Ghana was incredible, truly life-changing. It's amazing to see how little people need to survive, and it really made me appreciate that even though my family is relatively poor back home, we still live like kings compared to the majority of the world. But the remarkable thing is that I didn't even see near the worst of it. As I relate my experiences do keep in mind that Ghana is actually the most economically stable country in West Africa.
So without further ado...
Day 1
I was up at the crack of dawn, as always, to watch as we pulled into port. We had a larger crowd than usual, but still not nearly as many as I would expect. I mean really, we are seeing the coast of Africa for the first time, many of us will probably never return, and people would rather sleep? I don't understand it at all. I think pulling into port is one of the most exciting parts of the trip!
While we waited for the ship to clear customs, a group of Ghanaian drummers and dances set up outside the ship and put on quite a performance. It was really exciting because at one point they played Shakira's Waka Waka.
A group of friends and I jumped on the shuttle bus and took the 30 minute ride to Accra, the capital city. We were originally planning on trying to get over to the slave castles but with the insane traffic that Ghana can have, the drive would have been as long as four hours and we wouldn't have gotten there until right when they closed. So we opted for Accra instead.
Immediately upon stepping off of the bus we were bombarded with beggars trying to sell bracelets with Ghana printed on them. Their persistence was overwhelming. They would shove their wares into our hands and refuse to take them back, insisting that we buy the bracelet, and if we wouldn't buy it, then they would give it to us if we would give them a little something in return. As soon as one was brushed off a dozen more would appear in his place. If you talked to one, he would tell you a pathetic story about his starving family that he was trying to provide for. And of course we could see the squalor they were living in - enormous gutters filled with trash lining the streets, barely a torn piece of fabric covering their backs - and they all knew we had just arrived off of this beautiful, luxurious ship, and to do so we must have, what to them would seem like endless amounts of money. If you tried to ignore them they would call after you saying there was no need to be rude, and you would feel terrible.
We finally found refuge inside of the building where we decided to have lunch. We asked a few of the locals where we should eat and they all pointed us towards a restaurant called Frankie's. We walked inside and took one look at the menu and realized they had sent us to an American restaurant, because of course we are tourists; why would we want to eat anything besides our own food? I was relived to find though that there was a Lebanese menu, and ordered a falafel wrap, something I have actually been craving for ages; so it didn't turn out to be a complete waste.
After lunch we went to a shop called Global Mamas. Global Mamas is a fair trade organization and NGO that helps out underprivileged women in Ghana by selling their traditional craftwork. All proceeds go to their cause. It was a really cute little colorful store with clothing and bags and jewelry and many other beautiful pieces of traditional Ghanaian craftwork. I bought some really sweet gifts and overall just had fun browsing around.
Our next stop was the art market but on the way there we passed the outdoor Makola Market. A couple of women selling fruit stopped me, and sensing that they were just friendly and not trying to get money from me, I stopped to talk to them. They wanted to know where I was going, and where I had come from. I politely answered their inquiries and then turned away to catch up with my friends. They called after me saying that they wanted a picture with me, which was surprising because Ghanaians are very skeptical of pictures and you really have to be extremely careful and ask before photographing anything. I don't know the exact reason but someone told me it has something to do with a belief that part of your spirit leaves when your picture is taken. I also heard somewhere else that they are extremely paranoid with the explosion of the internet and photos being available everywhere online. Either way, I happily agreed to a picture, and so one of the woman pulled me down onto her lap, and now I have this awesome picture of me sitting in a big black ladies lap, enveloped in her arms like some little kid. It is really adorable.
The art market was amazing. Row upon row of little stands set up and endless paintings and carvings and sculptures. It quickly became overwhelming though as absolutely every seller there tried to take us by the hand and lead us to his stall. Even after I had spent all of my money, and told them that I didn't have any money left, they would say "It's ok, just come and look" and then I would, after making it very clear that it was only to look, and they would show me a particular mask and say "How much you give me? I make you very good offer." "No, I really don't have any money left." "Come on, only ten Cedi." "I'm sorry I spent all my money." And I'd walk away only to be bombarded by a dozen more shopkeepers. I did get some really beautiful paintings and sculptures and masks for dirt cheap though. Bargaining became a fun game. I got a little ripped off in the beginning but quickly learned that what you have to do is set your final price, and then after they say it's too little, just walk away, uninterested. Pretty soon they are running after you having changed their mind and agreeing to your price.
We spent quite a while at the market and by the time we left it was time for dinner. Once again, we started enquiring around for a good place to eat, and tried to specify this time that we wanted local food. Everyone told us to go to Papaya, so we hopped in a cab and headed in that direction. Papaya turned out to be even worse then Frankie's. It was a fast food place, bearing striking resemblance to McDonalds. We left and walked around in search of someplace authentic. It was quickly getting dark and we weren't having any luck so we stopped at what was clearly another fast food place, but at least they had a traditional rice dish which turned out to be delicious.
After dinner we found Koala market, the local grocery store, where I found my peanut butter and soy milk. They also had an entire isle of chocolate for Valentine's day, or National Chocolate Day as it is known here. We loaded up on snacks for the ship and then headed for the shuttle.
We headed back to the ship and people stared making plans to go out. I was completely overwhelmed by the onslaught of beggars and had no desire whatsoever to be in any such circumstances under the cover of the night. Plus we were scheduled to leave at 7am the next morning so I figured I might as well just get some sleep. I usually try not to waste a moment in port but there was just something about the city that made me super uncomfortable. It's all part of traveling I guess, you find places you love and places you'd be happy never to return to. It's still an unbelievable experience though, and that's what truly matters.
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