ACCRA, Ghana

24 -27 March 2011

ACCRA

Staying at the Salvation Army hostel here in Accra, a lot about this place is very poor due to the careless attitude of the manager – another one of these belligerent Ghanaian women I occasionally encounter. But it is in Osu, which is an upmarket area with lots of restaurants, shopping etc and it only costs 6 cedis a night. There are 2 long term Ghanaian women here and the obruni (all european volunteers ) change every couple of nights as they

Perhaps you need a shoelace? This is the place to buy them!

pass through town to and from their villages. I spend a day acquainting myself with the supermarket, a salad bar restaurant and a few Fair Trade outlets here. The first night here I meet up with Alice Boateng, Ghana Girl Guides International Commissioner – she is very sweet - welcoming me home! She tells me about the Guide Training Centre and suggests I could stay out there but for the moment I prefer to stay inner city. Then she invites me to join in a camp there this coming weekend and I accept with pleasure. The next day I visit the Guide Headquarters which was not easy to find on the directions I had been given, but find it I did after circling the Accra’s main market a few times. I met with Emelia (Guides Executive Secretary) who confirms the camp arrangements and the site location etc. I visit the Nigerian embassy to ‘test the waters’ – if I return to morrow with my letter of invitation, flight itinerary from Abuja and required money. Yes please, that will be US$120 cash, $50 being the visa cost and an extra $70 because I am not a resident of Ghana!! I think I am becoming inured to these high visa costs and happily head off to create my invitation letter complete with letterhead and my supporting letter citing booked hotel reservations etc. It all looks good and the Nigerian staff seem to think so too because they take my passport, cash and paperwork telling me to return the next day at an appointed time between 2.30 and 3pm! Looks like I’ll be able to get to Nigeria to pick all those millions of dollars that bank president’s widow has promised me in her emails J

The coffins, the water seller and the cripple!

One day I travel out to Teshie to see a carpenter’s unique take on coffin making – pick your style: a beer or coke bottle perhaps? OR what about a bible if you were particularly religious (show me a Ghanaian who isn’t). It’s fabulous and I congratulate the proprietor on his imagination. Apparently tourists occasionally buy one to ship back to their home too, although the young lady I talked to all the way there was particularly worried because I was going to look at coffins. She thought that perhaps it would be bad luck. Accra is not big on attractions and even its museum is very light on interest. I volunteer one afternoon at a library to read stories to the kids there. Then another afternoon I visit Jamestown where a couple have set up a drop in centre for local kids. I chat with

Jamestown Lighthouse

another pom who is heading home the next day after staying a few weeks there with plans to return again next year after working and raising money for them. Actually there is no end to the places that people are volunteering here and I can see why because Ghana is well set up, easy to get around etc. But compared to other west african countries I have visited I have to wonder about whether this engenders an attitude that does seem endemic here in Ghana – help me because I cannot/will not/do not know how to help myself. Many times I am asked “you will help me go to Australia?” When I reply that no one helped me come to Africa, they say that “you have money””. When I tell them no one gave me money to visit Africa, that I had to work several jobs and save money for several years, they seem genuinely mystified.

FACT: Infant mortality rates are still quite high here in Ghana, with neonatal tetanus being one very preventable cause. Apparently there is ‘traditional’ custom of using cow dung to assist healing of the umbilical cord!!

These coffins are for the keen fisherfolk!

Ahhh a carpenter!

 

Ghanaian Coast 3

22/23 March 2011

CAPE COAST, Ghana

Cape Coast and further west is home to castles and forts that most notably were used for slave dungeons for the poor unfortunates, who numbered in their millions, destined for slavery over the centuries. I have to say my ‘white’ guilt is unavoidable when taking tours of these places, but end with the ‘Door of No Return’ being relabeled on the other side as the ‘Door of Return’ after some descendants were invited to return to symbolically ‘break the chain of slavery and re-enter the castle.

And Elmina nearby is home to the oldest surviving European building of any type in Africa and the most garish and curious Posuban shrines built by rival asafo! The asafo companies were traditionally responsible for the defence of their town and used the shrines to store arms and company regalia but nowadays are more involved with local politics. The posubans are certainly very odd things with some having scenes created in cement of Creation complete with Adam and Eve or a ship complete with sailors????? 

