The Gulf of Guinea Cities
The Gulf of Guinea is to be found on the north-eastern part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean of West Africa. This region 
The islands include Sao Tomé, Príncipe, Annobon and Bioko. The Gulf of Guinea includes several West African countries that border the Atlantic Ocean and these are Benin, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
The main rivers of this area are the Niger and the Congo River delta both have deposited organic sediments out to sea which is now rich in crude oil and natural gas. The Gulf of Guinea has become one of the top oil and natural gas hotspots for exploration in the world. This region is also rich in forestry and metal ore and mineral deposits.
The Gulf of Guinea: Cities.
Gulf of Guinea Cities: Accra – Capital City of Ghana
Accra has a large business centre and architecturally is an interesting mix of old buildings that reflect its colonial past and sky scrapers. A great place to visit is Oxford Street in Osu which is a giant roadside market packed with the trendiest bars, restaurants and shops. The streets are packed with market stalls selling a whole array of goods from clothes and jewellery to African prints.
Besides that, the bread balls, that are a bit donut like, known as boo-froot, although high in carbohydrates are truly delicious. There are stews all over the place such as groundnut, palm soup, okra and fish stew all served with little starchy balls known as banku. You can forget the diet in Accra because the wide choice of restaurants and street food are going to be just too tempting to keep motivated.
Gulf of Guinea Cities: Lomé – Capital City of Togo
Nowadays this vibrant and colourful city is Togo’s chief port and industrial center and exports coffee, copra, palm kernels and cocoa. Like many other cities of the Gulf of Guinea, Lomé has an oil refinery.
Lomé, has thriving markets selling all sorts of local wares, broad shopping streets a busy and vibrant night life and beautiful palm fringed beaches.
One market that is particularly interesting in Lomé is ‘The Marché des 
This market is a must see and is dedicated to the ingredients and practices of the old voodoo traditions which still thrive in West Africa.
There are many ready-made magical charms, but for the more adventurous, you can grind your own crocodile, monkey, vulture, owl or cat skulls with a mixture of herbs on the fire to produce a black powder. The chest of a person is then cut and the powder rubbed in.
You can buy charms that are said to cure a whole host of illnesses including breast cancer, help the infertile, protect houses and even bring bad luck to your enemies.
Gulf of Guinea Cities: Lagos – Mega City of Nigeria
Lagos in Nigeria, is the largest city in Africa, in fact forget large it is absolutely HUGE. The population is estimated 17.5 million people, however, unofficial census data claims that it is more like 21 million already, can you imagine that?
Lagos is more than a city though it is a conurbation divided roughly into the mainland, Greater Lagos and the Islands and includes many surrounding towns and districts making it a mega metropolis. With that amount of people milling around on a daily basis Lagos can be a very busy and frantic place to be – not best if you don’t like crowds.
However, with the mix of urban and beach life, combined with the sheer size of Lagos, the things to do and see are endless – from shopping, conservation parks, museums and city life to tranquil beaches, clubbing and water sports, literally the choice is yours.
Crime Rates
A city of this size, scale and population is bound to have some serious issues and although it has been claimed that 
According to the 2015 report from the United States Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) crime in Lagos remains at a critical level.
US tourists and residents have been the victims of armed robberies, burglaries, rape, kidnapping, assaults and many extortion scams both in person and through the internet.
Transport is a major concern due to a whole combination of factors such as poorly maintained roads and vehicles, non-adherence to traffic laws, flooding and the chance of hijacking in more remote areas. There is a vast inequality in Lagos between the extremely wealthy (there are over 9,500 millionaires in Lagos) and the extremely poor, endemic poverty is a major concern.
Despite these social issues however, many people travel to and enjoy this huge, diverse, sprawling city with its host of bars, restaurants, stunning beaches, islands and city life.
Gulf of Guinea Cities: Port Harcourt – Capital City of River States
Port Harcourt, the capital of River States, is the main oil-refining city and a major industrial center. However, amongst all the investors and government officials Port Harcourt boasts long stretches of beautiful beaches and stunning forests, streams and rivers.
Although this diverse city has a lot to offer tourists, up to March 2016 the UK government foreign travel advice 
This is due, in part, to the Lassa fever endemic in West Africa. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this virus will cause mild symptoms in around 80% of cases however, the remaining 20% can develop severe multisystem disease. Lassa fever is a significant cause of death in West Africa, especially when epidemics of the disease break out that can carry up to a 50% mortality rate.
Indeed, Lassa fever is a hemmorhagic viral disease carried by rats and passed to humans through food or objects that have been contaminated with the rat droppings. Lassa fever can also be transmitted human to human and through hospital contaminations.
Airports of the Gulf of Guinea
I am a little bit dubious about flying into the major airports of Nigeria as they are very, very large and often overcrowded, although Nigeria does have a total of 22 airports. In addition, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency charge quite a high price for foreign registered aircraft for every departure (around $3,000).
The charges for terminal navigation, landing and parking also have to be paid and these prices are not always 
Taking into account the high costs, including parking fees, charged at the larger airports I am thinking of maybe a smaller, satellite airport in this region. The only drawback is that I don’t really want to be landing too far off the beaten track in a different country. Anyway, lots to think about. Below is my research so far, that I will return to at some point soon, including some aerial shots of some of the airports in the Gulf of Guinea:-
Kotoka Airport: Accra
Accra is served by the large international airport, Kotoka which is situated around 10 kilometres from the downtown area of the city. Kotoka is Africa’s largest airport and is run by Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL). The airport opened in 2006 and began scheduled flights in 2007. By the year 2014 Kotoka airpot has seen 2.547 million passengers.
Operators from the airport include:-
Lomé Tokoin Airport: Togo
Lomé-Tokoin Airport is also called Gnassingbé Eyadéma International airport after the late president of Togo. The annual capacity for passengers is 700,000 and the airport has 20 check-in desks. In 2004 the airport had served 234,557 passengers.
Operators from this airport include:-
- Asky Airlines (has a hub at Lomé-Tokoin Airport)
- Africa West
- Afrigiyah Airways
Cargo
- Air Burkina
- Air France
- Horizon
- Ivoire
- Air Senegal International,
- Avirex Gabon
- Benin Golf Air
- Brussels Airlines
- DHL Air
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Royal Air Maroc,
- Toumaï Air Tchad
Cargo
The Cotonou Cadjehon Airport: Benin
Murtala Muhammed Airport: Lagos, Nigeria.
Benin Airport: Edo State of Nigeria
Port Harcourt International Airport: River States
Margaret Ekpo International Airport: Calabar
Douala International Airport: Cameroon
Bata Airport: Equatorial Guinea
Libreville Leon M’ba International Airport: Libreville, Gabon
Port-Gentil International Airport: Port-Gentil, Gabon.
A Bit about the New Owner of this Website
