Our entrance into the port in Tema (about 20 minutes East of the capital, Accra) and subsequent berthing (not birthing) at dock 11 was greeted by a whole Ghanaian band, all dressed to the nines in red, green, gold and black and beating furiously on their drums in rhythms my Western ears couldn’t even begin to process. They must have invited their friends, too, because they had set up about 10 tents full of souveniers literally 50 feet from the exit of the ship. Images of Moroccan vendors flashed through my mind the first day as we ran from the ship to the transfer buses to Accra. Shouts of “my friend! My friend!” chased us into the bus as the doors closed. As the bus took off, we noticed a police escort, complete with sirens and lights and everything. We learned that there are only two things that necessitate police escorts: GBC-TV (the state-run TV network) vans running to a breaking story and buses full of white tourists. Almost immediately it was evident how highly many Ghanaians hold their faith. Most trucks have bumper stickers with interesting phrases, my favorites of which include “lies are not good” and the gem “clap nicely for Jesus.” Makes me wonder what happens if I clap meanly…
My first day was spent wandering the streets of Accra with AJ (from Michigan) and John (from Boulder, CO) to experience the famous markets we had read about. These markets looked less like a cultural fair full of handmade goods than the entire contents of Wal-mart had spilled out onto the street. The same vendors were selling toothbrushes, women’s underwear and refrigerators. Sounds like a great place to have our first Ghanaian meal, right? I chose fufu, basically a giant dumpling in sauce comparable in heat to the lava coming out of a volcano (more on that in a minute). Now this restaurant was not the worst place I’ve ever seen (read: it had a roof) but it certainly wasn’t five stars…or four…or three…you get it. Prior to our arrival, the physician on-board gives a presentation about health concerns in each destination. For Ghana, this included graphic pictures of the joys of parasites from drinking dirty water. The waitress at the restaurant took our order, and after we had been instructed about the necessity of Jesus in our lives by the lady at the next table, brought out our food, complete with silverware IN A DOG BOWL FULL OF TAP WATER. Let that sink in. That was about the point we realized this place was a bit different.
Our afternoon was spent at the Centre for National Culture. It was a center, full of Ghanaians, who had cultural things. But the sum of all of its parts was not what I had pictured as a center of national culture. It was a series of shacks with lovely handmade goods as well as the most eager people you have ever seen. As soon as we got out of the taxi, we were SWARMED by about 15 people all dragging us to their drum/art/whoknowswhatelse store. We settled on the drums and were treated to a private lesson as well as performance. We made it out relatively unscathed, but in the true spirit of this trip, several cedi lighter.
On day two we hired a private car and driver to go to Cape Coast, the site of several slave castles where slaves were held before their shipment to the Americas. One of them, Cape Coast Castle, was a site President Obama visited on his first trip to Africa. It was a very moving experience and although I’m far removed from those events, the atrocities that human beings are capable of committing were appalling to see. On the third day, AJ and I went on an SAS tour of the Wli waterfall (the tallest in Ghana) and a sanctuary for Mona monkeys. We assumed we would take pictures, smile and laugh at the monkeys’ silly antics and get back on the bus. That’s when the guide starting handing out bananas and the monkeys starting jumping on us and peeling and eating them on our arms. I was an especially favorable target due to my height and apparent resemblance to a tree. The bus broke down on the drive home but it was still a wonderful day.
The fourth day was primarily an errand day around Tema. We went to the post office, found internet (WAY easier than Morocco) and did some last minute shopping. Ghana was definitely an interesting experience, and not quite what I pictured of West Africa, but that seems to be the theme of the voyage. We’re less than a day away from South Africa…stay tuned!
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