Bloodsucking Road Demons, Tro Tro Evangelist and 'A Tro Tro Killed my Kindle'

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Heading to destinations North today.  The STC is a super nice way to do a trip to Kumasi but as it starts in Takaradi my chances of getting a seat are limited, as they don’t do pre-sales for the Cape Coast to Kumasi leg.  The tro tros leave from Tantri station not far from my hotel and right next to the Indomie Lady

Me and My Tro Tro, Takati Station /  Cape Coast, Ghana

Got a nice cramped spot at the back of the tro tro and began the waiting for it to fill.  As we waited a very round woman with a bright turquoise dress began chanting and praying on the bus.  It was so loud it actually hurt my ears.  I came to find out that the ‘dodgy’ forms of transportation in Ghana (maybe all over Western Africa) bring a religious person on to pray for our safe journey.  I have no clue what she was saying as it was in Twi but I am thinking it was something like ‘God will protect you from the blood sucking road demons…. and on and on’.   After about 15 minutes of praying for our safety on the crappy tro tro our Tro Tro Evangelist prayed, asked for donations and left.  I will experience this again and again and again.

The 3 1/3-4 hour ride to Kumasi was fun.  The driver was channeling Mario Andrei and weaving in and out of Mac Trucks and passenger buses as the rain pounded us (leaking into the cab and into my pack).  We made good time and because of our Spiritual Healing back in Cape Coast we survived. 

Arrived in Kumasi around 5, jumped in a taxi and got to the Treasure land Hotel in no time.  As usual the power was out but the hotel turns a full on generator on at dusk that even runs the ac.  Pretty cool. 

I had a small dinner and a beer in the Summer Hut (a little outdoor hut with a table and chairs).  I decided to open my Kindle to unwind as a gift to myself after a long travel day…as it turns out the tro tro ride was a bit bumpier than I thought.  ‘A TRO TRO KILLED MY KINDLE’.  I keep my important things like my camera and laptop on my person when I have travel days but didn’t really worry much about the old Kindle.  The inky, computer generated goo that makes your screen look like a book broke (I guess that would be an LCD screen). Very sad state of affairs.  Looks like I will be reading crap ass books I find along the way.  As it turns out I was right…High School Musical 2 Exercise Book is about as good as I have found.

Wandering Cape Coast, Ghana

View of Cape Coast Castle

I am staying in the older part of town and decide as I usually do the first day in a new place to simple wander.   It is smallish town with a bustling market and active vendors.  There is a statue of a Crab about a ½ mile down from the hotel on the way to the beach.  This Crab statue will before a location device and meeting place on my stays in Cape Coast. It seems to be the central area and a bit of a round about to boot. 

If you turn left you go over London Bridge that leads you to a road that lines the fishing area.  This area is much more interesting to watch as lots of kids are about playing in the streets as the smell of fresh caught and drying fish permeates the air.  Love that smell.  After less than a mile you end up at the Cape Coast Castle. 

I decided to wait until tomorrow to check out the Castle.  While watching the waves crash against the rocks around the castle a street artist approached to chat.  Often I will try to get out of talking to sellers but decided to see where the conversation went.  In the end my new friend Evans and I talked and walked the beach and town for hours.  He had been hanging in front of the Cape Coast Beach Restaurant waiting for a tour group to finish so he could try to sell his wears.  

Along the beach in Cape Coast pigs rule the manor.  They root around for food and dig down to wet sand to nap in.  I guess the saying here would be ‘Happy as a pig in sand’, not mud.

Walking around fishing areas has always been a highlight for me wherever I am and Ghana is no different.  Actually, the smells here are much fresher than in most of Asia. 

The fishing boats here are long, large and canoe like.  Many are brightly colored with blues, reds and yellows.  All are in varying degrees of disrepair.  When you look across the expanse of 10-20 of these boats it really is quite majestic. 

Red Red

I ate my first Red Red at the Cape Coast Castle Beach Restaurant. Red Red with Chicken is my  new favorite dish ever!!!!! it consists of black eyed peas with a red, palm oil based Ghanaian curry like sauce with fried plantains. For sure my new favorite food ever.    The restaurant’s menu will satisfy anyone.  It ranges from Western  breakfast foods to local dishes and everything in between.  Several pages long in fact.  There is also an excellent selection of spirits.  The spacious, open sitting is amazing especially with that ocean breeze coming in.  One could hang here for quite some time. 

I managed to get myself back to The Prospect to meet Obehi for a tiny dinner.  Nothing on the menu made me happy as my head was filled with visions of Red Red and chicken.  (I am writing this a week or two after I ate that Red Red for the first time and I have had it several times since…and yes, it still makes me as happy as when Bev sends me my 2 minute Thai Noodles from New Zealand). 

