Cape Coast

Cape Coast is the capital of Central Region in Ghana. It's only about 80km from Takoradi, and super easy to reach from here. Trotro-ride there takes about 1-1,5 hour and costs only 12 cedes. Went there few weeks ago, only for one night though, so didn't have chance to see that much of Cape Coast. Not that it has very long list of tourist attractions anyway. The two main things there are the University of Cape Coast, which I sadly did not have chance to visit, and then the Cape Coast Castle.

Our accommodation was on Cape Coast beach, about 5km from the "city center", or sort of center nearby the university, where all the trotros go. The accommodation location was PERFECT. We were right at the beach, right next to the castle, and the place, Orange Beach Resort, was great. Owner, or the manager, of the resort was super chill local dude, who has very kind and helpful. Rooms were very basic, clean and served their purpose. Food was great, and overall the atmosphere was awesome. So, if you are looking for affordable accommodation at Cape Coast, I'd highly recommend Orange Beach. Amazing beach views guaranteed!

Another great thing about Orange Beach is, that it's located close to Baobab House. Baobab (btw, they also have cheap accomodation!) is vegetarian/vegan restaurant, but also so much more than that. Baobab is children foundation, aiming to give children who are coming from illiterate families, and children with special needs, a good education. Besides the restaurant, Baobab has school, where they teach children traditional arts, and the school is inclusive, meaning that they also have students with for example physical disabilities. Some of the students work at the Baobab house restaurant, and they also have a shop at the restaurant where they sell products the students have made, bought cute stuff from there, such as pouches made out of water bags, great way to reuse those horrible plastic bags. Food was really good at Baobab, as well their smoothies and coffee. So so good. Sadly, they did not have the "black bread", which is in my understanding, similar to rye bread. Would have loved to have some, so I guess I have to go back! By the way, I have never ever in my life had as good tofu as at Baobab house, absolutely delicious. 

Cape Coast castle was impressive experience. The castle itself is very beautiful, on a very beautiful spot facing the sea. It's crazy how something so beautiful can be so appalling! The basement, where they kept the slaves, were horrifying. Living conditions have been absolutely horrible for the slaves, and awful things have been happening in that castle. It was so weird to walk around there now, knowing that all those horrifying things have been happening there. The castle was built by the Swedes (haha!), but originally for trade of timber and gold, and later on it was used for transatlantic slave trade. This castle, and its dark, grim and disgusting basements were the last thing slaves experienced in their home country before being shipped off to Atlantic and to their new home country. Cape Coast castle is just one of the forty (?) slave castles built on the Gold Coast. 

I would also love to see the Elmina castle, which I have heard is bigger than the Cape Coast castle. Hopefully, I get to go to Elmina (which is right next to Cape Coast), in few weeks!

Sweet home Takoradi

I just realized I haven’t really introduced the town (city?) I’m living in, and I have been here for already over a month! So, I guess better late than never, here’s little info package of my lovely hometown in Ghana.

I live in Takoradi, also called Sekondi-Takoradi, as this is city connecting twin cities, Sekondi and Takoradi. Takoradi is the capital of the Western Region of Ghana, located at the coast of Ghana. We are about 4 hours from Accra (by bus), and 1-1,5hrs from Cape Coast. Pretty nice location, right next to the sea, far enough from the busy capital, but still big enough city to not to be boring.  Close to awesome surfing spots, close to beautiful nature and empty beaches, which seem to be getting more and more beautiful after one another.

Takoradi, such as most of Ghana I guess, is funny when it comes to landscape and environment. One moment, you are in the dry and dusty area of the city, where everything seem to be mix of grayness and red sand (which is everywhere) and soon-to-collapse-looking buildings, and then next minute you reach the beach and are surrounded by baffling greenness, palm trees and the sea. Our apartment, sort of in the middle of nowhere but still quite close to everything, is surrounded by such a lush garden! Palm trees, cocoa trees, grass, colorful flowers and so on. So pretty. Then, 2 minutes in taxi and you are in area that seem to be like a different world.

We live about 10km from the city center, so not too far. I feel like nothing here is too far, everything is accessible by trotros and doesn’t really take long. Except, when there are traffic jams due to heavy rain or  unknown reason, as it sometimes (regularly) happens.

Market circle is located in the city center, sort of like the heart of the city. From market circle, one can find anything needed. Fabric. Tomatoes. Chili. Spices. Credit for phone. Cleaning stuff, clothes (new and second-hand). Bread, jewellery.. anything, you name it. Okay, except milk products. But anything else, seriously, can be found from the city center and especially from around  market circle.

What else. Well, then there’s the beach I just recently discovered, super lovely! Then, KFC. Amazing, huh? But here, KFC is fancy restaurant – not a shitty fast food chain, but relatively expensive restaurant and unknow concept. Probably in 10 years one can find also McDonalds, Starbucks and garbage like that.

Oh, airport. Takoradi has an airport, expected to be international airport one day in the future (I wonder when). With about 80€ one can get flight to Accra, which takes about 40 minutes. Quite tempting option to hot and sweaty 4 hour bus ride.

Mall, of course we have a mall here. Takoradi mall has just opened recently this year, and is still waiting for it’s full bloom. Grocery store Shoprite is there, that’s where I can find the milk products and all the other stuff that isn’t sold at the market circle. Besides Shoprite, Takoradi Mall is filled with empty business space, with only few spots occupied with random stores. One of them is selling wigs, one electronics, one seems to be perfume store, and then there’s hairdresser/nail salon. And café, which did not have coffee last time I asked.. Or they did, but instant one, so that does not count. And PIZZERIA! Like, real, proper pizzeria from which you can get actual real pizza, I had chance to try one slice the other day and was so surprised. Pizza is very expensive though, so I guess I can live without pizza for few more months...