Cape Coast is very popular being only a couple of hours away from the capital. Plenty of tourists (local and os) and volunteers regularly visit here. AND I meet up with Heather and friends on the top floor of the hostel I am staying at. We head out for the evening as they farewell West Africa before flying home at the end of the week. I am indebted to Heather for her very kind gesture supplying me with her Nigerian residency info to aid & abet my visa application next week. Perhaps I may share a little of the millions awaiting me in Nigeria from that bank president’s wife… But alas another headache awaits me the next day – ahh the good life by the beach, cold beer, good food & music….. My attempts at sitting to write this blog are rather feeble this month!! Apologies to all my readers, looks like it will be overkill next month when I finally upload.

 

Cape Coast is very popular being only a couple of hours away from the capital. Plenty of tourists (local and os) and volunteers regularly visit here. AND I meet up with Heather and friends on the top floor of the hostel I am staying at. We head out for the evening as they farewell West Africa before flying home at the end of the week. I am indebted to Heather for her very kind gesture supplying me with her Nigerian residency info to aid & abet my visa application next week. Perhaps I may share a little of the millions awaiting me in Nigeria from that bank president’s wife…Eather and

FACT: The government here has now decided that some health campaigns may be the order of the day after nearly 500 cases of cholera have now been reported. I’m giving the street food a very wide berth nowadays. 

Ghanaian Coast 2

17/18/19/20/21 March 2011

BUSIA, Ghana – I’m in Heaven

Fortr Apollalina

It is all so easy here – reminds me of Legion in Bali years and years ago. Great beach, plenty of cheap little places to stay and lots of yummy cheap restaurants to eat at. There’s Frank the juice man, who offers to fill water bottle up with fresh mango/pineapple/whatever for a few cedis. There is a pancake shop where the banana pancake has a wrapped chocolate served on top to be spread after it has softened on the hot pancake. Transport from here is very frequent, so I make a few day trips out to Beyin, near the Cote d’Ivoire border to check their Apollonia Fort and a stilt village built over a very large lake. Eco tourism means that from my ‘entrance and camera fee’ the village receives 12% and 88% is going to nearby districts hmmm. As well if I would like the village chief to explain some of the history, then I should purchase a bottle of Gin to take as a gift. Hmm The trip includes being paddled out for nearly an hour along a lovely river lined with raffia palms and fish traps. After visiting, my guide asks me if I have any questions – I tell him I didn’t see any old people there. He replied that when you get too old to fish or contribute to the village, then you must leave! Methinks that their village society is missing out on a lot without grandparents around – very strange. Another day I travel out to Axim and their Fort and another day I walk over the hill to Butre where they are restoring their fort. I lunch at a beach restaurant and meet Mac, a hairdresser from England! Alas he doesn’t have his scissors with him as after nearly 3 months my hair is looking awful but he promises to text me the name and address of a hairdresser in Accra.  HeI advised me against trying someone local, unless I wanted my hair shaved off and then artificial hair braided into it – think I’ll give that a miss – not that it stops plenty of tourists and vollies from having their hair braided and seeing their scalps burned within a day or so as the pale skin is exposed to the sun as never before! We go looking for another place here in Butre and find it’s still being built by two lovely young poms. They bought the land with lots of dreams of what they could do on the riverfront and then found that they had not been sold access to the river! Mac sympathised as the same thing had happened to him whilst buying land near his wife’s village. When signing for the land an agreement (verbal) was made that the locals would no longer use the nearby grounds as a rubbish dump or public toilet – alas neither has ceased, making the walkway to their place most unpleasant. However after recently clearing the area in front of their place of rubbish, locals dobbed them in for illegally clearing the area!! Methinks that their stay is not very welcome but a meeting was to happen today with the tourism board, the village elders and themselves to try to come to some agreement. We wished them the best of luck and Mac headed back to his hut I headed back over the hill, armed with a stick in case of anyone jumping out of the bushes as I had been warned may happen “to a white woman” walking alone to and from Butre!

Lovely Girl Guides

With the Takoradi Guiding hierachy!!

