Cape Coast

The car rental was for a trip that Kwasi, Charles, a friend of Kwasi's from Chicago home for break, Andrea, Chandra and I went on to Cape Coast, about two hours west of Accra.



Cape coast castle was a major holding station in the transatlantic slave trade, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.






The scenery was extremely beautiful on the coast, in contrast to the very somber museum, which is the first stop on the tour.


For me, it was reminiscent of visiting a concentration camp when I was in Germany in 2003.

One difference was that the tour guide after the museum was full of jokes, some slightly less appropriate than others. That sort of lightened the atmosphere, although I guess I would have preferred to feel the weight of the moment instead.




Inside, the holding rooms were very dark, and it would have been very crowded. For the tour of about 20 people, some of the rooms where they would hold two to three times as many people already seemed desperately hot, claustrophobic and overwhelming.















They have a small library there for anyone to come and read. Interestingly I saw this sign there:

Music in Ghana

You cannot go the day with out hearing this song



it is everywhere, in pubs, as ringtones, in the gas station, catching your ear as you ride in a taxi.

Ringing in the new year

Like Christmas, New Years Eve is more about church than anything else here in Ghana.

Victoria and Ako spent NYE at their church from 8 to 2am. The rest of the family spent it at home.

Akwasi and I, after a long day, decided to head to Shakes, the spot we first visited the night we arrived, where many of his high school friends hang out. It was just like any other night except for at about 12:15 we realized it was the first and toasted. In all it was a great night, no ball or MTV countdown, no hype, no worries about special outfits or cover charges. Just friends and beer.

Happy New Year!

Vacation on vacation

A few days, after trampsing (according to the urban dictionary that is a word) all over Accra we've been so tired and sweaty, we needed to jump in a pool. So we did.

At most hotels here you can pay to use the pool and facilities.

Golden Tulip Hotel was where we crashed for a few hours and did hand stands and flips in the water, with the other ten year-olds.

Although the hotel was nice with the pool, air conditioning and wireless, we agreed that we were glad we weren't staying there. You don't get a feel for the city in the sheltered compound of the hotel, or even with in walking distance from it.

Traffic, roads and speed bumps

Once, I think I was in seventh grade, a teacher explained the concept of deadlock.I never fully understood how that actually could happen, until I got to Ghana.

While there are areas of Accra that have traffic lights, most of the places we drove did not. No lights and no stop signs makes for very aggressive and very defensive driving.

One thing that helps slow things down is major speed bumps and pot holes; although we frequently travel five in a car, which means the bottom of the car takes a beating.

In all areas there are constant, what Akwasi called, hockers.

Children, from what looked like eight and up, and adults alike sell everything: plantain chips, toilet paper, apples, loaves of bread and gum. As soon as you pull up to the light (or over on the side of the road), then hustle up to the window to showcase their products.

Although I hadn't seen on in Accra, in Tema there were also children dressed as clowns, collecting money on the side of the road in the same manner. Apparently that is a seasonal thing.

Rental cars here mostly come with a driver. To get one to drive on your own requires very expensive insurance. We rented an SUV with 6 seats besides the driver. For a day the car costs 120 cedis, plus twenty for the driver, plus gas, totaling about ~ 200 dollars.

A cheap way to get around is a trotro. These are small vans with as many seats as possible, that pick people up from the side of the road. Similar to a bus, but not as standardized; a taxi on a track of sorts. Usually there is one guy who hangs out the side of the van calling out for passengers, shouting the destination. The driver and passengers also use hand signals for where they are going, a short ways up the road, a longer ways up the road, downtown Accra, etc.


When the trotro isn't full, it's your best option. It varies, but the couple of trotros I've been on averaged about 20 cents for the cost of the ride.


When its full, it can get rather hot. And dusty.

In this ambulance sized trotro I rode at night, when you have to scramble just to get on one, there were twenty three people plus a crying child.

Pictures updated

I added some pictures to the post about the beach...

Run-off elections: Ghana decides 08

Having just experienced a presidential election in the US, it is great to be in Ghana for the run-off elections to compare.

Ghana's presidential elections occurred on December 7th, but there was a very close count, so neither the current governing party (New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo Addo) nor the opposition (National Democratic Congress, John Atta-Mills) obtained enough votes to win, so they are holding another election today.
Today, after four hours of church with Victoria, Adwoa, Akosua and Chandra, I went with Akosua to vote.

She was register at her university, so we had to drive almost an hour. We passed a few queues in different areas of Accra, but not as long as the line I stood in to vote on November 4th.

In general you are not allowed to photograph anything having to do with the military, or government, but it seems like as long as you ask the right person, it is OK. Akosua put on her smiley face and asked very politely.

Much of the elections seems similar, in fact the opposing party's had signs that were almost exactly like the blue Change posters for Obama, except in Green.

Differences: the election booths, and in general the whole process was outside. There were two cardboard election booths, and once you are cleared to vote by showing your voter registration card, they give you a ballot. The ballot showed two pictures, their names and a blank spot next to the name. Put your pointer finger in some ink, and vote with your fingerprint.


Additionally so that you cannot commit voter fraud, a designated finger is dipped in a different, more permanent ink. It is usually your pinky finger, and Adwoa's ink still remains on her nail from December 7th! Today, they inked the pointer finger.

Although I've been listening radio, and the TV has been on in every house and place we've visited today, and some have reported police stationed in various areas, I haven't heard or seen any of it.

Bloomberg.com noted:

The December vote, which coincided with parliamentary elections, was lauded by observer groups as free from the widespread unrest seen after elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Campaigning for the runoff has been less amicable, with both sides making vitriolic statements, ethnic slurs and threats of violence, Sebastian Spio-Garbrah, Middle East and Africa analyst at the New York-based Eurasia Group, said in a note to clients.

I haven't seen any of that. The most political thing I've seen was at the beach a group of people were chanting the party slogans.

Most of the Ghanaians I asked in the few days leading up to the election made a point of expressing that there wouldn't be anything to worry about, that Ghanaians were not known to cause commotion.

Safety first dad.