Then there’s Coffee Corner, love that place. Decent coffee, decent sandwiches, air condition and free wifi. All I need on the days when I work on my thesis or do work stuff. 

Then, there are few hotels and bars. I have been only to Stellar Lodge and Raybow Hotel, which both have nice bars. Champs bar at Stellar Lodge was actually a party bar, with karaoke and so on, and entrance fee later on the night. Fun vibes, but super rude staff! Raybow Hotel's bar seemed to be more chilled, live-band and drinks sort of outdoor bar, liked it a lot! Another bar, where I have actually been only during daytime, is Vienna City Beach. Chill bar/restaurant right at the beach, they also have a pool which is nice addition! During the days it's pretty quiet, which makes it perfect place to work, if I don't want to stay at my office. No wifi though. During the evening, at least on weekends/holidays I guess, the bar gets more crowded and I'm sure it's fun place to have a little outing at!

Don’t be scared of what you don’t already know.

I experienced quite variety of reactions when I told people I was going to Ghana. I was expecting that; therefore, I didn’t actually tell anybody about it until I had received the travel grant and signed the work contract. Some were really excited, some were confused and immediately asked why on earth I would like to go to Ghana, and then there were people who started telling me how dangerous it is and that if I reeeeeaally go I have to be very careful. And, FYI, these people had never been to Ghana, or actually anywhere in Africa. I got loads of travel and safety tips from people who, sorry to be blatant, had no idea what they were talking about. Luckily, majority of the reactions I encountered were positive! 

I understand that unknown is scary, and that it is normal to be worried about your loved ones. But I also find it very annoying when people let stereotypes affect their worldview so strongly.

Country in Africa must be dangerous, like this quite random person told me, that Ghana is extremely dangerous place to be. I asked this person to tell me one fact about Ghana. Got silence as response. This person didn’t even know the capital of Ghana, or whereabouts Ghana is in Africa. But this person was 100% sure that Ghana is dangerous.

 

I dare to claim that I have been to more dangerous places than Ghana. At least, I have travelled to places where I have (usually by accident) ended up in very dodgy areas I should not have gone to. But those are stories for some other time. The thing is, that basically any country can be dangerous if the person travelling in that specific country is not equipped with common sense and knowledge about the country and its different areas. So, as simple as that, figure out some basic facts and tips before going, and be sensible.  Like, figure out where to go, where not to go, where one can go but should be a bit more cautious at, where you shouldn’t go after dark, where you shouldn’t go during the weekend, how to behave, how to handle different situations in different cultures, how to talk to people and how to dress and so on. 

“Is there something specific one should pay more attention to – lots of pocket pickers in some area, or some particular way scammers try to lure tourists in difficult situations? This bar has dodgy reputation, maybe shouldn’t go there? This is reliable taxi company, use that one.” You know, things like that. Very simple facts that can easily be found.

Of course, things can still happen – no matter how prepared one is, things may and most probably will go wrong (at some level) at some point. But this can happen anywhere, even in the countries that are perceived to be “very safe to travel to”.

I guess my point is, that it is frustrating when people don’t even try to find out actual information about things, but just assume something and declare these assumptions as a fact. If you have a smartphone and internet connection, it does not take long to google a bit about country, and one can learn lots in few minutes. Or by just asking around, by being open-minded. Don’t assume, rather ask!

 

I have been in Ghana for over a month now (EEEK! Time is going too fast), and I have felt safe here. I have learned what to do, what not to do and where obroni (white) girl can go and when.  If I go out later in the night, I don’t go alone, and if I’m travelling home from my weekend trips, I leave early enough so that I’m home before it’s pitch black out there. Sun sets around 6pm, so for example if I’m coming home from a trip on Sunday, I aim to be at home latest around 6.30pm.

People here are very helpful, and as obroni I stand out in the crowd quite clearly. This is good, but also sometimes slightly negative thing. Good, since everybody’s assuming I have no idea where to go, which makes my life easy. People are always pointing out which trotro goes where, taxi’s and trotros are stopping and asking whether I need a ride or not, people offer to walk me to my destination so that I find the right taxi station, restaurant, hotel and so on.

Naturally, some of these people have ulterior motives, and they want for example money, my number, address and marry me. Actually, I haven’t been asked for money that often, maybe once or twice. 

But, a lot of men come to talk to me, very quickly either asking for my number and my address or whether I could marry them or not. That’s why I wear a wedding ring here (so if you see me wearing it, I am not engaged or married FYI). It really helps a lot. 

I mean, sometimes it’s quite funny when people come to ask you to give your number/marry them. Like the other day, I was coming back home from Busua, and I was sitting in a trotro waiting for it to fill up. One older man came to talk to me, saying that his friend, very young-looking boy, was too shy to ask me for my number so he was asking for him. Everybody in the trotro was following this situation, and when I lifted my left hand and showed the ring, they all went “aww nooo, obroni is married!”. Even the trotro driver was very disappointed. But it was somehow so funny situation, like a soap opera scene with lots of eyes following how it develops, and when they realized that “I’m married”, it was mix of disappointment and amusement -  we all had a good laugh. Also, a new man entered the trotro at some point of the journey and immediately commented something about me and how obroni should marry the young boy, but before I had chance to answer, the driver already shook his head and laughed that unfortunately this obroni is married. The man was laughing and asking, if I’m sure I have a good husband and don’t want to change him for the young boy, since “Ghanaian men are really good husbands”.

Anyway, so far I have got the feeling that Ghana is safe country to be and travel at. For example, I have had no issues when traveling somewhere alone. You just must know what you are doing and where you are going, and make sure not to travel (at least not alone) at night-time.