Ghana

*Nzulezo, traditional stilt built village on the water*

Our entry to Ghana was rough and we were not feeling the love. Customs officials gave us a huge runaround and delayed us at the border for 26 hours as we did not have a Carnet de Passage for the truck. (See West Africa Visa and Vehicle Permit Costs blog post for details).

*We were so excited to enter and explore Ghana!*

In the end they only let us through with a 10 day transit permit restricted to a route along the coast. The permit cost us a whopping $500 and set us up to dislike the country and everything about it. (Every other African country charged an average of $10 to bring a car in.) But in the end the people of Ghana (most of whom are not customs officials) won us over and we were able to let go of our border experience and enjoy the piece of Ghana that we were allowed to see.

We later found out that this particular border - Elubo - is notorious and that overland travelers frequently get taken for an expensive ride and/or are subjected to hours of delays and paperwork.

*Our least favorite camping spot to date - customs parking lot at the Elubo border while we waited for our transit paperwork to be processed*

In Ghana, we had planned to explore the interior, spending several weeks visiting remote national parks. But as we have found, traveling West Africa means being able to switch gears and change itineraries at a moment’s notice. Expectation is the root of all heartache.

Even with our mandated, restricted route we found places and met people that made our time in Ghana special. On the corridor we traveled, (border to border through Accra), it was more developed than many of the countries we had been in recently. With frequent contemporary gas stations, supermarkets, paved roads with street lamps and English speaking locals it was easy to navigate.

*Our eight day government mandated route through Ghana*

For our first stop, we made our way along the coast to visit a traditional village built on the water. Founded 600 years ago by people from Mali escaping a war with Senegal, Nzulezo was fascinating and charming. The people gave us precious and heartwarming insight into their lives. We went there with a local guide who had grown up in the village and built his own family home there. The village is developing its tourism opportunities and visits are easy to set up through a visitor center on the mainland. You are connected with a guide, then taken by boat. We appreciated the clear communication from the organizers, a printed price list, and an explanation that we would be asked to donate to the local school (we did) and hopefully tip our guide (we did). It is comforting to know exactly what the financial expectations are.

*Children in the village are given their first canoe when they are ready to go to junior high school on the mainland so that they can paddle themselves there. Primary school is on site in the village.*

*It was clear that being on the water and in boats was very much integrated into daily life*

*Kevin showing us his family home that he built himself*

*Young woman pounding cassava to make dough*

*Main street. We were being given the experience of seeing village life as it really was, laundry on the lines, food being prepared, houses being rebuilt.*

Continuing our journey east (as prescribed by the Ghanaian government) we headed to the beautiful coastal area of Butre. We found what was becoming a familiar scenario, a camping spot outside of a small hotel on the coast. We paid the hotel a minimal amount ($5) to access their beach, showers and toilets. We had reached the point in our travels where showers where were always cold (no water heaters), but we also couldn’t imagine why we would want a warm one.

*Something about the traditional canoes always makes us want to take a photo*

Much as we enjoyed the people of Ghana, there were a few drawbacks to the increased awareness of tourism dollars. We wandered down the beach in Butre and saw a beautiful village. As we approached a man came up to us and suggested that he could be a village guide for an eco-tourism tour. (Somewhere a big memo went out to all would be tourism operators that if you use the word “eco” people will pay lots of money so tours and hotels are branded accordingly). We explained that we were just walking on the beach and didn’t need a guide, thank you. He was very persistent, saying that we should pay him money to use the bridge and come to his village and in the end we turned around. It was a disappointing interaction all around. We would have probably wandered through the village on our way, maybe bought some bread, fruit and had some conversations. He wanted to manage that for us. We totally get it, people are trying to make some money for basic food and necessities. But the day before we had gone on a tour, paid for a guide, made a donation to the village school, and that was our budget. (Partially just because we had given the Ghanaian government $500, not that we were bitter). Being a tourist comes with its downside, sometimes dollars get in the way of genuine experiences. We didn’t want to pay for curated village visit that day, we were just wandering.

