The country of Ghana is one of Africa's success stories, and our port of call for today. Their economy has been stabilized with fast-paced developments as well. It is full of coastal forts, beautiful beaches, rich culture, and vibrant cities along with much wildlife. Cape Coast Castle was once the site of the world's most important slave-holding areas. Horrors of the trade are revealed in an hour long tour to see the dark and damp dungeons where the natives were brought two to twelve weeks before being transported overseas. On the other hand, the governor's house was blessed with floor to ceiling windows with panoramic views of the ocean. This excursion was not offered today.
What kind of food to they like here? Hot fiery sauces for one. Oily soups with rice, mashed cassava, baked plantains and yams are some of their favorites. There are lots of Chinese and Indian foods served here. The most common dish is ground nut stew, a spicy dish with ground nut paste and ginger over meat or fish.
Mole National Park offers the cheapest safaris in Africa with 300 species of birds, and 94 species of animals. Large numbers of elephant are there from December through April. You must go with an armed ranger to see them though. Too far for any of us to see from the port of Takoradi.
A random fact is that Ghana produces one-fifth of the world's cocoa beans, making it the world's 2nd largest producers. Does anyone know who is number one? We are not sure. Tours here included a visit to a cocoa farm for $200 for 4 ¾ hours. Twin cities of Takoradi and Sekundi was $280 for 3 ¾ hours, while Kakum Forest Canopy walkway was $390 for 7 ¼ hours. A very long day.
The Zuiderdam arrived late to the port of Takoradi today, like about 8am. It was already 84 degrees with very cloudy skies and humid as can be. The ship was docked starboard because there was an extensive safety drill involving the tender boats, which were dropped in the harbor. It is always interesting for us to watch these drills, knowing how qualified the crew is in case of an emergency.
Breakfast has become more fun as the days go by, because so much information is shared among us. It seems that the more precise details have come out involving the recent outbreak of the illness. Sadly, some of the elderly guests have been hit hard, due to dehydration. It can be deadly especially in this Equatorial heat. We also heard a story regarding one of the "foodie" tours in Luanda. One of the tasting items happened to be grubs….yes bugs. Those that indulged were very sick by the time they returned to the ship, and that was most everyone on the tour.
We left the ship after the safety drill finished at 10:30am. A craft market had been set up on the pier, contrary to what we had been told yesterday. This was much better, since many guests were able to find treasures within a short distance from the ship and did not need to take the small shuttle to downtown. One such lady had purchased a huge wood-carved elephant, then had it loaded on her motorized scooter and drove it up the gangway into the ship. She must either have unlimited shipping or lives in Florida near the pier. We will have to price that one out on the way back from our ride and check out all of the other offerings.
The small free shuttle needed two more customers, so we hopped in and squeezed into the last two seats. The ride through several gates took us out to the main road. Thank goodness it was a short ride. There were no taxis outside the gate as we had been told. And there was no stop at any hotel in town. The ride ended in the downtown area where a massive central market used to exist. The entire complex had been demolished since it had been condemned due to unsafe construction. It had been an accident waiting to happen we were told. A new stadium-like covered structure is being built, but it will be a long time before it is completed.
So the vendors that were once housed in the market, are now located outside in the streets with their wares partially covered with large umbrellas. Most of it is open-air. "Helter skelter" was the only way to describe the area once we left the shuttle. But wait…..there's more. Before being allowed to exit the bus, a local taxi boss announced that he could supply a $15 to $20 taxi ride for four people to Sekundi, a nearby fishing town. And there was no need to pay your driver until you returned to the shuttle stop. We don't know if he got many customers, as we wandered up the street to the outdoor market.
Perhaps not as bad as "squalor" as Greg described the town, this marketplace was a beehive of activity. And not the cleanest place we have ever been. We're guessing we hit this produce and clothing market at their busiest time – a Saturday where most locals shop for the weekend. It was an attack on the senses watching the most colorfully-dressed local ladies selling everything from veggies and fruit to already cooked chickens and fish. Nothing was covered and the meat and fish were full of flies. Seeing a pile of partially cooked and parted meat, we guessed it may have been goat meat. Perhaps the locals buy the meat, then cook it all day in a soup or stew.
