Day 47 - Accra

Nothing could have quite prepared us for the world we dropped anchor in today.  Nonetheless, they did try.  Here is what we knew going in: Although Ghana is poor (27% living under $1.25/day), it is the shining star of hope in Africa.  Ghana gained independence from Britain in 1957 (hence the national language is English) and had military rule until 1992.  In 1992, a political party grew out of the regime, and a fledgling democracy was born.  The president served two terms and then lost the next election.  The citizens were anxious about whether the party would step down or continue to rule as a dictatorship.  It stepped down.  Ghana’s government is now ranked less corrupt than that of Greece and Italy.  Oil has just been discovered in Ghana, and the hope is that the government will not squander away the new income.  The next presidential election is coming up this year, but the former president just died this summer, and now the vice president is running in his place.  Also, Ghana is a major exporter of cocoa, and all the major chocolate companies have outposts here to purchase the cocoa beans.

When we arrived in Ghana, the locals were ready.  Right outside the ship they set up a row of booths selling all sorts of souvenirs.  The vendors are very interactive and friendly, bordering on aggressive.  The welcome you to come in and look “for free” and will sometimes just take your hand and lead you in.  One man put his arm around me and his face cheek-to-cheek with mine as he was showing me his merchandise.  Sometimes they say “I love you” or call you their wife.  I had heard that the Ghanaian people were very friendly, but this was not what I expected.

We extracted ourselves with great difficulty and caught a shuttle to Accra, only 16 miles away but an hour and a half drive.  Soon, we found out why.  The traffic in Ghana is absurd.  There is a continuous traffic jam, and the local vendors take full advantage of it; people walk along the lane lines selling anything and everything to drivers through the window.  You had your pick of beverages, foods, light bulbs, newspapers, fertilizer, and plungers, among other things.  Many of the vendors and women walking the streets were effortlessly balancing huge loads on their heads – more than I could carry in my arms!

We arrived in a parking lot in Accra, and the bus was immediately surrounded by street vendors.  Some people got away by saying they will buy on their way back to the bus, after they exchange money.  We tried to find a path around them without getting stopped, and we actually managed to get through the parking lot, but there were more waiting just around the corner.  They all make bracelets on the spot with your name or “Ghana” on it.  They carry around little notebooks and tell you to write your name.  “No thanks” doesn’t work with them, and eventually you will write some name just to get them to stop.  Then without asking whether you want one or not, they start making bracelets for you, following you wherever you go.

They finish the bracelets within a few minutes, then tell you how much they like you, make small talk, distract you, and finally name a price.  The one making my bracelet was selling one for 40 Ghana cedi – that’s $20!  I laughed at him and named my price: 1 cedi.  He got legitimately offended, and when I tried to give the bracelet back he said I should just have it for free.  It is common for them to give the first one away for free anyway so then they can name you a price for two.  I felt bad – the reaction they hope for, I think – and kept trying to give the bracelet back, but after a couple rounds of this I just walked away without paying.  He was not happy, and I had to carry around a stupid bracelet all day.

I did leave a couple vendors with toothbrushes.  An organization called Global Grins, founded by SAS alums, left us with 30,000 toothbrushes that we were to distribute before returning to Florida.  I started handing some out toothbrushes, asking about kids, nieces, nephews.  They say yes to everything, and I stopped when they got too eager, though not soon enough.  I couldn’t imagine a reason to want toothbrushes other than so you and your family could brush teeth, but they tried to sell them back to students for the same 40 cedi.  I was very disheartened that our good intentions were wasted on these vultures.

We walked around the side of the road for a while – there were no sidewalks, just road, gutter, and dirt.  The gutters were ditches by the side of the road occasionally covered by concrete or metal grates.  I don’t believe the water actually drains to anywhere, and the stench of stale water filled the air.  We hopped back and forth over the gutter, depending on where there was walking space.

Our usual method of following the biggest road didn’t work here.  There was nothingness in every direction.  There was no tourist information center to be found.  We finally gave up and took a taxi to Accra Central, the main market.  (The three of us paid 5 cedi – $2.50.)  The taxi took us along a path that we never would have figured out on our own and dropped us off at the start of the marketplace.  We got out and saw endless booths on both sides of the roads selling everything from cloth to clothes to food to outdated remote controls.  We began exploring.

The marketplace was extremely crowded, and you couldn’t get through without bumping shoulders with other people and the vendors themselves.  The vendors reach out and grab your wrist and actually hiss at you to get your attention.  I felt only a little better when I saw they do this to everyone, not just to us white people. 

We kept walking the streets, this time in search of a place to eat.  We were given numerous warnings about water safety and how to avoid diarrhea.  We of course were not supposed to drink the water.  Also, we were supposed to avoid fruits, as they may have been rinsed in the water; we were supposed to avoid drinking from straws, because they are apparently reused and washed in the water; and we were to make sure foods are hot and thoroughly cooked.  Basically, we were scared to try anything.

We finally sat down at a “café,” which was a little booth with a tin roof for shade and a few chairs and tables.  We ordered soft drinks, which came to us in bottles and were opened in front of us.  Then the waitress came back with a bag of straws and prompted us to take one.  We each took a straw, the waitress left, and we all stared at each other, straws in hand.  Without a word, we put the straws on the table and drank from the bottles.

We were still hungry, and we continued walking the streets in search.  One vendor cried, “But something!” and I was surprised that they feel downright entitled to our money.  We walk all the way out of the market area and just walk the streets.  There are mostly shanty buildings, but also a lot of new, fancy banks.  Surely there must be a place nearby for the bankers to eat lunch!  We finally stumble across one building with pictures of food on it.  We walk over and are guided to a table with a pitcher of water and a small bottle of soap on it.  (We reach for our hand sanitizers instead.)  We ordered a couple of things that had names we didn’t recognize, and ended up with chicken, rice, and a muffin.  The chicken and rice were spicy but very good (and thoroughly cooked). The muffin was not sweet, but some kind of ginger/nutmeg bread dough.  We also tried a beverage called Guinness Malta (the same company as the beer, but this was non-alcoholic).  I can only describe the taste as drinkable bread.

After lunch, we wandered the streets more, but there was nothing more to find.  We eventually caught a taxi back to the bus stop.  The vendors were still there waiting!  The students who got away in the morning were out of luck, because the vendors will actually remember your name and face and track you down.  You will argue with a vendor and say you have no more money but in the end buy something.  By this point, you really have spent all your money, but as soon as the first vendor leaves, three more swoop in to harass your empty wallet.  That shuttle could not come soon enough.

Back on the ship, I showered the day away and bought ice cream, just so something good would happen today.  I’ve been told the Ghanaians are some of the nicest people you will meet, and I am more excited than ever to explore rural Ghana, away from all the vendors, and meet the people I have been hearing about.