Back from ghana

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Had a wonderful time in Accra and Cape Coast. Stayed 4 days. First 2 days stayed at MJ Grand hotel in East Legon: Very nice but way over-priced at $150 per night!! Room small and buffet breakfast( included in price) was pitiful because there was very little of it. But the place was very safe and staff very friendly. My husband and I decided to "do our own thang" and bargained for taxis anywhere we wanted to go. Do plan to spend time haggling....if you don't like this then prepare to get skinned! Spent $100 for charted taxi RT. to Cape Coast which is a good 4.5 hr. drive (not 3 hr. like the driver says) one way in horrendous traffic! Seems like every hr. is rush hour! Don't make the mistake of getting in a no air conditioned taxi like we did cause they will tell you they have A/C when they don't. Ugh! Cape Town was very quaint . Was surprised at not seeing vendors hawking seafood. Just imagined we'd get
some grilled fish on the spot....nothing. Main tourist attraction here is Elmina Castle/ Slave Dungeon. Very impressive site sitting there on the ocean. You pay a fee and are given a guide who spins this tale about the slave trade that took place here. Now don't get me wrong, this was a holding place for Africans but the guide only tells the story that is meant to appeal to Afro-Americans so make sure to press
your guide for the Ghanian kings and chiefs' role in the slave trade. Go to the little museum which is more a history of Elmina than of the slave trade. You'll read about how chummy-chummy they were with the Europeans. This is a once-is-enough site. Then went to the Kakum Forest . Glad we took the
advise of other bloggers and skipped the rope walkway. The charge was 20cd each for a 1 hr. Nature walk. We definitely learned a lot more on the ground than trying to navigate that bridge...it was really hot and humid and you envisioned a cold bottle of something a the neat little restrurant just to find every drink warm! What a bummer when your tongue is dragging the ground! If you want some solid safe food at reasonable cost, go to the food court at the Accra Mall. Stays open late. Night- life
wise: if good live music is your thing ,definitely hit a club called +233 which is on the same rd. as the Alissa Hotel. Good food and cold drinks! Don't bother to waste your time and money at Afrodisiac ! They charge on Fri. 20cd per person and the dj sucked big time! He refused to play dance music until 1am. He just played rap and when my husband ask for hi- life he told him he would have to pay him something! What BALLS! By 1:20am there still was only a handful of people who like ourselves were
itching to dance but when this sorry a*** dj continued to spin crap we all left!! Hey one more thing...have a real good idea of where you're going cause these taxi drivers don't know places by name. They'll tell you they do then you find yourself cruising to no where. Over all, we enjoyed cause we don't take ourselves too seriously and can laugh and learn. Will go again! Cheers

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