Takoradi, Ghana

April 2, 2008

After two very tiring days in Senegal and The Gambia, we had three restful sea days before arriving in Ghana early in the morning.

Sekondi-Takoradi is Ghana’s third largest city and an industrial and commercial center. Located on the main railway lines to Accra and Kumasi, its chief industries are timber, plywood, cigarettes, shipbuilding and railroad repair. Ghana, meaning “Warrior King”, was inhabited by many different ancient kingdoms and gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. Takoradi, Ghana’s first deepwater seaport, built in 1928 and the older and larger Sekondi both stem from 17th century Dutch, Swedish and English forts. The two cities combined in 1946. While the beautiful beaches attract the tourist trade, Takoradi is well known for the Takoradi Technical Institute, a polytechnic school and the Ghana Secondary Technical School. Sekondi-Takoradi is a sister city of Boston, Massachusetts and Oakland, California. The Takoradi Technical Institute, or TTI, houses a Fabrication Laboratory, equipped by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the first of its kind in Africa. Although blessed with abundant natural resources, Ghana remains dependent on international financial and technical assistance. Exports include gold, timber, cocoa, diamonds, bauxite, and manganese and just recently an oilfield was discovered which may contain up to 1.3 billion barrels of light oil.

I elected to explore the “Village Life and Castles” of Ghana. The central region has fifteen of Ghana’s 27 forts and castles. Best known among these are Elmina, Cape Coast and Fort St. Jago – all designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

We began our tour by driving past the semi-deciduous tropical vegetation and through coastal savannah. We passed farming communities noted for distilling their sugarcane crop into a local gin called akpeteshie.

Cape Coast Castle was originally built as a small trading lodge, but later underwent various extensions until it became a fortification. It was occupied by the Dutch in 1637, captured by the Swedes in 1652 (and renamed Fort Corolusburg), and finally landed in the hands of the British who named it Cape Coast Castle. Having played a significant role in the gold and slave trade, it served also as the first seat of the British Government in the Gold Coast as well as a haven for missionaries and educational work. Among the castle’s interesting features are the West African Historical Museum it houses, the Dalziel Tower, the graves of Governor George MacClean and his poet wife, Leticia Landon, the slave dungeons, Palaver Hall where slaves were bargained for and sold. We saw mortars and cannonballs used in the defense of the castle.

We continued on to Duakor, a typical fishing village complete with thatched mud houses and centuries-old traditions that transcend the 21st century. It was here that we saw the daily life of the villagers as they went about their activities. The main livelihood of the people is fishing and fish preservation. I was amazed as I watched three people lift a large bowl of small fish....very heavy onto the head of a very small elderly woman who proceeded to walk away as though she was out for a Sunday stroll. I will always remember the fascinating people of Ghana because of all their head parcels! They seemingly carry everything on their heads!

Another major economic activity of this village is the production of gari (grated cassava). Gari is the staple diet of most low-income earners of Ghana. We watched as the locals peeled the root, strained it, and roasted it and finally bagged it to sell in the many markets for less than $1.00 a bag! (The daily income for a typical Ghanese is only $2.50.) I tasted a bit...although it looked like our southern grits it was very grainy, like finely chopped nuts, but less flavorful. Apparently once when served it is “softened” with water and mixed with milk and sugar and eaten like cereal.
We paid homage to the local chief and elders of the community where what he said and what we said had to be “interpreted” by a “linguist.” Apparently it is very taboo to speak directly to the chief. We then were invited to shake their hands and make a “contribution” to the community. I opted to watch my fellow travelers pay their respects as I stayed back in the shade......it must have been well over 100 degrees in the mid-day sunshine...but was fascinated to see this bizarre hand shaking ritual where there was lots of changing of hand positions ending in a snapping of the fingers.

We visited a local school where the children were all cleanly dressed in their uniforms and “performed” various recitations for us on cue. It was fun to see them proudly show what they had learned and then flock toward our cameras.

Traveling through coconut plantations and salt ponds, we finally arrived in Elmina, another fishing village. Here we were able to photograph the Elmina Castle, built in 1482 by the Portuguese. The castle measures 97,000 square feet and within its walls is the Columbus compass, used by Columbus to set his compass on his voyage to the New World.

Throughout the day I couldn’t help but be impressed by the scores of evangelical churches and organizations. Hundreds...thousands!....of these small churches dotted the shanty villages that peppered the road. The shops were equally fascinating: Power of the Blood Butchers, Jesus Loves you Beauty Salon, Jesus Saves tire store, Hallelujah Café....it just didn’t stop!

All in all, it was a most colorful day in this colorful, if poor, part of Africa. Tomorrow is in Tema and Accra Ghana....stay tuned!