Ghana

I wanted to go visit Africa for many years. My mother always spoke of traveling to Africa. That was the one thing she always wanted to do, but she left this world in 2004 and never made the trip. So, when 2008 came, I was determined to make the trip to Africa that year and Ghana would be my first country to visit.
Why Ghana? I wanted to visit the slave castles and Ghana has two castles that were used for the transatlantic slave trade, the Cape Coast and Elmina castles. Also, English is still the official language for Ghana. Although Akan is really the language that is spoken there, I knew that that I would be able to speak English and someone would be able to understand me. (Pictures: Me at the Elmina Castle, Cape Coast Castle)

I also have a very good friend who is from Ghana. Winston and I have been freinds for years! We met in Houston when I was visiting Houston to determine if I wanted to move here. Notice I said "here". Well, Winston, a Princeton University graduate, has been a good friend during our Single days and now in our Married days. Our wives are good friends as well and their 1st son is our Godson. (At the Crown Room at JFK)

I wanted to go to Ghana and Nigeria for my first trip to Africa, but my Nigerian friends could not make the trip. Winston suggested for me to stay in Ghana and see the northern part of Ghana for the second leg of my trip. That sounded like a good plan to me. He informed me that his brother would be able to take me there and that I would be able to do a safari as well. So, I will have to make my trip to Nigeria at a later date.

This trip took a little while to plan. We were not able to synchronize our calendars for years, but we finally were able to pick a time early in 2008 and we choose October for the time to go. There is a raining season in Ghana and it ends around September/October. We thought about the families going, but this would be the Guys trip Home. Really Home for Winston and Home for for me too. We're planning a trip for the families for next year.

Our trip began Oct. 4, 2008 at JFK. There is a non-stop Delta flight to Accra, Ghana. We stayed in Accra three days. While at JFK, I was able to see my long time Partner in Crime - Al. I had not seen him in years and it was good to hookup with him. I able to spend a day with Al in the Bronx on the way back from my trip too. I was good to hang with Al. I can't remember the name of the section of the Bronx we were in, but it was nice. Parkchester, Bronx, that's the area. Nice.

We got to Accra and Winston's brother - Nana - met us at the Kotoka International Airport. Nana was the perfect Host!! Everywhere we went in Ghana, he knew someone and they knew him! It was Awesome! Nana Kwasi Agyemang @ 233-244-679273
or 233-244-106923. While in Accra, we stayed at the Golden Tulip: http://www.goldentulipaccra.com/








I didn't want to stay in such a nice hotel, but Winston had stayed there before and - The Negotiator - was able to get a great rate, so that is where we stayed. While there we went to Tema and Prampram. On the way back from Prampram, we stopped at the Ramada Resort Coco Beach to have lunch and enjoy the beach and the pool scene. We stopped at the La Beach as well. Anthony, Nana's Right Hand Man, is along with us, enjoying the the beach.





While we were making our way back into Accra, we caught some of the landmarks in Accra. Below is the Independance Arch in central Accra.









After a few days, we headed to Cape Coast & Elmina to see the slave castiles. It took a little while to get there. Along the way, I had my first task of some authentic Ghanaian food. We ate at Las Palmas Food Centre. The food was good. I trusted Winston and Nana and they stated that the food looked good...and it was! Prior to this, I ate at the hotel.
















We left at around 6:00 PM and the traffic was still bad. So, we ate and hit the road to Cape Coast. Just outside of Accra, there was a bad accident. Two mini-vans, full of people, had a head on collision. Traffic was at a complete stop for what seemed like a few hours. We were not too far from the scene and when we drove by, there were some bodies on the ground. It was an awful scene. So, what should take about two hours took about 5-6 hours. We stopped at two towns along the way because Winston saw the websites for two motels on the coast. One motel was the Magjoy Beach Hotel near Saltpond and the other Moree Beach Resort near Cape Coast. http://www.majovu.com/ It was night time when we arrived at the places. At Magjoy, there was a caretaker there, but he was drunk, but was able to show us the bungalows - 4 two room bungalows, clusted together, almost right on the beach. They were actually, not too bad. Can not remember if the A/C's were working. But, we did not feel too comforatable being the only ones there. So, were moved on. I could see staying there with a large group. When we got to Moree Beach Resort, the gate was locked and it did not look like anyone was there. We kept rolling down the read and finally made it to Cape Coast. We drove around the town, about 11:00 PM now, looking for a place to stay. We finally found Fespa Hotel. http://www.fespahotel.tk/








The rooms were nice, however the A/C was not the best. OMG! I tried to take a nice hot shower...no can do! The little heater did not warm the water. It was a nice COLD shower. :-) But, breakfast was included in the price, about 30 cedis a night.

After breakfast we headed to Cape Coast Castle. It was a nice day, as a matter of fact, the weather was great for most of our trip. I was glad that the weather was nice, I was really looking forward in seeing the slave castles in Cape Coast and Elmina. At the Cape Coast Castle, I met the author of one of the books on the castle and the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Mr. Kingsley Kofi Yeboah.

The Door of No Return (Below)

Going to the Cape Coast Castle was very moving for me. One of the things that I'm still having a hard time dealing with is the fact the there was an Anglican church/chapel right above a slave dungeon. The Christians were in the church, praying, while Africans were in chains, screaming, moaning, dying, etc. right below them. Being an Episcopalian, this makes you go, hummmm...

The next stop was Elmina, Ghana. It's about 10 km further west on the Accra-Cape Coast Road. We were going to have lunch there and then go to the Elmina Castle. However, that was not the case. We looked and looked. We saw this place: Looks okay, right? As we walked in the place and looked around, I thought to myself, oh my God! I hope Winston and Nana do not want to eat here! Thank God, they immediately stated that they were not going to eat there and we left! Whew! We gave up looking for a place to eat in Elmina and drove back to Cape Coast to eat lunch. I would highly recommend going to the Elmina Castle first, then go to the Cape Coast Castle. The Elmina Castle is a larger castle and it was operated by the Portuguese, the Dutch and later the British Empire, which also operated the Cape Coast Castle. From the information that was provided, it seemed that these operators liked having sex with the females slaves. So, there are some mulattos in the Elmina area. The females slaves that got pregnant could leave the bondage, and live near the castle, however if they resisted and fought back, they were killed.

Nana did not go to the Elmina Castle with us. It was too much to take. I have to admit, it was very depressing. How could people treat other people like that? We left Elmina and headed to Kumasi. It was very long and quiet drive.