Takoradi, Ghana
December 4, 2022
Today we arrived in port about 8 am. It was 9 am before the official passport stamping team were done with passports and collection of the worthless forms passengers filled out.
We decided that we would do this port on our own. There wasn’t much to see that was very close to the port and the thought of a 2 hour bus ride didn’t excite us. Sometimes just experiencing the culture by taking a walk is the way to go.
Outside the ship, a school band of some kind assembled. I saw one of the ship passengers borrow one of the trumpets and he proceeded to play a portion of Handel’s Water Music. Not bad. Maybe he is free on Tuesday night.
The band consisted of brass and drums. A few trombones,tubas, trumpets, a bass drum, snare and cymbals. When the band began to play they were loud and obnoxious. They couldn’t really play any music, they just played a 4 note riff over and over. Some tried to solo over it but it was awful.
I can appreciate young musicians, or any musicians, presenting music at any level. I don’t appreciate a bombastic performance of sound. I can get that walking down most streets in Africa with the car horns blaring constantly. It is a poor country and instruments and instruction cost money. I would rather hear a major scale being performed carefully and correctly.
We took the shuttle into town as pedestrians were not allowed to walk in port. Pictures in port were also forbidden. The pictures of the band are illegal.
We were dropped off at a Best Western Hotel. We decided that this would be a day of shopping. We needed some coffee and some other items. There was a shopping mall 2.7 miles away and the route took us right through the center of town.
Another country with crumbling infrastructure. I guess these are the remnants of colonialism. Another country gains freedom but has no way to maintain the infrastructure created by the occupying power. The drainage system next to the road is not covered. It is made of concrete and is about 3 feet deep. What would prevent someone from falling in? Not a thing. There are some flimsy boards laying across in sections. Not sure who would chance crossing over using these.
There is real hypocrisy here. The ship was forced to check the temperature of every passenger before anyone could get off. Everyone was forced to buy a visa at $85. Didn’t matter if you left the ship or not. Where did the approximately $120,000 USD go? They are worried about Covid 19 yet allow holes in the sidewalk that can swallow a child. Of course we are much smarter back home. We are building windmills while we allow people to live on the sidewalks in tents
Along the way we stopped in a grocery store to buy some water to drink. We each purchased a 500ml bottle. Price was $1.50 in local currency. I used my credit card because I didn’t have local cash. After the cashier rang it up I received a notification of the charge on my phone with the conversion already in place. $3 local currency, 24 cents USD. That $120,000 USD is going to go a long way here lining someone’s pocket. Half a million bottles of water at the grocery store.
It is amazing that KFC is found in almost every country we visit. We walked past a market with people selling goods on the street. This is not a tourist town. We were clearly outsiders. Some people did yell “welcome to Ghana” to us. The only white people walking down the street creates some attention.
We passed under a bridge under construction. The China sign underneath told me that this was another “belt and road” initiative. This will eventually come at a price to the country.
We did see some other ship people at the mall. They took a cab to get here. Too dangerous because of crime and poor infrastructure.
We decided to walk back after doing a bit of shopping at the market set up in the parking lot. We passed Pee’s Gym on the way back. So much irony. Surviving Covid? How about surviving until your next meal.
It was Sunday and Church was letting out as we walked. People were dressed very well. Even those we passed on the street were wearing very nice outfits. I guess the trash, holes, failing infrastructure didn’t mean as much to them as there was nothing that the common citizen could do.
We walked back to catch the shuttle bus. We ate lunch on the ship. Much safer food and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Quite the experience. We finished the evening at the Sea View Bar and played some cards.