Most of us were downstairs for breakfast anyway and with
the meeting of Hadjit, Andy, Eve and Patty, our group was now complete. It is funny that we have 3 Pat’s in the group
and I cracked a funny of a pat-trick which I thought was hilarious but not sure
that anyone else got. But we have
Patrick, Pat and Patty which is less names to remember I guess!!! The meeting went for an hour and I do agree
it doesn’t matter how many trips/overland trips you have been on you need to
listen to the brief as each company has a different way of running things and
each driver/guide also has a way of doing things. This trip is a unique trip to a unique part
of the world and with that come’s the unknown.
Both Zoe and Sam have been guiding/driving for a number of years on
different continents, but this West Africa trip is new for them with this being
their first tour for both. Normally this
would instill a little bit of doubt of neither of them being here before or
knowing the trip/places we are going to but after spending time with them both
the last 2 days I do not have a care in world as Zoe makes friends with every
single person she meets, she is personable, caring and has the confidence to
handle anything that would come our way.
The double bonus is when we get further west her French will be
invaluable to us all. Sam has been with
Dragoman for 4 years, and in overland time, that is a lifetime, with the high
turnover with staff, so between them both I know that we are in safe
hands. We did a quick whip around the
group and it seems we are all ‘advanced’ travelers and it would surprise me if
we weren’t. This would not be a trip for
a first timer for sure. I also have to
mention Patty. People think I am brave
in tackling this part of the world, and I guess maybe it is, but Patty is deaf
and has come all the way from the USA.
Call me brave? Wait till you hear
more of this amazing woman. Out of the 7
it is Patty and I that are doing the whole 70 days. The rest of the group finish their trip in 3
weeks back here in Accra and then we pick up 10 more people for our next
section. The meeting lasted around an
hour and then we had a free day to explore more of Accra. Patty, Pat and I decided to head to one of
the markets they have in the city to check out what we could buy and I had set
myself a budget of 100AUD for this as I know I could go nuts if I didn’t set
some form of limit.
After arranging a time to meet everyone again for dinner
tonight at 6.30pm, a taxi was hailed and we agreed on a price of 5GHS (2.50AUD)
for the 10 minute ride to The Arts Centre.
It was a Sunday today and the roads were pretty quiet of people and
traffic. We did drive past the Independence Arch which is part of the Independence Square that contains monuments to Ghana's
independence struggle, including the Independence Arch, Black Star Gate, and
the Liberation Day Monument. The Independence Square is the second largest City Square in the world after Tiananmen
Square in Beijing, China, and it looked
massive and very, very impressive indeed.
It has a back drop of the Atlantic Ocean and with the Ghana flags
flapping in the breeze it was a sight to behold as our taxi guy slowed for us
to take a photo. As of 2011, the
Independence Arch is guarded by several soldiers who prohibit people of taking
close up pictures of the Arch and asking visitors for official permission, but
you are free to take pictures of the area, if you make it quick.
We arrived at The Arts Centre just after 12 noon and it
was not what I had pictured in my head.
It is funny sometimes what you picture and what the reality is at times
and this was one of them for me. At
first sight, it looked like a small dusty shanty town and there were not a lot
of people around. After reading the
blurbs about the place it made it seem a hive of activity, and maybe with it
being Sunday, it was less quite than during the week. The second our taxi arrived, we were swarmed
by 3-4 men all offering us to come and visit their shops and without seeming
rude, we just kept walking to the ‘shed’s in the hope that we would lose them
eventually. Well that was wishful
thinking, but after asking them to give us a little space, they did respect
that even though they did follow us around for most of the morning, and the
only time we would lose one was after we had visited their shop and had a look
inside.
The Centre for National Arts and Culture, popularly known
as Arts Centre, is located next to the Kwame Nkrumah Musoleum. The reason most of the hundreds of people who
visit the place every day is to buy or sell in the arts and craft market. It is the biggest market for handicraft
products in the country. All kinds of handicrafts imaginable may be found in
this market. The items range from wood carvings, traditional musical instruments,
cane and raffia products, leather ware, gold, silver and bronze jewelry, beads,
clay products, antiques, paintings to ivory products, and many more. These
items are brought to the markets from various parts of the country and also
from other countries within the West African sub-region including, Mali,
Burkina Faso, Niger, Cote d'Ivoire, Togo, Senegal and Nigeria. The arts and
craft market provides employment opportunities for many people. Skills have
been developed in carving, painting, designing, metal works to service the
market and is in fact one of the most important tourist attraction sites in the
City of Accra and in Ghana. It is known
as a popluar location for tourists wanting a one-stop-shop for arts and crafts
with the stalls crammed full with textiles, carvings, bags, music instruments,
clothing and jewellery. After the first
hour, a lot of the shops sell the same things and you end up just doing a good
thing by looking in the shop to make them happy. In saying that we did not leave empty handed
and I am proud to report that I stuck close, very close to my budget and I
walked away with some nice things. The
beauty is that we will be back in 3 weeks and if we dint see anything
worthwhile buying on the road then I can have a second bite at the cherry when
we come back to Accra. The stalls
continued through the main hangar, and into an outdoor market that holds the
more interesting treasures such as metal ornaments, drums, wood furnishing,
antiques and leather goods and of note there is less hassle at the back of the
market and remember that all prices are negotiable, NEVER pay the first price
asked. A classic for me was a beautiful
beaded mask that the original price was 190GHS (85AUD) and I got it for 60GHS
(30AUD). I don’t feel as intimidated
here, and I wonder if it is because I have my Nairobi swagger/confidence
on?
