Spring Break: Accra, Ghana

We began our trip to Ghana with a lovely surprise at the airport.  Lagos International has now moved into the 21st century and has automated their passport and security!  Wow… it was so quick and easy!

After a delay (which we now assume is normal with Arik Air), we had a quick 40 minute flight to Accra. The airport officials are very efficient in Accra and we were through in no time, were met by the hotel shuttle and whisked off to our hotel.  We stayed at the Movenpick, which is a large, modern hotel in the centre of town. It was more of a business hotel, but they had a nice pool area and it was central to what we wanted to do, so it suited us just fine.

Our first day in Accra we journeyed down to a little fishing village called Jamestown. We were immediately met by a young man who insisted on showing us around.  Chris wasn’t too keen on the idea at first, but really, having a guide can be helpful, if only to keep the other would-be guides at bay!  It turns out that Nice One (his name!) was a nice guy who guided us through the alleyways and provided lots of interesting information for us.  This little adventure was a little too much for Laryssa… she was scared and did not enjoy it at all.  It was a bit of a sensory overload…. fish, hundreds of people, the smells, small area, garbage everywhere, etc.  Chris and I loved it!

Fresh sea snails for sale… these are actually moving!

Walking through the streets of the fishing village with Nice One, our guide.

People live here, work here… some will spend their whole lives here, never leaving this area.

This is someone’s home…

The boats are made of wood.  Nice One explained that the hull of the boat is a single piece of wood, carved from a tree trunk.  He said it would last for years.  On the bigger boats, wood is added to make the sides and is glued with a special resin.  The sides will eventually be replaced, as they do not last as long as the hull.  Some fishermen go out to sea for a day, others for weeks at a time.  Can you imagine being out at sea in this boat?

A walk out onto the old pier gave us a great view of the village, the beach, and the bay.  It is from here that the slaves were loaded onto ships and sent to America.

It is here, behind the village wall, where people also dump their garbage and do their daily business… you have to watch where you’re walking…

 

This man was having a bath and washing his clothes in the ocean.

You can see remains of the old prison in the foreground.

A walk through the village, away from the water.

The cooking is all done on the street.  The homes are too small, and it is far too hot to cook inside.  Not sure what this is, but it looks spicy!

This is the central square in the village.  It is a common area where you can see people gathering to chat, play soccer, dry their fish in the sun… stand there long enough and someone will come along and pee!

When we explained to Laryssa that this boy’s toy was the tire… she realized just how lucky she is.

Little girls carry water to their homes.

I’m not sure how she is going to manage these…. the containers are bigger than she is!

Through the labyrinth…

Such a cutie… the plastic bag she is holding is how drinking water is sold here.

Stones helping to hold the roof down.

Wood for cooking fires.

Heading up the hill, away from the village.

New boats on the beach.

Gasoline for sale.

Apparently the poles are left up.  When people have a party, they cover the poles with canvas to provide a shelter.

This woman is drying her laundry on the beach.

Dressed in their Sunday best.

Much like anywhere in the world… boys playing soccer!

Nice One told us that the prison was in use until 2007.

From Jamestown we took a taxi to an artisan area, where we saw men making various crafts, such as drums, masks, bowls, etc.

Hides drying in the sun, to be used later as drum coverings.

Sunday soccer.

At first glance, they seem to be sitting around, doing nothing.  Look closer…

A rattle or a musical instrument… not sure which.

The chair is entirely covered in small beads!

Water for sale in little bags.

This rasta ran out and insisted I take his photo!

Love the names of the shops!

Day Two… road trip to Kakum National Park.

We left our hotel at 6:00 am to make the trip to Kakum National Park.  It is a three hour drive from Accra.  We headed north along the coast towards Cape Coast and then inland to the park.  Winding roads, speeding traffic, the occasional traffic jam, many stops for a car-sick Laryssa… we saw many interesting sights.  Unfortunately, it rained most of the way, but that just made the scenery even greener.  There are a lot of things to buy along the way… a LOT of pineapple for sale (must be pineapple season).

School kids in their colourful uniforms.

This grand building is actually a math and science college.

Women put their names on their stalls.  Love some of the names!

We are now off the main road, heading up to the park.

