Accra, Ghana

April 3, 2008

What a special way to spend my birthday....in the exotic culture of Ghana! I awoke to find a large bunch of balloons on my door along with a large poster-like “card” from the cruise staff. And, to my amazement, there was a special card that my Canadian friends, Isabelle, George, Rudi and Marguerite had left with the front desk when they left at the end of the last cruise. What special people they are and how nice they were to remember me on this special day.

Accra, the capital city of Ghana, is located about an hours drive from Tema, where the shipped docked early in the morning. As we may our way to Accra I couldn’t help but be impressed by the thousands of small road-side “shops”....usually a small table, sometimes with a shabby cover....selling all manner of products and services. Next to someone selling tires would be a pot and pan salesperson to be followed by a lady braiding hair. What a way to make a living. In many cases these vendors only had a few examples of whatever they were selling.

Equally impressive are the street venders selling food. From smoked fish to boiled eggs heavily encrusted with salt, these merchants walk through the crowds with their “wares” precariously perched on their heads. When someone wants to buy a small bag of frozen water, for instance, the merchant will simply reach up and lower their goods to the ground and make the deal. The system seems to work as the roads are teeming – in the truest sense of the word – teeming! with people interacting with one another.

A shopping “opportunity” was had at the Arts & Crafts Market. On sale were local textiles, beautiful examples of woven kente cloth, wooden leather and metal crafts. It was fun to shop with my friend Louise. She asked me to bargain for her as she made purchases for her grandkids. What an experience. The vendors would ask a ridiculous price for whatever they were selling....say $100.00! I would counter...laughingly...we will pay $10.00 for two! Back and forth we would go until we usually would settle for something like $10 or $15 each. Such a game but just a part of the way they live here....everything is bargained!

Perhaps the most amazing stop was when we visited one of the many casket maker’s shop in Nungua...a “suburb” of Accra. Yes! A casket maker! You just can’t imagine these caskets, made to depict the life (and afterlife) of the dead. We saw various fish designs, a snail, several boats and canoes, a large chicken, cows, huge beer bottles, cocoa pods, cars and even an over scaled hammer (for a carpenter, I assume!?) These caskets are even more amazing when you consider that the average monthly income of these people is only about $50.00 and these special caskets begin at around $600.00....over a year’s salary. My only regret is that we were not invited to a funeral....I can only imagine how elaborate the actual funeral is if the caskets are like these.

We stopped for photo opportunities at Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Part – named for Ghana’s Pan Africanist president who was named Africa’s Man of the Century by the BBC.

Our final stop in Accra was at the National Museum of Archaeology, History of Ethnography, which houses some centuries-old relics depicting the social and cultural evolution of the Ghanaian people. Court regalia, ceremonial objects and tools are on display here. I loved seeing a special textile section where a loom was erected showing the making of kente cloth. There was also a large and impressive collection of batiking and stamping tools...I only regret that I didn’t have more time to spend in this impressive place.

When I returned to the ship there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers awaiting me from the Excursion’s Staff. I am, undoubtedly, one of their best customers and we have grown to really enjoy each other. What thoughtful people they are and what a difficult job they have doing their best to please so many different people in their various likes and dislikes. I was very touched to think that they would remember me in such a beautiful way.

So....I think I can say I have had a very birthday. Now I am looking forward to going to Lomé, Togo tomorrow.....stay tuned!