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Published: October 11th 2006
Loaded
Ghana's currency is the CEDI's. It is about 10,000 CEDI's to the US$. The LARGEST CEDI bill is 20,000. You go to the ATM and take out 80$ and rish so rich since the wad of cash is so big.I would have never thought a 2.5 hour plane ride in West Africa could bring such a different culture, feeling, and atmosphere. Wow, Ghana.
Kristin and I decided to take a week’s vacation in August. We did a bit of research and it seemed Ghana was our best option; not a long plane ride, temperatures were cooler (and man, do I appreciate cooler temperatures now), beach, history, rainforest, and the big bonus it’s English speaking.
Kristin’s mother, Janice, came to Senegal for a visit and to join us on our trip to Ghana. Of course we had nothing planned until the day before when I located a man based in the UK that puts together custom tours. He organized us a car and driver and a mix of hotels and home stays along our chosen route. That was pure luck. Without organizing this trip it would have been complete mayhem getting from one place to the next. In that respect it is not much different the Senegal (except its English which is easier to manage of course)
We flew the local airline, Air Senegal which was actually quite nice…with a stop in Monrovia (that I must admit took us
The Mantra
The proclaimation of God is common everywhere in Ghana a day or so to realize was in Liberia). This new fear of flying has surfaced in the last month or two and of course Kristin did some research about Air Senegal which frightened me a bit more…..but there were great!!
Within minutes of arriving at the airport in Accra we were shocked. We kept trying to “speak” French to people even when they were speaking English to us. It is almost habit to struggle communicating with people, the fact that people were understanding me was almost too much to handle. The airport in Accra is amazing, it is newly built and very modern. The airport was pretty relaxed, of course it was crowded but there was nobody (or very few) people hassling you, and trying to haggle with you. Kristin and I are used to being on the defense all the time so it was quite an adjustment.
The major differences we noticed in right away were:
- Look. The people look very different. Not as tall and slim as Senegalese people. And the outfits etc are no where near as colorful.
- English. English signs, pamphlets, speakers. I was on information overload actually having to read and
Our Guide
Our 'hotel' in Mole National Park absorb information.
- Weather. It was cool!! Hallelujah! After getting outside the airport I put on a long sleeve shirt….in Dakar I can’t wait to peel off all my clothes it is so hot.
- Religion. Ghana is a predominately Christian country which gives everything a VERY different feel. Similar to how Senegalese practice Islam, Ghanaians practice and celebrate Christianity. Everything has praises to “the lord”. Stores are named things such as: “God is Great Automotives”, “To forgive is divine Haircuts”, “King of Kings Refrigeration Service” or “In Him is Life Tailors Shop”. They are random and mildly comical. This may be the case in Senegal too…but we can’t read Arabic to understand the references.
- Green. I didn’t realize how “tropical” Ghana was. There was grass, and trees, and an abundance of crops and green. It is so different of the dry (but some how VERY humid), bare feel of Senegal, specifically Dakar.
- Stating the obvious. Another piece that cracked us up was how everywhere we walked we would have someone yelling "obruni" at us...which means ‘white person’. We get that here in Senegal ('toubab') as well, but usually just by small village children. In Ghana both young
This is real
I am not super imposed I sware. This was on a view deck at our hotel. and old just seem to greet you that way. So instead of hello...just say 'white person!' with a big smile.
We arrived on a Wednesday and I had to work on Thursday and Friday. A co-worker from Togo met me in Accra to have a few meetings. Kristin and Janice spent the days by the pool. I was jealous. Then came Johnny, the driver I arranged for a few days prior. He was wonderful and spent the next week driving us around and telling all about Ghana. He was a god send and made our trip more wonderful.
Now the country itself is about twice the size of Nebraska (I use that reference because Kristin if from Nebraska and she told me:-) and we successfully managed to cover a very big portion of it in our 10 days of travel outside Accra (Kristin had some flight issues)
We were able to see so much of Ghana’s beautiful countryside by driving along the “highways”. I saw tons of villages through my backseat view of the car….and for the most part all of the driving wasn’t too bad. However, I promise from here on out, that I will never complain
Football is Life
The most gorgeous little boy with....of course....a football. about potholes or paying tolls/taxes to keep up the roads back home. If Ghana ever wants to be able to expand on their tourism, updating (or rather creating) roads is a must. In some places it seemed as though they flew overhead with tons of wet cement and just dropped it on some dirt. We would drive for 2 minutes on a road, and then have to drive 2 minutes on sand/rocks, then back on cement, etc. It was definitely interesting. The roads up to Mole (the National Park up north) definitely were among the worst. We were lucky to have a good driver, as on our way back we came across some other tourists who were trying to drive too fast over all of the bumps, lost control and flipped their vehicle. Nice and slow is the key I guess, we drove 50km/hr for about 2 ½ hours of bouncing up and down. The drive was worth it, however, Kristin and Janice had a few problems due to car sickness (if you have car sickness problems I can say West Africa is NOT for you!!!) but all it all it went well.
