trade. The island is volcanic, dry and mostly low. The town has replica of Lisbon’s Belem Tower, located near the fish market, in an interesting part of the city. The late Cape Verdean singer Cesaria Evora started her career singing in the taverns of Mindelo, and later brought the uniquely lilting CapeVerdean form of fado music to the world through her bestselling records and concert tours.

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Las Palmas is a large Spanish city, which just happens to be on the island of Gran Canaria. That fact adds the exotic, slightly African and international flavor to the place. It played an important part in the early exploration and exploitation of Africa and the New World, some of which is recounted in the Casa de Colon Museum. Columbus may have slept there, but it was never his house. It was actually the mansion of early governors. Other museums of note are the Museo Canaria with a number of Cro Magnon skulls, and the fascinating Elder Museum of Science and Technology. For shopping, strolling and general local interest, head to La Vegueta, the oldest quarter and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the adjacent Triana high street shopping district. Most visitors are here for the beaches, and the municipal Playa de Las Canteras is a long, clean and safe option if that is your intention. The Canaria in the name of the islands refers to the indigenous Presa Canaria breed of dogs, which are large, strong and made quite an impression on the earliest Spanish visitors.

Lanzarote is the northernmost of the Canary Islands, often known as "volcano island." Its capital is Arrecife, a quiet town of about 30,000 inhabitants. Present day Lanzarote consists of two quite distinct massifs: Famara in the north, and Los Ajaches in the south, where centuries of erosion have sculpted abrupt cliffs and deep ravines, contrasting sharply with the smoothly rounded hills of the island's central region.

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Casablanca, located on the Atlantic coast, is with 4 million inhabitants Morocco's largest city, and at the same time the largest port in Africa. Built on the site of ancient Phoenician Anfa, it remained a small fishing village for many centuries until the French arrived in 1912. Since then Casablanca has become a vast modern city, ever on the increase since Morocco's independence from France in 1956. A successful blend of oriental-style, white cubic dwellings with modern Moroccan quarters gives the city an interesting flair. Lovely beaches and attractive hotels make for a popular year-round holiday resort. To help understand Moroccan culture a visit to the Medina, the quaint old Moorish quarter, is a must for all visitors.

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One of the most vibrant and cosmopolitan African cities, the Senegalese capital bears many visual reminders of its past as a French colonial outpost. Despite the Parisian-style boulevards and buildings, however, there is a distinctly African feel to the city. Bankers and executives can be seen going about their businesses dressed in the flamboyant traditional Grand Boubou costume, and women wear the feminine version with an equally striking headpiece. The common language is French, although many citizens may also speak as many as five or six ethnic languages, since the whole coast of West Africa has been steeped in a heritage of mutual trade for centuries. Among the many sights and sounds greeting visitors, none is more evocative and sobering than a visit to Goree Island and its House of Slaves. This fortress, just offshore of the city waterfront, displays many reminders of the brutal trade in human beings, including an unimposing doorway, set just above the waterline in the seaside wall, identified simply as the “Door of No Return.”

Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is said to have been founded by the Phoenicians, and was once the rival of the powerful states of Venice and Genoa for control of the Mediterranean trade. Today, it is Spain's second largest city and has long rivaled, even surpassed Madrid in industry and commerce. The medieval atmosphere of the Gothic Quarter and the elegant boulevards combine to make the city one of Europe's most beautiful. Barcelona's active cultural life and heritage brought forth such greats as the architect Antonio Gaudi, the painter Joan Miro, and Pablo Picasso, who spent his formative years here. Other famous native Catalan artists include cellist Pau Casals, surrealist Salvador Dali, and opera singers Montserrat Caballe and Josep Carreras. Barcelona accomplished a long-cherished goal with the opportunity to host the Olympics in 1992. This big event prompted a massive building program and created a focal point of the world's attention.