Our Silversea Expeditions “Adventure Cruise” on the Silver Wind continued with three days at sea after we departed the Republic of Congo, in part due to security concerns of kidnapping and piracy in Sao Tome & Principe, and there being literally no police or military back up should an issue having arose. But as they say, “Good things happen to those who wait”. And the added sea day made for the perfect timing of a – finally – Goldring Travel Culinary & Cultural Experience before an incredible (pun intended) of Voodoo!
Long before this “Adventure Cruise,” I had been working with Silversea to come up with something unique for Goldring Travel’s clients, but between security and health concerns in Western Africa, we were kind of stumped. However, Silversea did find an Angolan winery…yes, it exists…and I created an event around it.
A Portuguese man had some land near Namibe, Angola, and imported South African olive trees to start an olive oil business. However, the trees died, and so did the business. In an effort to salvage his investment, he imported some Portuguese vines and started a winery. He, however, marketed that because of the amazing climate that he could obtain two harvests a year from his vines. Now, those who know, know that the second harvest is never as good as the first, so it is an inexpensive way to get more juice…at the cost of quality.
So my hopes for this wine weren’t high, but I ordered enough to be delivered to the Silver Wind (with Silversea’s assistance) for a wine tasting and a souvenir bottle for each of my guests. (I mean, who wouldn’t want to proudly display a bottle of Angolan wine in their prestigious home collection?)
In preparing for my event with Maria, the head sommelier, we thought, “Hey, why not compare the Angolan wine with a Portuguese wine made with the same grape varietal?” Add that to a desire to otherwise have only African wines (South African, of course), and a fun wine tasting was born.
That got me thinking about pairing food with African cuisine. That got Executive Chef Pia (whom I have sailed with a few times) thinking. She tapped into the culinary ideas of the African staff onboard, and five African-inspired dishes were prepared, ranging from curries to chakalaka.
To be honest, there was no way this could be a serious food and wine pairing event, so the focus was on a little bit of education, a little bit of fun, and as much wine as each person wanted to consume…in a very elegant venue: La Dame. All three goals were achieved…and the Angolan wine went from “drinkable?” to, as it opened up, “not bad, but not good.”
After our third day at sea, it was time to spend time in Lome, Togo, and to really get “cultural” with an all-day All About Voodoo – Togo Cultural Experience. It was an indescribable experience that will take some time to really soak in. It involved four entirely different experiences with a Lake Togo-side lunch in the middle.
The first Vodun experience is what I guess many of us would assume to be a voodoo ceremony with fire, smoke, incantations, dancing, transes, convulsing people, and the constant beating of drums and other percussion instruments. Sensory overload in a good way. The faces of the men, women, children, and infants were, for me, all-consuming. Which way to look? How long to look? What was I missing?
And then a young boy looked at me and grabbed my finger softly…then tightly. Then he grabbed my hand and stood in front of me as I pretended to dance. And then his little feet started to move. Then he turned to me and asked me to pick him up. So charming… until he pointed to a plastic box with food in it. A woman, who I assume was his mother, gave that smile. And then it hit me, he was working his charm to get me to give him snacks. So much for a heartwarming end…though it was cute as heck.
It was eventually time to head to our second voodoo experience, an Egungun masquerade. Here, mystical “haystacks” (my term) dance around and eventually deliver something (a chicken, a goat, or, in our instance, shockingly, a little figurine that collects money). At the end, a rather sad-looking Rock Python magically appeared.
What was more enjoyable were the children who huddled around me and my girlfriend, first asking to have their pictures taken and then, eventually, using our phones to video the dances.
Interesting, but time to move on…and for lunch overlooking Lake Togo. The best part was the goat stew.
Our third experience was Maman Tchamba Vodun, which is associated with the ancestral spirits of slaves; another form of voodoo of the Ewe people. We met with a group of senior priestesses, who didn’t speak English, but our guide filled in the blanks.
The final experience was another Egungun masquerade, but this one is based upon the spirituality of, in the past, having left ancestors who died under trees rather than being buried. These spirits should not be forgotten. So if one of these “spirits” touches you, you will have evil. A couple of them were quite aggressive towards the villagers, whipping them with switches. That seems to be a joyful experience as young people scattered and ran down the dirt road trying to escape…only to return for more.
Meanwhile, the costumes, dancing, athleticism, and drumming were beyond entertaining. A definite, “You had to be there” experience.
Note: While minders kept these spirits away from the foreigners, somehow one was able to tap me with a stick, imparting evil. Shockingly, about 10 minutes later, I was chosen by the biggest and baddest of the spirits to give a donation to have the evil removed. For $5.00, it was worth it.
Even though it was a very long day, “The Safari Seven” – those in our group who had been on the Botswana Safari – decided to have dinner together in La Terrazza. We all could not believe it was only two weeks ago that it ended, as there has been so happening on this Adventure Cruise that it seems like it was an eternity since then. However, we also agreed that the safari really helped make the cruise more meaningful.
Very early the next morning, I went on a Bird Walk Along Lake Togo. It was not nearly as romantic as it sounded, and it was incredibly hot and humid. While I did enjoy myself, there were definitely two groups: Birders who should be on a long bird walk in the heat of Togo and those that either should not be out in the heat or a long walk or both.
The birding wasn’t that good, but there were things to be seen.
After my return, it was off to a local market on a shuttle arranged by Silversea. As always seems to be the case, there is a “minder”. As my girlfriend and I wanted (demanded?) to go deeper into the market, we had our own minder. It was a fun hour…and with the heat, definitely time to head back to the ship.
Next up: Our last destination: Ghana!
