With all the information we had found, we decided to cover ourselves with all the documentation we could to make it easy to get a visa at the airport on arrival. We had copies of a letter from the bank stating we had sufficient funds. We bought a fully refundable flight ticket to show onward travel. We copied the relevent emails from the embassies we had contacted. We booked accommodation in Accra and had a copy of a letter of invitation from the accommodation place to say we had bookings there. Then we crossed our fingers!
We had to get an early taxi for our 8.30 am flight. We were the first to check in and had to wake the dozing clerk at the desk. The airline, Ethiopian Airways, were not worried that we didn't have a visa and only wanted to know we had an onward ticket from Ghana.
The plane was not as modern as the ones we flew with internally but it was OK. There were TVs in the aisle and that was the only entertainment for the six hour flight. There was a noticeable number of Chinese men on the flight who were the last to turn off their cell phones before the flight and the first to turn them on on landing, probably business men rather than tourists.
On arrival we went to the visa desk and filled in a form, paid $150 US each and were given a 30 day visa without having to refer to any of our documents. Expensive but no hassle!
The ride we had been promised didn't arrive to pick us up at the airport so we had to buy a local SIM card and call the guest house. The owner told us to wait out front and then we were picked up by a driver. 45 minutes later we were at the guest house only to be told that there was no room for us, although we had a letter from the owner confirming our room nine days ago. We were offered the daughter's room but it was full of personal stuff. This is always a worry if something gets broken or goes missing so we declined it. We were taken to another place a short drive away but it didn't have the facilities we wanted and catered for long term accommodation for young gappers doing volunteer work. We insisted they took us into the city where we would find a more reliable place in a more central location. "This is Africa" they said but we have never had these problems in eight months, it is not the Africa we have experienced.
The taxi driver took us to the Methodist Church guest house but it was full and we were able to make a booking for the next day. We found a cheap hotel that was a reasonable price and a short walk from the guest house. There was no electricity when we arrived and then the generators all started up. Lots of places have generators on the footpath so electrical outages must be commonplace.
The temperature at 30C and humidity at 70% took some getting used to after the cool temps of Addis. We were able to find somewhere to eat before going to bed and worked out that we had crossed three time zones.
Accra has close to 3 million people and we headed into the Makola Market. A hot, steamy, bustling place jammed pack with everyone trying to make a living selling anything they can. There were no supermarkets nearby so we had to buy from stalls where the whole street was dozens of little shops with groceries and the products spilled onto the footpath and over the drains and onto the edge of the street. There was barely enough room to walk especially when the deliver trucks arrived to drop off goods and the truck took up the remainder of the street space. The women on the streets sat in the middle of their stock and could reach everything piled up around them with out leaving their seat.
Stereos were blasting out local music and when I danced to the beat the women cheered and a couple of them joined in following me as we all danced down the street and everyone had a great laugh. What a happy bonding feeling after the reserved Ethiopians.
We had a terrible time waiting in queues at communication companies trying to get a SIM card for our dongle ( mobile modem ) so we could get back online. As it was a Saturday, the weekday staff were off and the fill in staff had no idea what we wanted nor how to get it for us so we had to return and queue again on Monday as shops shut on Sunday.
There are not many tourist sights in Accra so we walked around the city near the waterfront. This monument marks the country's independence from the British in 1957. We will be in Ghana for the Independence Day celebrations but maybe not in Accra. The black star is on the flag and the name of the national football team.
A huge stadium has been built near the black star monument, and this section where the president will preside over the events, was being painted in readiness.
Not far from this was the Eternal Flame of African Liberation but it had gone out!
We had to be tough with some of the touts who wanted to herd us into their craft shops near the beach.
This poster on the side of the road was interesting. The logos at the bottom show the countries that give aid to such projects. (double click on the photo and it should enlarge).
About 70% of the population are Christians, many of the charismatic and revivalist persuasion, while 15% are Muslim. However, many people mix their religion with the traditional beliefs, in the form of spirits and gods of the natural world. Worshipping ancestors is also an important tradition. As the European missionaries introduced Christianity and education, there are a tie up between education and religion. Most of the schools we have seen are church run.
Ghana is known as "Africa for beginners". It was also the first country to welcome Peace Corp volunteers introduced by JF Kennedy in 1961. Now there are dozens of volunteers from many countries in Ghana.
We will explore other parts of Ghana and return to Accra to get visas for some of the surrounding countries