For the most part, the ladies objected to having us take photos of their fish and chicken on display without being covered. They balked and waved their arms as we walked by. Meaning no harm, we better ask first before filming anything. Many of these young women were nice, but those that objected were quite rude to all of us that walked past them. I felt that I might be wearing one of the smelly fishes unless we dropped the camera in our pocket. Now the local men pretty much sat on the sidewalks watching, saying nothing.
Except for some banks and pharmacies, the buildings we were passing were empty shells. Everything for sale was in the streets. We also had to be most careful of the car traffic because the drivers do not stop. They just slow down and keep going while beeping their horns. They missed us by inches if we did not move out of their way quickly enough. Or perhaps, they were aiming at us…..
Wandering up the streets, we could have easily gotten lost. We did notice that the things being sold here were not the same items we saw on the pier. Not even close. Running into Gyl and Howard, we all agreed that this was an interesting experience, but it was time to head back to the ship. Even they nixed the idea of taking a taxi to nearby Sekundi, expecting to see more of the same, but 7 miles away.
Locating the shuttle pick up spot, we squeezed inside and got back to the pier by 12:30pm, where we looked over the souvenir tents. An ambulance had its back doors opened, waiting for another guest to be taken to a hospital we assume. This seems to be happening way too often.
The only treasure one of us purchased was a pair of beaded earrings to match a necklace bought while in the safari camp. The wood carved elephant was $100, but the vendor may have bargained more if we were really interested. Believe us, it would have been a "what were we thinking" moment once we got home. And besides, it weighed a ton. The closer we looked at these souvenirs, we realized they resembled what we saw while in Dakar, Senegal five years ago. They will travel a long distance to sell their treasures to the cruise ship crowd… it's easy money.
The air-conditioned ship felt so good. We had expected rain, but it did not happen. What a mess that would have been in town. We ordered room service lunch with soup and a sandwich. There was no lunch out today, and there probably will not be any in the upcoming ports either. Come to think of it, we never saw one restaurant, café, or bar in town today. The hotels must be located out of town as are the coastal beaches, central forts, and more vibrant cities. It sure was not here in Takoradi today.
There was a mandatory muster check between 3 and 5pm, and all guests had to attend. That took all of five minutes….so easy these days. Then we had to watch the safety drill in our rooms, or else the TV would not work. We are good for another 30 days now.
Relaxing on our veranda, we watched as red kites, a bird of prey, flew overhead. They are partial migrants, and measure 26 inches from beak to tail. They weigh under 3 pounds, but are capable of eating small mammals, worms, and scavenge dead animals. There were two of them, but eventually we saw a dozen. They can soar up to 82 feet high in search of food.
All aboard was 4:30pm but the Captain said we were waiting for a pilot to board, or even waiting on a late tour. In the meantime, two tugs positioned to assist the ship. It seemed to be taking forever, so one of the tugs began turning on a dime and also playing the Star- Spangled Banner loudly on a speaker. No kidding. People applauded and cheered them as they repeated it a few times. We were lucky to see this from our veranda. The Captain also announced the sunrise and sunset was 6:15, which remains the same on the Equator. There are 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. And always hot and humid. It did cool down once we left the harbor at about 6pm, passing numerous rudimentary fishing boats.
Dinner had all present. There was a Ghana fish stew on the menu, but after seeing this fish in the open air today, that stew sounded not so good. We had one wiener schnitzel and one salmon dinner, with starters of breaded shrimp and a Caesar salad. We did not notice any difference with the menu as far as missing veggies. Whatever can be peeled and cooked well should be fine. Ice cream seems to be the most ordered item at our table. We are holding out for rocky road, which seems to be hidden in the deep depths of the freezer.
Another new port for us tomorrow…..Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire.
Bill & Mary Ann
