Ghana, September 13-16, 2011

We arrived at the port in Tema on the eastern outskirts of Accra on Tuesday, Sept. 13 after a six-day sail from Morocco. We were warmly welcomed with traditional African drumming and many vendors who set up shop outside the ship.

Last year Ghana had the world's fastest growing economy…

but we were overwhelmed by the poverty, traffic, and lack of sanitation. The Ghanaians are very friendly and have a wonderful spirit. We loved the food and we had an intense and wonderful experience

.

We left for an overnight excursion to Winneba, a small fishing village west of Accra. After a 3 hour drive we were greeted by the mayor and other community elders before heading to our hotel. 

That evening we were treated to a performance by the students at the local college. The singing, drumming, and dancing were fantastic.  The whole room was energized.

We love the leather hats – very cool

The next morning, we toured the local market and met the “Market Queen” who is responsible for settling disputes within the market. If you don’t abide by her decisions, you are banned from selling in the market for 2 months.  Check out the beautiful fabrics – the Ghanaians dress very colorfully.

After the market, we visited the fishing village. Very aromatic – if only our blog offered “scratch and sniff” technology, you could also enjoy the experience. Check out the colorful boats.

Here’s Lizzie and an SAS student, Chrissy, posing with some village kids we met. Chrissy’s paper says “Madase” which means “Thank you.”

We went back to the University for more dancing, drumming, and singing. The musicians and dancers put on a passionate performance.

As a token of gratitude for all of their performances, one of the SAS students got up and sang “Ave Maria” to the Ghanaians. We were moved that a college student would be willing and able to make such a public expression of gratitude.

Scott learns the Ghanaian handshake from one of the Ghanaian students

The next day we went on a tour of the Elmina and Cape Coast slave castles and dungeons.  These are just two of the many castles that were used as holding prisons for Africans who had been kidnapped by rival tribes and sold into slavery.

They were forced to walk hundreds of miles to the castles and held under horrific conditions before being forced onto slave ships bound for the New World… a very intense experience that we will never forget.

Here is the “Door of No Return” where slaves were forced to pass to board ships and never return.

This plaque makes a powerful statement.

We stopped for lunch at a beach-side resort and enjoyed local food, entrepreneurial vendors, and the beautiful setting.

Along the way we saw many interesting sights, including this intriguing sign.

On the last day we toured Tema and had lunch at a restaurant featuring West African food. We celebrated being on the Prime Meridian (exactly zero degrees longitude).

Scott and Lizzie literally have their left foot in the Eastern Hemisphere and their right in the Western Hemisphere.








As we left port, Lizzie celebrated her Ghana experience with a little drumming.

Next stop: Cape Town on September 23!