One day I head in to nearby Takoradi to meet up with the Guiding Commissioner there, Regina AbaSelby, who picks me up in full Guide uniform. Her hospitality is wonderful - we visit 2 different schools where I meet the Guides and teach them to sing Kookaburra. They sing ‘a ram sam sam’ for me and SHINE – this requires that you rub your hands together briskly until you feel the heat. Then THUNDER is a clap, TWICE two claps then GIVE IT TO YOURSELF you wave your hands back over yourself to give yourself the LOVE! I am presented with gifts of a traditional boubou with scarf and a lovely wooden pen holder and we lunch together at a golf club overlooking the ocean! Just like another world really! Am I still in Africa – oh yes I am, it’s fresh tilapia fish and jollof rice for lunch mmmmm

Busia's main road

I find excuse after excuse to stay another day here in Busia – and one evening I join with other tourists at one of the popular bars to meet a couple of volunteers who have just finished their stint in Nigeria – meaning that they are officially still residents of Nigeria, even though they won’t be returning. I chat for a while with them and when they hear that I want to visit Nigeria Heather is happy to supply her resident’s card information for me to include on a ‘letter of invitation’ which may sway the officials into giving me that visa.

Busia's main beach - kept so clean!

FACT: Think of any Christian based church and I bet they are here in Ghana along with quite a few self styled evangelical outfits to boot. Instead of a mosque in every village or suburb, I’m seeing churches, assembly halls and divine meeting places everywhere here. Even the stilt village near Beyin had two very nice churches built above the lake. God is good, God is great and the nicest thing you can say to someone is “God bless you” – they love it!!!

Ghanaian Coast

15/16 March 2011

GREEN TURTLE LODGE and AKWEDAA, Ghana

Who knew? Why not indeed!

Akwedaa is a lovely fishing village and Green Turtle Lodge is an easy peasy tourist hangout – lots of tents to choose from, no bills until you check out and even a happy hour on cocktails here. I rent a mountain bike to ride out to Cape Three Points, as apparently it’s the “closest land mass to 0’00”, 0’00”. Great riding on the BEST bike I have ever rented overseas – gears and brakes work well and the tyres are great which is all good because there are certainly a few hills between the beach and the lighthouse along the road. No one around when I arrive, so I take the opportunity to lay out in the lovely hammock under a spreading tree and admire the view of crashing waves etc and take a nap! Soon enough the lighthouse keeper arrives and wants to chat. I head back into the village, find my way onto the beach and as its low tide I can push the bike over the firm sand. There are a heap of boys picking/cracking white nuts of some sort – when I ask where the girls are they tell me girls don’t do this work. But they offer me a coconut and open it for me – just imagine if you gave a grade 4 lad at home a machete and a coconut – would he have his hand left when he finished I wonder? Head on to another ‘resort’ run by Canadian/Ghanaians who have also set up a hotel in Busia – seems like all the foreigners are buying in around here. Good lunch of beans and pineapple flambe to finish! A big rest in one of their unique hammock/swings to watch the clouds roll in, the rain come and go and know that the dust on the road will be settled for my ride back. On entering the last village, Akwidaa plenty of kids ask to ride my bike – I offer it to a teenage girl who admits to not knowing how to ride a bike so I offer to help her. We head through the village with her in fits of laughter and me running and asking which way, which way as we twist and turn among the small laneways to get to the other side. Heading back to Green Turtle Lodge, I chat with another pommy couple who are heading back by taxi to Takoradi – I want to get as far as Agona junction town so we agree to split the costs. The only other alternative to get out of here is to walk back to Akwidaa, wait for a tro tro to fill up at Agona when it will drive out to Akwidaa, where you then enter and wait for it to fill up before it returns back to Agona, via Green Turtle Lodge where you pick up your luggage. So isolated and at the mercy of expensive taxi drivers to get in and out. I’m happier to be heading back to where I can move around to check out more of Ghana’s interesting and historic Gold Coast.

 

 

FACT: A Spot here is a drinking bar and a Chop Bar is a small restaurant with one or two dishes. Fan make yummy vanilla icecreams, frozen stawberry yogurts and frozen chocolate milks. They came direct to you on a pushbike ridden by young men with a bleating hooter – heaven when waiting for the tro tro to fill up at the lorry station. Or listen for the cries of EECE WORTERRRR – this is invariably a young girl with a huge bowl on her head carrying chilled sachets of pure water. Honestly I think that this waiting is primarily to increase the passengers’ expenditure cause everyone buys something to eat or drink while they are waiting, not to mention the medical cures, underpants, perfumes, belts, bread etc on offer, that continually circle the waiting tro tros looking for customers.

