Ghana on the run – Cross Ghana Budget tour in 5 days - 1st day
After spending all 6 days of general assembly of IFMSA; the International federation of medical students’ associations in Accra between Erata hotel – our accommodation –, Mensvic hotel – the event venue -, DNR Turkish restaurant, and Accra Mall, we discovered that we didn’t see any of Ghana yet!
Accra from above - all what we have seen for the first 6 days in Accra!
We started by paying a visit to the Egyptian embassy in Accra where we met Mr Wael our consul there; a really cooperative and friendly 25 years young man who seems to love Ghana. He gave us some advices about places to go and some contacts. Also he advised us not to go to Tamale and Mole Game park as it is more 12 hours drive from Accra and it is not that rich of wild life just some animals they brought to live there! So we cancelled it from our planes to spend more time in cape coast and Volta region.
This tour was made true with help of Fatima – sister of a friend of mine on couchsurfing.org – she is an active young Ghanaian who spent the whole tour with us.
So from now on it is 3 of us Hussein, Nora and me, plus Fatima our guide.
1st day; Friday 9th of march 2012
9:00 am: Fatima passed by us in Erata hotel -http://www.eratahotel.com/-, then we went to Mensvic hotel to bring Mona who spent that day with us till her flight afternoon. we moved our luggage and checked in budget hotel near down town, in Canda neighborhood; club 10 hotel -http://club10accra.com/-.
last day in Erata hotel before leaving to club 10
1:00 pm: we took taxi to the national museum; where we got great introduction to Ghana culture and traditions and that gave us clues to all next days even in buying souvenirs and clothes.
“MM 2012 participants will relate, Ghanaian youth leader carrying a flag and leading people during wars or festivals – from the opening ceremony –“
Notes I still remember:
-they have that colorful special cloth and each pattern does mean or tell something.
- they used to stamp their clothes with Adinkra symbols that had meanings to them
- how tribes live and their common traditions, tools and dances.
- the story of slavery and St. George Castel in cape coast.
Dance of the Agbadza
Some common Adinkra symbols
Then we had a 20 minutes’ walk to kwame Nkrumah memorial park;
Nkrumah was Ghana’s prime minster who announced their independence from Great Britain in March 1957. And he was married to an Egyptian woman Mrs Fathia Nkrumah.
Nkrumah Grave
Note the ladder of death Adinkra symbol; resembling mortality
5 pm: we went to Accra mall where we met the rest of IFMSA-Egypt delegation and had launch in Pizza Inn. Then we were divided; hussein went with others to Mensvic and we went with Fatima to Ashanti gold FC camp to meet some of her friends there – they had match in Ghana premier league next day and they 1 to 0 against Almighty Giants FC –
Then we returned to club 10 and spent the night; the rooms are fairly clean with good service but there were a cockroach in girls’ room wash room.
Notes about Ghana:
- People are really friendly and taxi drivers are into casual chats just like Egyptian ones.
- You should try grilled and chips bananas, fresh pineapple juice and the cola fruit.
- Always negotiate whatever price you get with taxi or sellers, sometimes you can reach a less than 50% deal!!
- Always move with your water, the water bags do taste strange! They are clean though.
- Official language is English, so it is easy most of time to communicate with people, listen to radio and news and read road signs. Other language they use is Akan and Hausa – people use them sometimes in their personal life and discussions.
- Currency is Ghanaian Cidi; 1 USD = 1.65 GhC
- Tro-Tro is their public transportation; the microbus.
