Accra, Ghana

We had a stop the very next day after Togo in Ghana. We decided to take a tour to the city of Accra. We soon noticed that Accra had many similarities to that of Togo but there was also a wealthier class that Togo did not have. This was due in part to the Gold found within Ghana`s borders. Accra was about an hour away from where our ship docked so the beginning of the tour was a sightseeing tour with commentary. When we finally got to Accra our first stop was at a monument and museum for Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. He was the first president of Ghana after they had gained their independence.

We then got back on the bus and headed to the Novotel. This was a fancy hotel where we were allowed to go on our own for a few hours. We decided to take a cab to a market nearby. Our tour operators called a cab for us. When the cab arrived they very strictly told the driver that he was to charge us $10 an hour and that he would help us out in the market with negotiating prices. He followed us in and was quite a help. The shop owners would tell us their initial price and every time he would smile and shake his head and tell them to lower their price. It took some of the pressure of haggling off of us which was nice since it was so crowded. We walked around the market as best we could for about 30 minutes. People kept grabbing at us and trying to convince us to purchase from them. We ended up getting a few nice items and went back to the hotel for lunch.

After lunch our tour took us to the National Museum in Ghana. As we drove to our destination we saw many of the street vendors in Ghana. The people will all gather where ever traffic jams occur and walk up and down the roads selling their products. They sell anything from food to toiletries and everything in between. Our tour guides told us that the government has tried to stop this but their efforts had obviously not succeeded yet. The museum showed the history of life in Ghana and although it was better than some of the museums we had visited in Africa it was still nothing like the museums you would find in Canada, the United States or in Europe. They had two small shops in the museum and most of the people on the tour seemed to be more interested in what was in the stores then what was in the museum.

Our tour concluded with yet another interesting stop on consecutive days although this stop wasn`t quite as out there as the Fetish Market. We got to stop at a casket making shop but not any ordinary one. At this shop the caskets were all custom designs based on the person’s life. If they had been a fisherman the casket being built may have been of a boat or ship. If the deceased had always dreamed of flying then the casket may have been of a plane so their dream could finally come true. It was definitely an interesting way of celebrating one’s life. After about 15 minutes it was than time to head back to the ship.

The new presidential palace

Market

The second biggest square in the world

A school