When we got to the park, we joined a group of about 10 young backpackers for our hike through the forest to the canopy walk.  There are seven hanging bridges to cross.  They were very wet and slippery after the big rain, and the drizzle that continued as we hiked along.  Fun, but a little scary.  Laryssa wanted to go again!  By the way, the bridges were designed and constructed by two Canadian engineers and 6 Ghanaians.   

 

Waiting for the rain to stop so we can get on with the hike.

Cocoa pods!  Crack open the shells, and the cocoa beans are found inside.

The bottles contain natural honey, according to the sign.

Can you see the pineapple growing?  It was a beautiful pink colour, so Laryssa named it Princess Pineapple.  Upon our return to Lagos, I heard her tell Chiara all about the Princess Pineapple that she saw!

We decided to have some lunch before leaving the park.  Chris and I tried some local food (fufu and goat soup in one dish, fish and baku in the other).  Laryssa ate pizza.

We invited our driver, Frank, to have lunch with us. His meal of chicken and jollof rice looked (and smelled) much better than ours!

Heading back to Accra, along the coast.

Outskirts of Cape Coast.

Whenever you get stopped in traffic, vendors appear, hawking their wares.  These two have fried plantains for sale.

We returned to Accra to find that the housekeeper had been playing with Laryssa’s toys!

Day Three began with mini golf in the very hot sun!

Followed by cold beer for Chris, ice cream for Laryssa, and cold water for me in the cool club house!

Next stop… the Trashy Bags factory!

I’d read about Trashy Bags before coming to Accra, and I was not disappointed! 

Borrowed from the Trashy Bags website:

Trashy Bags is a social enterprise based in Accra, Ghana that makes recycled eco-friendly bags and gifts from plastic trash.

We employ over sixty local people to collect, clean and stitch plastic trash in the form of sachets that have been previously used to contain drinking water and other drinks, into fashionable and useful bags and other products.  Plastic sachets have become a big problem across Africa because of the lack of recycling initiatives and waste management infrastructure.

Trashy Bags is leading the way in sustainable development in Africa in the area of plastic recycling and we have collected and recycled approximately 20 million plastic sachets since we started in 2007. Every month nearly 200,000 plastic sachets are being collected and brought to Trashy Bags by a network of people who are obtaining an income from their efforts.

The new range of Trashy Ad Bags are made from discarded advertising billboards which are now proliferating throughout Accra, Ghana’s capital city.

For more information about Trashy Bags, visit their website: www.trashybags.com.

The pile on the floor is what we bought!

Housekeeping has been playing again while we were out!

The Trashy Bags…

Day Four… a trip to the Museum and Arts Centre.

The entrance to the hotel is guarded by a fantasy coffin.  This one was made for a crab fisherman! (Yes, this is really a coffin!)

The Ga tribe live in the coastal area including Greater Accra, and it is their tradition to bury people in these colourful coffins. The first coffins made like this date back to the 1950’s. While there is of course mourning, funerals are also a celebration of the life that has been lived. The Ga people believe that there is an afterlife and the fantasy coffins help transport the dead to their new life, in style. The coffins are designed to represent an aspect of the dead person’s life. Often coffins represent what the person did for their livelihood, but they can also depict a vice. You can occasionally see a cigarette, and beer bottles are quite popular too. http://goafrica.about.com/od/peopleandculture/ss/Ghana-Fantasy-Coffins.htm

My cousin, Helen, would love the Coke bottle coffin!

Since we were in the area, we decided to visit the Labadi Beach Hotel for lunch.  We sat outside by the pool to eat. 

Laryssa and I went to see the beach, but the guard wouldn’t let us past the gate.  It is a private beach for hotel residents only.  Too bad… it looked quite clean and inviting!

Calamari and fries for Laryssa.

Spicy chicken gizzards for Chris.

Club sandwich for me.

Back at the hotel, Laryssa displays her very loose tooth.  She pulled it out and put it under her pillow so that the tooth fairy could also visit Ghana!

 

Photos from Laryssa’s camera of the hotel pool area.

On the weekends, hotels allow the residents of Ghana to use the pool facilities for a fee.  This is very popular with the expat community.

And Day Five…

No photos!  We lounged by the pool after breakfast, then checked out and went to the shopping mall.  We went to the cinema and saw Mr. Peabody and Sherman, a cute animated film. (We had the theatre to ourselves!)  We then did a bit of shopping, returned to the hotel to collect our bags, then made our way to the airport.  Time to head back to Lagos and complete our remaining nine weeks of the school year!