No matter how much I read
Everybody Smile
Walking through a local village (our guide is in red) EVERYBODY loves to play and get there picture taken....particularly the young ones. about the history of slavery and tour these various slave houses, they still boggle my mind. How human could treat other human so horribly is absolutely beyond comprehension. The salve forts on the Cape Coast of Ghana were huge. Holding 1,000s of slaves at a time. Both in Senegal and Ghana we had amazing guides teach us there history of each fort and history of slavery in each region countries. Accounts of slavery vary, and even history of the trade (i.e. in tribal war in Ghana the winning tribe would offer the losing tribe to salves to the westerns, and in Senegal there were women in children shipped off into slavery where as in Ghana is was far less common) but one fact remains constant……this was horrific and devastating mark on world history. It’s a blessing (hopefully) that in a mere 110 years the majority human race has evolved past the wretched treatment of others.
Mole National Park was the closest that we have to a safari in this part of the continent. During a safari walk (led by a guide with a gun of course), and just around our hotel inside the park, we were able to watch
elephants, warthogs/boars, antelope, baboons, etc. in their natural environment. My favorite were the baboons…..they were so ugly that they were almost cute and they were sooooo mischievous!! Sometimes you would see them snatching somebody’s snacks or towel while sitting by the pool. Of course they didn’t mess with MY snacks…..I would take them down…you all know I love snacks.
A few of our outdoor adventures included a visit to a few national parks. We visited highest falls in West Africa, Wli Falls, which was gorgeous. Kristin and I hiked up the tallest mountain in Ghana (not real tall, but nonetheless kicked our butt…we were both completely spent by the time we made it to the top….our guide hadn’t even broken a sweet…..SEROIUSLY!). One day in the Volta Region of Ghana we took a leisure book trip on the world’s largest artificial lake (Volta). The dam is interesting as the man made lake provides hydro-electric power to all of Ghana as well as 4 neighboring countries. It is really technically advanced, particularly in Africa.
We enjoyed a canopy walk (a rope bridge strung about 40 meters above the trees of the rainforest ) at Kakum National Park. I never thought
I had a fear of heights….but being on these rickety bridges strung between trees made me a bit nervous. Then I had these 2 teenage boys beyond me with NO FEAR and they kept jumping up and down on the bridge as I was trying to count my steps across. I felt like such an old women having to scold them. We I am sure they thought I was ‘so not cool’ as I told them how dangerous it is to jump on the bridge. When did I turn 80? We also took a guided tour through other areas of Kakum National Park. It was awesome. We learned (and I actually paid attention) a lot about the different trees etc…and their uses. We saw ebony trees (also called elephant’s comb, as they often use them to scratch their backs) and many others, all of which they find medical use for, cures for diabetes, asthma etc. The medicinal uses of some of the trees and extracts are proven effective even in modern medicine. My favorite medicinal use is the sap from a mahogany tree. Our guide explained that it is the “natural Viagra”. She said not to be embarrassed if you
My Favorite
Outside our hotel room in Mole have a problem, and that she can hook us up with some. So friends, don’t be embarrassed if you have a ‘problem’, I have her email and can TOTALLY hook you up .
On our worldwind tour of Ghana we went to the Central Region near the city of Kumasi. We stayed at a homestay, which is a house that people open up to travelers for a nominal fee. It was great, it was an older couple whose children have all grown and moved away for school and work to Europe and the US. They cooked for us and just hung out. There are both former educators in Ghana (one a teacher the other a headmaster) and they taught us a lot of The Ashanti people of Ghana. The Kumasi region is also the craft center of Ghana. Many of there woodworks, and fabric makers are in these area. We went to a few local villages that create these crafts. We saw the makings of Kente cloth, which is local weaving specific to the Ashanti people of Ghana. The clothes are so vibrant and beautiful. It is interesting that women aren’t taught to weave only the men. The woodcarving
village was equally amazing, so cool what they can make out of one piece of wood. Along the way we also went to a place where they hand make glass beads. The process was really interesting. It takes days to make these beads and the attention to detail was so incredible.
I have realized that this blog has gone on way too long. I will stop here....even in the middle of a thought.
Miss you all!!
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Big Sis
non-member comment
Love it!
Nikki Poo- I love your blogs. You are such a wonderful story teller. I feel like I was there and wish that I was. These are experiences you will be able to tell your kids about -- but not before I have kids first! Love you!