After 2 hours and feeling like we had seem most of
everything, we walked back to the main entrance to a waiting cab to take us
back to Osu, the area where we were staying.
With the taxi only costing us 5GHS to the market, he was asking 15GHS
back! Really. We settled on 7GHS and were finally on our
way back. Located about 3 kilometres
east of the central business district, Osu is a district in central Accra known for its busy
commercial, restaurant and nightlife activity. It is locally known as the
"West End" of Accra. Owing to
its establishment as a settlement around the Danish fort of Christiansborg in the 17th century, Osu offers a mix
of houses dating from the early 20th century (both low-rise apartment blocks
and detached houses) to modern office towers. Ringway Estates, a gated
residential community. The main thoroughfare,
Cantonments Road (colloquially known as Oxford Street) features large
supermarkets and appliance shops, and is renowned for its food joints and
lively nightlife. At its southern end is the site of the 17th-century Fort
Christiansborg, a former Danish
colonial fort, which
currently houses Ghana's seat of government.
We asked to be dropped on the main road, Cantonments at a
place called Frankies for us to stop for lunch as we were ravenous as it was
nearly 2pm. It was an air-conditioned
restaurant located on the second floor that had a menu of a typical American
diner. It was nice to get out of the
heat and take a load off as it really is the humidity that makes it all so
sticky here, as my weather app on my IPod keeps telling me it is only 26C, when
it feels like 35C. We were about a 15
minute walk from the hotel and there are a few stalls by the road that Pat
wanted to look at on our way back and besides us being roomies for the 3 weeks,
we both love to snap A LOT of photos and we also have a love to shop at the
markets and look at all the jewellery shops.
A match made in tentie/roomy heaven when not everyone enjoys shopping at
markets, so it works well for the both of us.
So needless to say we stopped at some places and I have to say I am
getting addicted to the colourful dresses and skirts that are swinging from
coat hangers all over the city. There
are also bags made of the same material called Kente, which is a mass of colour
and prints and I am falling in love with them.
I am not a sewer, and I was thinking to find anything that would be in
my size would be impossible and was really just telling myself that I would
never get anything. BUT as things have a
way of working out, we made one last stop at a place that had a dress hanging
like the one I had seen earlier at the markets.
They were asking for 75GHS, which I didn’t want to pay and when I saw it
again at this place I thought maybe it was a sign, so I asked the price and he
said 45GHS straight off the cuff, so I told him I would give him 30GHS, but he
them explained to me that it costs 5GHS a meter for the material, there was 4m
of material in the dress and if he sold it to me that cheap he would lose
money. When I hear the breakup of how
much it all costs, I don’t mind paying the money and bought the dress. As we were walking out, I looked at a skirt
and he said do you like it and I told him I did but I would not fit it and he
told me that they could make one for me no problems. You hear this a lot and I went to leave and
he asked me to come to his back room where there was a guy on a sewing machine
making clothes. This was the only guy we
had seen with the clothes made on site, so we agreed on a price of 40GHS (lots
of material required for a fatty), I got to pick what fabric I wanted and was
told to come back in 30 minutes! Just
like that. I was excited as I really,
really love the fabric but I didn’t want to get too happy as I have clothes
made for me before and they have not turned out as you would imagine, so I will
keep it all in check until I see the final product.
