First Adventure in Accra

I had my first adventure in Accra yesterday. It was quite the experience. On the airplane from London to Accra I met a young professional from the Netherlands. He works with hospitals and insurance companies as a negotiator of prices. Or at least that is how I understand it. At least I know he is on the side of the consumer not insurance companies. He has visited Ghana several times and is here on vacation so he decided to invite me out to experience central Accra. We got our walking legs on and went out for the day.

We took a taxi from the hostel where I am staying. Taxis are the best mode of transportation here and they are fairly affordable. The Ghanaians are not big fans of walking being it so hot and the sun so strong. We went to Oxford Street the main tourist drag is what I got out of it. There was even a KFC. After getting lost going the wrong way we got more lost going the other way. It was sort of like the lost in Venice tour but in Accra instead. Although we were a bit lost, we were never in any unsavory or unsafe places. We eventually haled a taxi to go to a nice seaside resort called the La Palma. There we enjoyed a light lunch and shade!

Since Accra is not exactly a tourist Mecca we went to the one really touristy thing next, the Independence Square. Every year on Independence Day they have a large parade and festival to celebrate.

It is right along the beach so we headed down to the beach and walked along a garbage strewn coast. It was quite disgusting I must say.

It looked as if the shore was the land fill and after a mile of walking I decided it is. In the background of this picture below the hills are piles of garbage. Eww! At the end of our walk we found ourselves in a bit of a conundrum. We could either walk back to where we started or walk up through a slum that didn’t look all to appealing having been warned they aren’t to appreciative of strangers. But since it was nearing dark and we were together we figured if we stayed in the open and walked quickly we would be fine. The first person we met could tell we were a little disoriented and with a nice smile told us how to reach the street. We then realized that maybe we were being a bit paranoid. While walking to the street people just continued living their lives not even paying attention to us. I wouldn’t want to be there by myself, but I realize that they are just trying to live the same as anyone else. They don’t have time to bother us.

The last thing on the agenda for the day was clubbing Ghanaian style. After wondering the city all day you can only imagine how much grime had collected on our sweaty skin. That is one thing that amazes me how clean the Ghanaians are even though it is dusty, hot and humid. They must shower five times a day. The club scene here is very comparable to that of Europe. It was “Old Skull Night” (old school) so they started out playing dance music from my childhood. I had so many good memories of junior high and high school dances come rushing back. With tired legs we danced a bit and headed home early.

For my first time out and about I have to say this place will soon become a home away from home. I can’t wait for tomorrow.