"Liberia 1999" Top 5 Page for this destination Liberia by jacobzoethout

Liberia Travel Guide: 54 reviews and 149 photos

We arrived for the first time at the Liberian border on Saturday, March 20th, 1999. A red taxi with a Mossi driver from Burkina Faso took us to the border. We had stayed in Tabou, the most western town at the coast of Cote d'Ivoire, and wanted to cross the border and spend the Sunday in Harper, a city on the Liberian coast. We crossed the border river in a pirogue. However, we failed to enter the country, waiting all day in the heat at the customs office. The Liberian customs officers wouldn't let us in, although our visa were allright.
Three days later, on Tuesday, March 23th, we did succeed. We went from Danane to the Liberian border with public transport, in a minibus. Packed together like a can of sardines. It was terribly uncomfortable. But all the Liberians in the bus were so joyfull, singing spirituals and hymns all the time, without knowing each other. They were returning to their country, sometimes after spending many years in diaspora.

Ganta children behind church window

We crossed the border and Moussa, a very good taxi driver, brought us and Rev. Stevens, who we had met at the bus station in Danane, to Ganta. The road led us through thick rainforests. Our only problem was at a roadblock at Sanniquelli. The officers there really didn't treat us friendly. However, in the end, they let us pass and we arrived in Ganta, a town in Nimba county at the Guinee border.

Ganta children

Ganta was a very dark town. There was no electricity; Ganta was a city of oil lamps and candles. We had our electric torches. There was no functioning hotel in Ganta. However, our new friend Rev. Stevens arranged a two night stay with the Lutheran community in Ganta. Those people were very welcoming and the next day, they showed us their town. We visited the hospital where people did their jobs with great effort and with minor means. They made us feel guilty for having so much for so little.
All day long we walked around in Ganta, meeting people and making friends. We even met the mayor of Ganta, Mrs Millar. In the evening, we ate in the only restaurant of Ganta, a very good one, together with some of our new friends. We exchanged adresses and hoped to see each other in the future. The next day we left Liberia and went back to Danane in Cote d'Ivoire

Last visit to Liberia: Mar 1999
Intro Updated Jan 1, 2008
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Reviews (12)

Ganta Town Things to Do (9)

Ganta is a town in Nimba County, in the north eastern part of Liberia. We stayed two nights and one day in the town. We... more travel advice

Villages Things to Do (9)

There are many villages between the border and Ganta. The village children , not used to European people, shouted “White... more travel advice

Liberia, road through the forests - Liberia

Rainforests Things to Do (9)

The northeastern part of Liberia is still a rainforest area. This is still the case, even though timber exports... more travel advice

The best restaurant In Ganta Restaurants (1)

This was the only functioning restaurant in Ganta; a place for expats mainly. We had dinner in this place twice,... more travel advice

Hotels (1)
No hotel in Ganta

Transportation (1)
A taxi from the border

Travelogues (1)

Written Mar 25, 2007

8 photos

Pictures of Ganta

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Comments (6)

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taigaa001 Aug 17, 2011 at 5:44 AM

Africa is my blind spot. I appreciate your work.
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SLLiew Dec 24, 2007 at 8:13 PM

Enjoyed reading about your trip to Liberia. Cheers, SL :)
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CuriousGRL Jul 24, 2007 at 9:32 PM

Nice pictures! How interesting to see the places you went too...why did you go to Liberia and the other 2 African countries...was it with a church trip or with an excursion?
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freya_heaven May 24, 2005 at 5:02 AM

Nice story of the children & your camera, great to see more pages about the more "off the beaten track" African countries. Very interesting read Jacob, thanks! (~_~)
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sachara Mar 24, 2005 at 11:22 PM

Interesting information ! I have also some experiences in West Africa with roadblocks, curfew and problems with the 'officials', but the local people instead were always very helpful and hospitable.
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jessicadf Mar 24, 2005 at 2:37 PM

Oh, this has the promise of a very interesting page!