Off to Cape Coast

Before I left I ran into Jesse and Ben yet again.  Lucky for me Ben was heading to MTN to fix one of Jesse’s phones.  I still had to register my phone so I tagged along.  Back an hour later with my Ghanaian Burner phone ready to go.

Talking off for Cape Coast today.  It should be about a 3-4 hour journey but I have no clue what time the buses leave so will be heading to STA Station about noon (I think it is one of the nice bus lines). 

As I was checking out I ran into Jesse for a final goodbye.  He definitely showed me a side of Accra I would never have discovered as a tourist. 

Taxi to STA station (15 cedi) took maybe 20 minutes as it is on the outer ring of town.  Had no clue what I was doing of course but as is Ghanaian style a guy working for STA showed me where to go and what to do.  Easy as pie.  A ticket from Accra to Cape Coast was 8 Cedi.  STA buses are comfortable and have AC.  I did have to suffer through a Nigerian movie but hey that’s how you roll here right.

As it got closer to the time on my ticket to depart I noticed action around the corner from where I had been waiting for an hour.  I figured it was time to do something so I followed the crowd to luggage tagging area.  It was 1 cedi for my bag.  As usually I hung within view of my bag until it was loaded. 

I have to say that the whole public bus thing works very well here.  I am use to Asia where buses leave minutes to hours late and you just never know until its happening.

We arrived at Cape Coast at about 6:30 pm as the sun was going down.  Straight off the bus I got a taxi to Prospect Lodge (10 cedi but hotel said it should be 8 cedi).  I have noticed the price changes a bit if you take a taxi at rush hour times which is fair enough.

I arrived in the middle of a blackout (one of many to come on my travels around Ghana) in Cape Coast but the hotel had a generator, which gave one light and the fan for each room.  I had a simple dinner in the dark along with a beer.  There was a beautiful church across the lot from me and some kids had a bonfire going (I assume because of the power outage).  It gave an amazing glow to the steeple. 

Prospect Lodge is situation on a hill, which gives great views of the city and ocean.  There was a beautiful mosque across for the hotel too.  The call to prayer was reminiscent to staying in the Medinas of Morocco.  It is centrally located to the market, beach and attractions.  Before I went to bed the electricity was back on and I actually got a bit chilled with the AC on. 

A Few Cool Sites in Accra, Ghana

Independence Square also known as Black Star Square is a Soviet-inspired monument to Ghanaian independence. 

Center for National Culture is at the intersection of Barnes Road where High Street becomes 28^th February Road (all these roads are well know and someone can easily point you in the right direction).  You can buy many Ghanaian goods here during the day.

National Theatre is a very cool, modern building that was erected by China in 1992.  Plays and other performances are held almost exclusively on the weekends and I have been told if you are in Accra at the weekend to take in a performance.  They do offer a guided tour for a nominal fee.

Maloka Market in the city center is a fantastic place to wander and get semi-lost in (pretty easy to figure out).  One thing I have found so far in Accra is that it is very safe and hassle free.  I was a solo female tourist and only one group of women tried to get me to marry their brother.  They were lovely ladies and we chatted for a bit.  This market seems to be for locals, as I didn’t see a lot of curio items in there. 

Finally in Africa (Accra, Ghana)

Arrived in Accra just before seven pm and had already arranged the first couple of nights accommodation in case I arrived late.   Immigration was easy and quick which is always nice after a long day of flying.  It was the first time I have had fingerprint scan and face scan.  The Accra Airport is pretty basic but I do remember being pleasantly surprised by the air-conditioning in the immigration hall. 

My driver was waiting for me but we did have to wait another half hour for another person that never showed.  The ride in from the airport took about 20 minutes and the city was shockingly quiet.  As it turns out it often takes up to 1-½ hours to get to the hotel but I arrived on Easter and most of the city was shut down. 

Afia Beach Hotel ($85 a night)  -guidebook from 2010 listed it as starting at $65…oh, how things have changed.  The Ghanaian Cedi has devalued over the past couple years and there has been an oil shortage both of which have increased prices throughout the country. The rooms are self-contained bungalows along the beach and quite fancy for this backpaker.  All have en suite, ac, fan, TV (nothing but CNN worth watching), a fridge and a good breakfast included.  They also have a lovely veranda with table and chairs. 

I discovered the beachfront sitting area on second day.  Wow, could spend hours if not days chilling down there.  It is situated just below the bungalows right on the beach.  You can even feel the spray of the ocean while you sip your drink.  They serve meals and drinks down at the beach front and a couple days later I would do just that. 

There is a nice slightly overpriced restaurant and bar as well.  I am traveling in the very off-season for this area but still quite a few people there.  Seems to be the return spot of quite a few business people and non-profit employees on their first few days in country.

Afia Beach Hotel is centrally located within walking distance of Independent Circle (in next post), Makola Market (in next post) and a number of banks in including (Barclays).