*Who could complain about a campsite with this view???*

*Dutch overlanders Jeroen and Ghislaine pulled in the second day and we had fun swapping stories and hearing about their journey*

Next stop, Cape Coast. The symbol of colonialism at its worst, a visit to Cape Coast Castle felt necessary. The building went through many transitions in its time, from a Swedish fort, to a British slave trading center. Estimates vary but at least 12 million people, and probably many more, passed through its horrific slave dungeons during the time of the Atlantic Slave trade in the 16th - 19th centuries. Hearing and seeing the realities of the heart breaking infrastructure built around the slave trade brought home the atrocities in new, disturbing and impactful way.

*Entrance to Cape Coast Castle (the word castle just seems wrong)*

*Elegant architecture built over dungeons where millions of human beings were kept while awaiting their transport to final destinations as slaves in Europe, the Caribbean and North America.*

The riches of Ghana (ivory, gold, salt) attracted a succession of European powers to the region. With 66 years of independence the nation is still trying to overcome the impacts of 400 years of colonization.

*View of the thriving Cape Coast port today*

*Slave dungeons, hundreds of people kept with standing room only, minimal light and ventilation, no toilets. The floor was bricked and has never been cleaned having several inches of human waste…*

It was a serious day and one of reflection. An important visit. Cape Coast is one of three remaining castles along the Ghanaian coast, used as centers of colonial power by a succession of European nations.

Our next stop was Accra. As is always the case with big cities, we had two goals, grocery shopping and visas for upcoming countries. We found a centrally located budget hotel ($30 a night including breakfast and secure parking) and explored on foot.

Accra was a curious blend of African tradition with its lively street markets, and contemporary consumerism with glossy air conditioned restaurants and shops. It had been a few weeks since we ate in a restaurant so we decided to indulge ourselves.

*Our favorite Accra dining experience - Wok Boyz Asian street food - it had been a long time since we had good Asian food*

We were turned down for visas at the Nigerian embassy (we were expecting it but tried anyway, have been trying in every capital city since Monrovia) so decided to spend some time exploring the city. Lonely Planet recommended a company called Ghana Nima Tours for walking tours of the city so we sent an email and were immediately set up with a guide for the next day. We had an insightful and interesting day with Hamzah who walked us through his home neighborhood of Nima.

Translated as “city of the king,” Nima is one of the oldest and largest Zongo settlements in Ghana (Zongo refers to people re-settling from the Northern countries, typically predominantly Muslim). The famous Nima market is enormous and Hamzah led us through its narrow pathways lined with stalls with everything consumable (and some things not). He explained each product’s use and smiled as we had friendly conversations with the women who were selling their goods. People wanted to talk, wanted to know our names, where we were from and what day of the week we were born on. They were shocked that we did not know - it is the foundation of some important traditions including a special name. We were greeted with smiles, and cries of “white people!” as we walked through.

*Rice is a staple food throughout West Africa and women prepare enormous amounts of it at a time in large metal bowls*

*Good cheer everywhere as people enjoyed poking a little bit of fun at us*

*Dried fish - another staple. Every product always displayed with an eye to design*

*A brief roof top break with Hamzah, our walking tour guide.*

*Neighborhood slaughterhouse. In Africa, everything happens out in the open, practicality rules the day. Torching the skin off the cow parts.*

Hamzah also showed us where he grew up and described life in the compounds of Nima. A compound is a shared walled area. There are communal wells - water is turned on once a week and everyone collects what they need for the week so that it can rotate and be turned on in the next area. Toilets are shared. Electrical power is common but people pay upfront and most people minimize usage - as Hamzah said, a light bulb and a TV. He also described close knit communities who watch out for each other, cook for each other and take care of children together, regardless of religion.

*Custom coffins are a cultural tradition in Ghana - beautifully carved and painted to represent something important in the deceased person’s life*

Ussher Fort in Accra, built in 1649 by the Dutch, the British used it as a base to hold slaves and later as a prison where Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president and a key player in the struggle for independence, was imprisoned during the British colonial era.

*Stocking up on fruits and vegetables. The stall owner kindly hand picked avocados for us to eat on each of the next three days according to ripeness.*

We will take being blurry to highlight this fantastic GOIL gas station crew. The young people in Ghana are amazing, curious, smart and hilarious. Our truck had been unhappily pinging on very low octane gas for a few weeks so we were taking advantage of the reputed higher octane levels in the gas at the GOIL stations in Ghana and filling up whenever we could.