Kumasi, GHANA

12/13/14 March 2011

KUMASI, Ghana – Home of the Asanti

This is the land of African kings being carried about on palanquins, draped in gold. Two centuries ago their warriors declared wars on neighbouring lands to capture hapless victims who were sold further south to the slave traders in exchange for more guns. This is the Ashanti Region and Kumasi was the state capital for 3 centuries. The Asanti tradition is well and living around here – there is usually a funeral or celebration going on somewhere that requires dressing up in traditional robes by all who attend and certainly livens up the transport and countryside here. The Palace is still in use by the current King and their beliefs involve a golden stool (that you sit on) that was received from heaven, a myth believed by the British who annexed Kumasi in the early 1900s and made demands for it to be handed over. When the Asanti refused by handing a fake to Lord Baden-Powell, they exiled the King and King’s mother to the Seychelles! But I visited a sword embedded in rock that marks the spot where the said golden stool descended from the sky – it’s in the grounds of the hospital here, but to get there you have to pass the mortuary and that all pervading smell of formaldehyde – yuck!

The Palace museum and Cultural Centre are good, but the Armed Forces museum housed in a British fort was a little mundane, in spite of the fact of the Ghanaian’s involvement in both world wars and also as part of the UN peacekeeping force here in Africa. One exhibit had a ‘head beating club’ used during the 90’s Rwandan civil war – a large lump of wood, with many huge nails embedded in it..

Kumasi is also home to the biggest market in West Africa - Kejetia – the road beside it rises and from there you can see rows and rows and rows of makeshift roofs of stall after stall selling anything you may desire as long as it’s cheap or comes from China or you can eat it. Way too big if you are looking for anything in particular, and way too hot and enclosed to be enjoyable for sightseeing. A bit like Kumasi’s streets which are very crowded and busy, lined with advertisements for anything and everything, not to mention the bereavement posters and billboards. There have been a few articles in the papers lately decrying the costs of funerals and I can understand why – they seem to be used as an event for the deceased’s last effort at grandstanding and to impress all with generosity and benevolence. It will traditionally go on for a whole weekend with busloads of people turning up for the ‘event’.

I spend one day heading out to the Boabeng-Fiema monkey sanctuary – a couple of villages have a common forest and declared the resident Mona and Colobus monkeys there sacred. A great place, well organised with everyone very keen that you do see the monkeys and are informed about the history of the place. This includes the monkey burial ground, complete with little grave markers for each monkey that dies – The villagers perform a complete funeral service for these monkeys, including a coffin, shroud, libation and prayers by the fetish (traditional) priest!!

I am camping in the verdant and shady grounds of the Presbyterian Guesthouse here but on my last evening a huge storm blows up and my little tent is no match for the winds and rain. I dash everything to the large verandah and along with everything else I have, get soaked to the skin. I run out again in the rain to the security guard’s hut at the gate, where it takes a lot of knocking to rouse him from his cosy shelter, to tell him I need to take a room tonight. He spends quite a bit of time searching his hut while I wait outside (how hard can it be to find a key?) when he finally unearths a BROOM. OMG! We finally agree that I need a room, not a broom and I’m soon installed in a great room underneath a great fan that successfully dries off all I have including the tent in time for me to pack it all up to move on to the coast in the morning.

FACT: Newspapers are reporting a cholera outbreak here in the north with warnings from health officials for food to be prepared and served hygienically. hmm I’m not so sure any of this is sinking in to the food vendors around here….

Tamale, Ghana

9/10/11 March 2011

TAMALE, Ghana

Mariam

If I thought Bolga was hot, then Tamale is positively roasting – around 45C!! The Catholics come through again with a good guesthouse though and I make contact with the Girl Guides here AND retrieve my big bag back from World Vision without any problems. Mariama is the Region Leader for Tamale and is most appreciative of the bucket of shea butter as the Guides make soap as a fundraiser and the butter is expensive. Mariama puts me in touch with other leaders further south and we happily chat whilst lunching together. She has just returned from Accra and back at her place she waves her hands at piles of ‘Guiding stuff’. I reassure her that we are all the same in having piles of ‘things’ that we keep for Guiding or keep just in case it may be needed.

Nothing much to see here but a nice place to find what’s what here in Ghana – postage is cheap, newspapers and TV are in english and the bread is absolutely terrible – to think I was getting bored with crusty baguettes!! Here the choices of this soft, white spongy pap are tea bread, butter bread and sugar bread. I have no idea what the difference is between tea bread and butter bread, but the sugar bread is oh so sweet. But my new mate, Mariama shows me where I can buy brown bread here in Tamale!!

FACT: Teachers re on strike here because they have not been paid for 2 months after all being transferred to another salary structure. However the media is reporting that they are striking because they want more money. Yes, they want money – what is owed to them…..