Takoradi, Ghana Day 1

After docking in Takoradi, Ghana, it took a good couple of hours for the ship to clear. Usually when we get into port the officials come on and it’s a matter of an hour or hour and a half before we’re good to go. This time however, it took roughly three. We can’t get off until all of our documents have been checked so it kind of put a damper on the start of our day. None of us had anything too drastic planned though so it all worked out.

Once cleared, a group of us decided to go to Busua beach to go surfing. We gather up all of our stuff and get off the gangway ready to go. Little did we know, we had to walk about 15-20 minutes from the ship’s dock, down the railroad tracks, past the cocoa and rubber factories, past the storage and shipping facilities and then out the port gates. It was suuuuper sketchy. And the smells. This was the first time in Ghana I would be appreciating my cold. The rubber fumes and smell of urine alone were enough, but the cocoa. Oh my god, the cocoa. The fermentation plant just gave off this awful odor of spoiled vinegar. We couldn’t figure out what could possibly make that smell. When we found out it was actually cocoa, as in the type you use to make a chocolate bar and all other delicious chocolaty goodness, we were astounded. I can’t really describe how much this actually smelled but some people were literally gagging behind scarfs and t-shirts from it.  Thank you stuffy nose!

Once we powered through the stench, we got out to the main gates and were immediately hounded by a dozen or so salesmen and taxi drivers all begging for our attention and money. However, we needed to get some cash before we could do anything so we walked into town for another 20 minutes.

One thing they didn’t tell us was that MasterCard hasn’t really infiltrated Ghana yet. And being Sunday, it was hard enough to find any open ATM’s for anyone (Visa included) to use.  We kept walking and walking until we finally found a huge grouping of SAS kids. This wasn’t going to work for a couple of us so we kept walking to find a MC ATM. After many failed attempts, we finally found one close to the market.. But, after letting two kids go ahead of me who an entire bus tour was waiting for, the ATM ran out of cash. Sooo frustrating. Kim was really nice and lent me money for the rest of the day so I would have something, but it was so annoying to not have cash on me.

13 of us piled into a tro-tro (big taxi/van/bus type thing) and started on the 45 minute drive to the beach. As if the ride wasn’t rough enough thanks to the lack of suspension or shock absorption, we had to stop a few times so the driver could pay off the police at the check pointes. As we each only paid 2 Cedi’s for the ride, I don’t know how he had any money to bribe with. I guess that’s why the same guy charged us 5 Cedi’s for the way home. We made it to the beach and had an awesome time playing on the other side of the Atlantic. The water was beautiful and the weather was perfect. Out a little ways there was an island that was picture perfect. We spent the morning and early afternoon at the Black Sand Surf Shop eating, drinking, and swimming. Even though we didn’t actually get surf lessons, we rented two boards and tried it out anyway.

In the water, we saw some locals paddling out in these rickety old canoes/boats that looked like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean. Two boats filled with 10-12 men went out, dropped something, then came back in. Then we saw all these kids and other men coming to help pull these ropes out of the water. We went over and it turns out they were fishing. Everyone was helping pull the nets so naturally we jumped in and started heaving too. While we tried to help for as long as possible, the kids around us had other ideas. They grabbed at us and wanted to play. We played the patty-cake games and then they taught us theirs, we would spin them around in circles until we literally couldn’t stand up anymore. Everyone wanted attention so it was really hard to get around to all the kids. Then the camera’s came out. Ghanaian children LOVE to have their picture taken. They would shove each other out of the way, pose like crazy, run into any shot you were taking, and then smile these huge smiles that you couldn’t help but to capture. When we showed them the picture in the camera they would go crazy. They couldn’t get enough of it. When it was time to leave they all walked us out and crowded the bus and then waved until they couldn’t see us anymore. It’s amazing how children can be so open to other people. They let their guard down completely just to enjoy the moment and smile for a picture. It was so weird to think that those kids were going back to their homes, which were little more than shacks when we were going back to the ship.

Once home we had to quick run to dinner. All gross and sandy from the beach, we just changed and then got food. When I took off my bikini top, it was literally like a shower of sand coming down my back. Blah. My shower after dinner felt really good. That night we all wanted to go out. It seemed like all of the SAS kids were at this place we went to, Ocean Bar. It was awesome. It was kind of like a strip mall of bars/food stands/outdoor dance floors. And, the super bowl was on. There were about 5 of us cheering for the Packers. Since Peprah or whatever his name is plays for the Packers and is from Ghana, we convinced the locals to cheer for the Pack too. Because of the time change, the game didn’t start until around 11:30pm. We stayed for the whole thing. Between dancing, cheering,  at 3:30am, the win and the overall atmosphere of the night, we had an amazing time. We took a taxi home, made the trek through the port to the ship and then I had to get ready to leave for my Village Stay at 4:30am.