Ghana feels good to me. I’ve been doing a lot of yoga and meditation. Our first morning at the Stumble Inn in Elmina I got to swim in the clean white sandy beach.
Then I met Yaw who has a little shop where he makes jewellery and recycled tyre flip flops. He also sells African print clothes and bags, masks and souvenirs. My flip flops died so of course I got some cool tire ones.
We played a few games of wari, the game with four seeds in each pod. You distribute the seeds and try to win as many as you can. I’ve only played it with my brother’s girlfriend Louise and lost terribly each time. It was fun to give it another go but too heavy to buy one. They come in beautifully carved wooden boxes of all shapes, sizes, and designs.
After five days of wild camping Frazer, Martina, Lukas and I headed over to the posh neighbouring resort to use the wifi. We enjoyed some gin and tonics and the ping pong table too. When I jumped in the pool I was asked to come over to speak to the lifeguard as he wanted to inform me there was a charge for pool usage. I got out as 50 cedis (£8.90, €11.50) was a bit too much when the sea is right there.
On the way back a little girl called Elizabeth was so surprised when I told her I had the same name. She invited me to her house but she couldn’t speak much English so I declined. She had really nice energy and gave me a hug at the end of our conversation. In the evening we played cards against humanity which was behind the bar at the Stumble Inn.
Elmina is a small village next to the infamous Cape Coast. Tuesday 5th April Frazer, Ryan, Tom V and I took a taxi there and managed to bump into Christian in the supermarket. He’d had a hair cut and looked so chilled out he was almost horizontal. If Cape Coast has that effect on him I definitely want to explore more here.
We started with visiting Baobab House vegan restaurant for some drinks. They sell meringa leaf products which is apparently a super food full of vitamins and minerals. It’s great for vegans and vegetarians as it’s full of protein.
It’s also a foundation for children so any money spent in the restaurant, guest house and shop goes towards helping the local kids. They have upcycled plastic goods like purses made out of water sachets and which line material wash bags. Lots of colourful hand made clothes, Shea butter, coffee and household decorations.
While Frazer and Ryan went round the castle and Tom V went off with Christian I walked around town. I met a lady called Alberta who asked me to be her friend and a family down on the fishing beach who quizzed me on my origins. I bought some vegetables for dinner as Tom H had done the shopping yesterday so today was my turn.
For lunch I met Frazer and Ryan at Baobab house again. I was surprised Frazer came back as he’s very much a meat eater and he couldn’t drink his pineapple and ginger juice earlier because it was too strong.
I enjoyed a vegan curry with fried plantain then we headed back to the beach. Frazer told Tom H and I that if we found pumpkin he would make soup. It was a bit of a joke on his part as it isn’t pumpkin season but I bought some squash instead and he held true to his word.
As Frazer cooked I got to chat to Yaw some more and meet some puppies. Most of the dogs are neutered except one couple, obviously. We had much laughing after dinner playing cards against humanity again.
In the morning we left the beautiful beach of Elmina making our way to Accra stopping in Cape Coast for 1.5 hours – far too short of a time. This was some peoples first time and many wanted to visit the castle. Out protests fell on deaf ears.
Christian saw the truck pull up right next to his friends Bamboo Village so came over and offered to cook everyone lunch there with his local friend Kobi. This also was declined. We are headed to Kokrobite to stay at the famous Big Milly’s where an ex of Frazers works. No wonder he’s itching to get back to his favourite place. He’s lived in Ghana for years before he got kicked out. His brother and cousin also work here at the family power plant.
The plan was to meet back at 11.30am so Christian showed me round town while most people went to the castle. He took me up to the lighthouse to see the views. Then down round the town for some munchies including fresh coconut. Lastly he showed me round Bamboo village and I met Kobi. We chatted freely and laughed a lot.
Christian stayed here for a year five years ago and has returned a few times. Kobi is a vegan and hand built his guest house out of bamboo.
He also has a shop selling his tie dye t-shirts which is all pretty cool. His label is Jah Live. I reckon they would sell really well in the European festivals if anyone’s interested?
We bid farewell with the thought to return for the weekend as I’ve heard the beach at Accra is not as nice and the only reason we need to stay at Accra is to submit our passports for visas for Benin and Angola.
Just outside Accra is the little village called Kokrabite where we arrived at the renowned Big Milly’s. It’s like a little village in itself with a few different shops, juice bar, bar, restaurant, surf shop, pool table, ping pong table etc.
