Frustration has set in.

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I’ve become a little frustrated this week. It is impossible to do anything here without being asked for money. I went out yesterday to do some street photography and accomplished nothing. Every time I try to photograph stuff people insist that I must pay them. I would be broke in a day if I paid everybody that I wanted to photograph. It does not stop there either. I wanted to photograph a stand of tomatoes in the market and some guy runs up and asks me what I am doing and I tell him that I am taking a photograph. He wanted to know what for. I told him for myself. He said that I must pay to take a photograph of the tomatoes. I just walked off.

I’ve met a couple of guys since I have been in Cape Coast and I talked to one of them about it. He laughed and said that is how people are here. I told him that one of the things I am interested in doing is photographing and interviewing fishermen. He said that he will go with me when I go to photograph them so I do not have any problems. Apparently they will be a more willing to talk to me and let me photograph them if I have a local with me. I’m sure that I will still have to give them a little money, but It will be better if I have somebody with me.

Even going on an organized tour is a pain in the ass. Last week we went to Nuzulezu, a river village on stilts, and we had to pay at the "office" for the canoe ride out. Then if we wanted to know the history we had to buy the chief some schnapps at 35,000 a bottle. about 4 USD. Then after we concluded the so called tour we were taken to another office and asked for money to donate to the "school" I absolutely refused that, i was fed up with the people there by that point. Then when we returned we were told that we needed to pay the two guys that paddled the canoe. supposedly they "volunteer" to do their job.

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