To save us walking back to the hotel only having to turn
around again pretty much straight away, we decided to stop in at KFC for a
drink only, lucky we had just eaten as I would have easily had something to eat
there, I LOVE KFC, but I didn’t and we waited 25 minutes and with some big,
dark storm clouds blowing in we decided to head back to the shop to see if we
could get a head start on the rain that was looming. When we got back they were just finishing the
skirt and within 5 minutes I had it on and after 3 amendments, taking it off,
the guy unpicking, re-sewing and me trying it on again, it was AMAZING!!!!! As we were discussing the making of more, the
storm was so close now that all the stall holders were starting to bring in all
their wares and Pat didn’t want to get caught in the downpour, so she left to
try and get back to the hotel before the heavens opened and as I was so happy
with my new skirt I said I wanted another 2 made and that I would be back at
6.30pm to pick them up. I just wanted a
bigger band at the waist, but otherwise I was incredible happy, I picked out 2
more fabrics for the skirts and with a small skip in my step I would be back in
a few hours. 20AUD for a made to fit
skirt is pretty cool, and in Ghanaian fabric is even cooler. Just as Patty and I were about to leave, it
start to, not just rain, but rain CATS and DOGS. It only took around 15 minutes for the roads
to flood and the small tin shop that we were in started to flood at the front
and there was a leak in the back where we were and everyone was running around
madly trying to bring in the last of their wares out of the downpour. I also pointed out what looked like
electrical cords that were sitting in a pool of water, which they replied that
they were not plugged in, but I decided to get out of the pool of water I was
standing in with the electrical cords, just to be on the safe side.
The heavy rain lasted around 20 minutes and then slowed
to a small patter and Patty and I deemed it enough to put up with for our walk
home, even though it was raining, it was still hot and we welcomed the cool of
the rain drops on our skin. But when we
stepped out, because the puddles were so high after the down pour and the road was
unpredictable at the best of times it was hard to judge where to walk as you
couldn’t see the ground at all due to the muddy water, so we seeked cover under
a bank awning when a taxi stopped and tooted to us asking if we wanted a lift,
which they do all the time here and normally you just wave them on or say no
thinks, but it was a blessing this time and we agreed for the 5GHS which I am
sure was a rip as we paid that for the ride to the Arts Centre that morning but
I have to say it was the best 5GHS (2.50AUD) we had spent all day!!!
It was now around 5pm and we had some free time to chill
out of the heat back at the hotel before dinner at 6.30pm. The hotel is what you would expect of Africa
and the location is great, the Wi-Fi brilliant but the one thing that lets it
down is their water. I haven’t had a
good, proper shower in 2 days. This
morning was a trickle, but enough to wash with but certainly not enough to wash
your hair with and during the day there was no water. But besides that, I really like it here, the
staff are friendly, the owners are around if you wanted to talk to them and it
has a nice feel to it. At 6.30pm we met
downstairs and asked the owner on a Sunday where would be a good place to go
for dinner and he said that the Italian place called Mamma Mia was good and we
all agreed to Italian. I still had to go
back and collect my skirts, so I walked with the group to where the restaurant
was, told them what to order me if I wasn’t back by the time they were ready
and I walked to the skirt shop on my own.
It was just getting dark now and I had no issues what so ever about my
safety, and it wasn’t even on the main thoroughfare and I think I just have my
Nairobbery feelers still on and to know that I am still in Africa and it was
safe enough to walk around at night on my own felt really foreign to me. So I collected my other 2 skirts and they had
done exactly what I asked and the skirts looked amazing. I told them I would try them on when I got
home and if there were any issues I would come back tomorrow. I was very happy leaving Accra with 3 new
skirts for 65AUD, yes not bad at all and they were in the beautiful vibrant
colours of Ghana!!!!
I headed back to Mamma Mia’s and as this is Africa, the
group had not yet ordered so it was all perfect timing. I hit a brick wall around 8pm and I think it
is just all the hot and humid weather that is knocking me for a six. I can’t remember the last time I was in
weather this sticky and I think it was my trip in Sri Lanka last October, oh
and a Brisbane summer in December, but certainly not for the last 9
months. It really does remind me of
Darwin weather and how mum and I lived up there for so long is a mystery to me
with weather like this all year round!!!
Listening to conversations around the table and the group still bonding,
it felt a little like a pissing contest on how much people had travelled as
they compared stories and it may sound a little harsh, and maybe it is just my
tiredness kicking in, and based on that after dinner at 9pm, the group decided
to go to a local pub for some drinks and I wished them all a good night and
headed home on my own. The hotel was
around a 15 minute walk and again I was safe and sure enough walking home, but
I did balk for a second as I passed a Barclays Bank knowing I needed to get
money out of the ATM, I knew it was a bad idea drawing money out at night, on
my own, stopped for a nano second to think what a bad idea it was and after
thinking of Steve and our talks on running with our gut instincts, I walked
straight past all the ATMS and went straight home, not passing go and not
collecting any money getting home at 9.30pm.
It was time to get some blogging done and Pat got home at 10.45pm where
we watched some TV and then lights were out after some chatting and reading at
11.30pm.
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