Next we took a bit of a risk and headed a tiny bit north to see Amedzofe, the highest mountain village in Ghana. We had checked with our transit sticker issuer to see if we could go to the Volta region and he said we could. We were not 100% convinced we wouldn’t get in trouble but decided to take the chance.

*On the way - our first roadside wildlife since the warthog in Senegal!*

*Just hanging out in the trees by the road - no problem*

We split the journey up to the Volta region by staying at a nice river camp halfway along. One again, we parked with a small hotel that allowed us to use the facilities. Many of these places are empty right now as tourism has not come back to pre-COVID levels. People seem happy to have us stay, sometimes charging nothing in exchange for a promise to use the restaurant or bar, sometimes charging a nominal fee. Although not wild camping, these sites gave us comfort, security and more privacy than camping outside a village.

*And some lovely Austrian overlanders were already on site! We enjoyed our conversations with Eveline and Manfred in Der Rote Jumbo.*

We made it to Amedzofe, center for mountain, waterfall and rainforest walks and were welcomed instantly. People asked if we wanted to stay and we explained that we wanted to hike. We were escorted to a small eco-tourism booth and showed a price list of options. We really didn’t want to do a guided hike, but had known that the trails were maintained and controlled by the village so were expecting the necessity. With the waterfall at end of dry season drizzle level and the mountain peak nearby looking hot and dry, we opted for the rainforest canopy walk.

*Friendly village youth walking ahead of us to show us where to park*

The village had obviously worked hard to build the suspension bridges for the canopy walk and they were impressive. It was not quite the hike we thought we were coming for (total walk was about 1/2 mile although steep), but we appreciated the enthusiastic conversations with people along the way and our hiking guide, Dennis.

*Taking a moment to appreciate rainforest as far as the eye could see*

*And a final camping night on the grounds of Mountain Paradise Lodge, across the canyon from Amedzofe*

*Approaching the border to leave Ghana - time for Togo!*

Well, we approached the border feeling like we had a reasonable taste of Ghana and were ready to move on. We reached the Ghana border at 1 pm. Five hours later we were still there, sigh. It was one of the more confusing borders we have been to - Mauritania takes first place. When we walked up to customs we were approached by fixers and declined their services. When the customs officer saw our transit sticker she called over a fixer to show us the way to the office. From there the afternoon just got crazier and more confusing. We were passed off from one person to another, with our paperwork being handed over to people not in uniform (which we never do). But it was clear that the officials were using the fixers as their customer relations agents and we didn’t really have a choice.

Then we were told that we needed to pay more money to have the transit sticker removed and be cleared to leave. Andy basically blew a fuse and refused. So we ended up in another big boss office who agreed with us that we had already paid a lot of money and shouldn’t have to pay anymore. So he called the folks who issued us the permit and yelled at them for charging us so much and for not including the exit costs in the price.

Five hours later we finally had the tracker removed and exited the border. On the bright side, the Togo entry process only took about 45 minutes, vaccine record check, visa on arrival and $10 vehicle permit. We were good to go!

So Ghana was a mixed bag for us in the end. We feel that there was much more to see that we missed. But it was also one of the trickier countries we had visited. In places, tourism is developed and clear, in others it is just developed enough for people to see opportunity but still at the uncomfortable place.

We are also aware that culturally we are people who respond well to clear expectations and price lists. The most uncomfortable situations for us are crowds of people asking for money or not knowing what the actual cost should be so that we know if what we are paying is reasonable. We logically understand the African way - you negotiate until both parties feel happy with the outcome - but we just aren’t built that way. In the end, knowing that we did in fact (as we had suspected) paid way too much for the transit permit to drive the truck across Ghana made us feel less happy about our experience in the country. We basically paid half of our country budget for a big huge sticker. We would rather have donated it to a school.

West Africa continues to challenge us, and we are learning beyond our wildest expectations. Most places we go we are the only white people and we stand out and attract a lot of attention, stealth tourism is impossible for us. Our introverted selves are learning how to cope. Not used to the heat, we spend days at a time sweating and when it doesn’t cool down at night we get cranky. But the overall positives of exploring these outstanding places and meeting some of the most incredible people all make it worth while. At the end of the day we are lucky to be on this journey. As always, thank you for reading!

Togo

Côte d'Ivoire