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Happy New Year!

Accra, Ghana - 13 Jan 2001

Pam.tom
2005-10-15 19:29:51

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Getting ready to leave Ghana now after a momenteous three weeks in it's history. After a nail biting and very closely run election John Kufuor became President. It's the first change of government here for 19 years and the country is basking in a wave of optimism for the future (remember when New Labour were still popular?). Kufuor came to power on a platform of anti-corruption (don't they all?) and reforms of the economy (it needs it - Barclays bank give you a plastic bag to carry your cash withdrawls in such is the dramtic devaluation of the cedi.)
We sat out the elections and Christmas in Busa - a west coast beach resort. In a week we managed both to have severe tummy upsets and make 2032 new 'friends' all of whom wanted to do our laundry/sell us juice/drums etc etc...We escaped (just) and found sanctuary just outside Cape Coast and enjoyed a fantastic New Year.
Feasted on lobster, drank the last remaining bottle of champagne from home and joined the locals in a mad whirl of exploding fireworks and dancing round a beach fire.
We visited the former slave forts of Cape Coast and Elmina where thousands upon thousands of slaves were 'stored' before being sent to the New World. Seeing the dungeons and standing at the 'Door of No Return' where men, women and children were shipped out from was a chilling experience.
Onto Accra and after witnessing people selling split and roasted bush rat at the side of the road vowed to turn veggie. Ghanaians have no taste in food - basically they eat anything that moves. We stumbled upon a dog BBQ on Christmas Eve and there seems to be a distinct lack of cats.......
Everything, it seems, is eaten with a fermented mush called fufu which tastes like gloopy plasticine. Don't feel too sorry for us though - seafood here is amazingly cheap. We bought a bag of 15 live lobsters for less than 2 pounds and had the best BBQ ever, and, if you're ever in Accra, the Back Pass near the main GPO does the best Lobster Thermidor for 1.90.
We've had a bit of a radical change of plan and because of security worries in Nigeria (reports of Islamic fundamentalist related fighting in Northern Nigeria and in the area around Calabar)and reports of armed bandits on the route between Cameroon and Chad we've decided to travel up to Niger and try getting into Chad via Lake Chad. We're stuck between a rock and a hard place in this respect because Northern Niger had problems but we'll keep far enough south to avoid it (we hope!)
We got our Niger visas there and then in Accra (20 pounds each), decided to try for a cheap transit visa on the Togo border (they want $20 for it here) and tried and failed to get the Ethopia visa (you need an air ticket) but the ambassdor told us there was no problem getting it in Sudan.
We've really enjoyed Ghana and will be sorry to leave. In this devoutly Christian country we've managed to avoid being converted despite bible references everywhere - even in shop names - personal favorites include 'The Blood of Christ - All Electrical Supplies' and 'Heaven Gate Communication Store'. It just not the same in Francophone countries. .