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Published: November 12th 2008
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Trip to Kumasi and Cape coast/Elmina
As I was going to visit a Microfinance organisation in Kumasi (middle of Ghana) for benchmarking purposes, I took the opportunity to explore this part of the country over the weekend. This is heart of the Ashanti culture, population who proudly fought against the British during colonial time. I went exploring some of the villages for its famous Kente production (traditional clothes in the region) and visited some temples who represent the traditional believes of the region.
Another weekend, another destination: Cape coast and Elmina. Both based on the coast in the West of Accra, they represent the sad but important vestige of slavery. Fort and Castle owned by colonial forces where used to transport slaves to America, South America and sometimes Europe. Except from these historical aspects, the two cities have a very relaxed vibe. Despite the usual Rasta’s hanging around speaking to tourists, the cities are animated with fishermen busying around at all time of the day, but giving the cities their soul and colourful atmosphere. Elmina would definitely remain one of my top destinations in Ghana, especially as I strolled in some of the villages further away from the city.
This was also the opportunity to explore the Kakum park, very popular with tourists not much because you see many wild animals (they understandably do not chose to stay around the touristy places) but for its pathway built with rope and which allow tourists to walk up to 40m high up the trees. It was definitely an great experience, especially as you have a great view on the park itself.
Food
I was actually positively surprised by Ghanaian food when I first arrived. Despite their usual chicken fried rice with pepper and coleslaw which I actually really like, most street food places serve Fufu (plantain and cassava - potato like vegetable - cooked and mixed up to form a slightly sticky ball), Banku (made of maize) or rice balls in a soup (usually made of tomatoes, onions, pepper, garlic, etc + meat - goat, beef or chicken - or fish). In Benin, it is often replaced by what they call “la pate” which is often made of maize but the black one is made of dried yam. In the morning, you usually can get good bread (butter bread or sugar bread most often, the sugar one being
my favourite) with some Milo (a bit like hot chocolate) or other sweet drink that are often heavier than a Guiness (which is actually the most common European beer here… no idea why). In the morning, you can also eat omelette sandwich and some of the omelette can be very spicy and tasty. Of course you will find the usual fat snack in the street, like fried yam (similar to potato) but you also have fruits (usually peeled oranges, pineapple or coconuts) and empanadas like cakes filled with meat or fish mixed with vegetable. I am still trying to appreciate the Okro type dishes, which is the slimiest food ever and even if it is tasty and nice in taste, the texture tend to put me off slightly.
Religion
Religion is a big thing in Ghana, especially as the Christians are a wide majority in the country. Discussions on this topic are usually not as animated as I would have thought (In Accra at least) and people are usually very tolerant to other beliefs (including Muslims). These religions in majority in Ghana however often are mixed with local traditional beliefs, and animism and voodoo (more in Togo and
Benin than in Ghana) are still strong. Christianity has a very local touch here and appears much differently than in Europe. Most Tro-Tro (small buses), taxis and other vehicles have sentences in relation to religious beliefs. I even saw once a car claiming that it is insured by god… mmm, that could be a lucrative business as no costs are involved and I am sure you could find a Sinn in every beneficiaries which could explain an accident ;-). A large number of Ghanaians also strongly believe in miracles performed in church or even on TV (interesting experience to watch this) and believe that sickness can be cured thanks to god and their belief in him. Christianity also is used for advertising purposes. I am not sure that when Jesus shared his bread with the apostles, was he expecting to create a bread’s brand called “the Christ in you”.
Advertising
African adverts are usually the best way to have a laugh without anybody else understanding why you are actually laughing. On TV, painted on walls, on posters, they tend to be exaggerated or use words in such ways that I cannot stop laughing when I see some of
them. Movies actually have a fairly similar touch and you can fully appreciate them when you have one of their 1st parts in the bus.
Elections are actually deploying impressive advertisement, like cars or huge posters on the side of the road, T shirts and other clothes, flags, etc. Elections are fairly key for the country, even if I keep meeting Ghanaians who were more interested in the US election than the Ghanaian one. This election is key mainly because the party leading the country (the NPP, seen as more conservative) has been 8 years in power after the main opposing party lost the election (The NDC, party founded by Rawlings).
Shopping
My shopping experiences have been quite fun as well. I was going to get to a party the other day but realised that I did not have the proper clothes and therefore will look like a true jerk (I didn t have the socks and the sandals though). So decided to buy trouser and shirt. I managed to find some ok Chinese made trouser (nearly everything is Chinese made here) but the shirt was much more of a challenge. I tried from M to XL and
realised that, even when going through different shops, the size didn’t mean anything as I could fit twice myself in the shirt. Whereas most of the shirts could look nice on a black skin (bright colours), I convinced myself that I would look like a stereotypical German tourist in Majorca ;-) (sorry for the Germans reading)... so finally ended up going there in T-shirt.
The life of Taxi Drivers
Taxi drivers are often a very interesting source of information, as long as you take what they say with a little bit of caution. But as I tend to spend a certain amount of time in Taxis, I discuss with them fairly often and I think they have a pretty hard life. They are often driving customized cars (the other day I had a Peugeot 504 and I can’t even remember seeing one in France), repaired and somehow made drivable with the help of parts coming from other cars. Per day, a driver will make usually around 50 GHC (10 EUR= 16 GHC), have to rent the car 15 GHC, pay 25-30 GHC of fuel and keep for himself around 5 GHC (3 Euros). I was the other night
in one area of the city fairly far away from where I leave. It has been raining and I was struggling to understand why there was no taxi in town. I then talked to a Ghanaian who explained me that a lot of taxis didn’t have their windows’ wipe working... Mmm, I didn’t think about this explanation before ;-)
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