I played a couple games of pool and got to sleep in a dorm room for a change. On Thursday 7th we submitted our passports for our Benin visa which would be ready on Monday. After this I had a wave jumping session in the sea (too rough to swim!) then walked into the village with Shani and Lukas. On the way back we met Steven who was also staying at Big Milly’s.
Steven is a class room assistant from London with roots in Ghana. He was keen to show us around. He’s super cool with dreads down to his ankles tied up in a big knot. He tells us what he’s about, how he’s trying to teach the guys here not to hustle their drugs or sex on tourists. He’s also a waste warrior and spreader of peace and love. It all resonated, especially his message to love everyone.
Unfortunately there’s a sign on leaving Big Milly’s that reads “don’t take any valuables with you onto the beach.” It’s a real shame because I didn’t have any problem walking on the beach wth my camera. But perhaps I’m also seasoned at telling which people to avoid or I don’t give out that energy. I hope the bad reputation changes.
Steven was keen for us to meet his favourite person Angel Mike. They both left their hair natural, forming dreads, although Mike’s is a bit longer almost touching the ground. Mike is 69 years old and was suffering from another bought of malaria. He is a peaceful guy and I can see why Steven has been coming to him for years to hold counsel. They introduced us to the spirit made from palm tree roots. Brown in colour and strong in taste, it apparently has anti malaria properties both for prevention and cure. I’m not that keen. I’ll stick to Larium as I’ve not been experiencing to many side effects.
On the 8th I had another attempt at swimming then my friend Nana came to visit me. We met six years ago at an office job in Edinburgh and stayed connected through Facebook. I remember telling her back then that I would love to visit Ghana one day. And that day finally arrived.
I also remember she had just started chatting to a Ghanaian guy. Since then she’d married him, had a little girl and then moved back to Ghana together two years ago.
She brought Emmanuel and her two year old Neliah to meet me at Big Milly’s where we enjoyed the cool breeze upstairs overlooking the sea. We caught up and reminisced for a few hours before arranging to meet again on Tuesday after our Angola visa application.
As most people had gone in to Accra for the day I hung out with Lukas for the rest of the afternoon. Going for a walk along the beach and revisiting Angel Mike. In the evening Gudbjorg, Shani, Ryan and Tom H joined us in going to Tribal the local nightclub. There was a big open area where we all danced our stress away. I found out the next morning that the actual club was inside but it was tiny, and it was sweaty enough outside.
We missed playing cards against humanity so Martina being a crafty girl decided to make our own version. Cards against Vikings or Vikings against humanity, I’m not sure which but it’s a pretty funny game! After playing the morning away we left for Cape Coast.
Ten of us in all managed to spend the majority of the day taking the local shared taxis. We arrived just in time for me to learn a new recipe Kobi was cooking for everyone.
Agoshie (crushed dried melon seeds) with tomato sauce and gari (crushed cassava, smooth white paste thing). I absolutely loved the agoshie which is great for vegans as it has a lot of protein and looks a bit like scrambled egg. I’m not too sure about gari. Kobi served the food in a few bowls encouraging us to use our hands to eat. Christian bought some palm wine which was shared around in a coconut shell. As the night went on Kobi got his drum out and sung us some mesmerising tunes. He’s got a nice energy and told us all he’s just learning how to sing and play. It sounded pretty good to me.
In the morning we went to sit next to the castle and watch the sunrise. Hundreds of birds at this time fly over the castle as if to give thanks for their freedom. It’s really quite a special place. Back at Kobi’s I sat and listened to the sound of crashing waves. The beach is beautiful but the sea is a bit rough for swimming.
In the afternoon we went to the market to pick up ingredients for dinner. Again I learnt a new vegan dish of contembre (spinach) and banku (crushed maize, white paste thing). The spinach was boiled and crushed in a mortar and pestle to make a creamy green sauce. You break a piece of banku (same with gari) off and use it to scoop up the sauce. I prefer banku to gari which is a bit less bitter I guess.
Sunday night is the night to go out in Cape Coast but I was feeling quite tired. Almost everyone went out to enjoy a lively dance scene. Kobi wanted to go to a shop for some special type of peanut so we went in a taxi and the taxi drove through the street where everyone was dancing. The car could only inch forward as people jumped in front to bust a move in the headlamps. I’m glad I got to see the nightlife.
Ghanaians might be religious people but their dancing is some of the most sexual. A lot of grinding and shaking their arses. It can be quite intimidating for us obrunis (white person, or literally translated person from beyond the horizon).
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