May 17, 2012 - Tema, Ghana

May 17, 2012 - Tema, Ghana

This morning we arrived in Tema which is the port for Accra, the capital of Ghana.

Our tour today includes: the Nkrumah Mausoleum, the final resting place of the African leader and the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, the National Museum, and the local Arts and Crafts Center. The ride from Tema to Accra is about an hour if you have no traffic or in our case a police escort. There were two buses in our group and we had a motorcycle escort the whole time except for a portion of our return. We never stopped for a traffic light, we drove on the wrong side of the road (into on coming traffic), and we managed to make a South Korean envoy pull over to let us pass. They even had the South Korean flags flying from the fenders of the black sedan. Quite an experience.

Ghana is a step up from Togo and Benin. Much more economically advanced, though people are still selling along the streets. You don't see a lot of garbage in the streets and I even saw a trash truck. Lots of cars, few motorbikes. Our bus has working A/C which was nice. We did purchase a few things at the art and craft center and we are learning to bargain better. The Mausoleum and National Museum were interesting. The monument to Nkrumah was very impressive and the buildings were well build and maintained. There seems to be a good size middle class in Ghana.

We stopped at the La Palm Beach Hotel for a rest break. We were told that drinks, water, beer, or soda would be $2. We had trouble convincing the bar tender and when we finally got that strighted out they didn't want to take $1 bills. We we told that they get a better rate of exchange for larger bills. The idea being if your drink was $2, then you gave then at least a $5 and they gave you $3 back. That's enough to make you dizzy and we doubted the front office knew anything about the scheme. Someone on our bus took the $1s and gave them a bigger bill. Interesting, I guess there is always an angle.

We had a strange stop at a place that makes coffins - coffins in the shape of "beer can", "coke bottle", and another things or occupations. You could pre-need and order what ever you wanted. I'm thinking of a TV remote for Hal for need in the distant future.

We got back to the ship around 1pm. Our next three days are at sea and the next port is then Dakar, Senagal.

We had some excitement at sailing, two couples were missing. Everyone was to be on board by 5:30 pm and the ship usually sails at 6pm. At 5:30 the ship started making announcements every 15 minutes about these two couples. In order to get off and on the ship you must insert your cruise card in a reader, which records if you are aboard. So the ship know who is on board and who isn't. So if they start calling your name you know there is a problem. The ports require the ship to leave on schedule because of the pilots and the need for dock space. Ships pay to dock and the timing and scheduling is a ballet for a busy port. So any delay can cost money, not just for the ship but for the passengers. It is expensive to have the pilot boat take you to the ship or even worst have to fly to the next port. As the ship holds all the passports, that means a stop at the American Embassy too. ( we found out later the ship gives your passport to the port officials ) Anyway these two couples showed up a few minutes after 6 and made it on board. All of us on the gangway side waived from our balcony's and gave them a round of applause. My guess is they were held up by traffic and didn't estimate the drive time.

We went up to the lounge reserved for suite passengers and enjoyed an adult beverage and then had dinner in the buffet.

The evenings show was Mathew Fallon, a hypnotist. Don volunteer to go on stage, but was not put under. That is code for not being a good subject. They started with 7 volunteers and only 3 were actually put under. It was an ok show, but I would have liked more action by the subjects. Despite the hypnotist saying no one would be embarrassed or humiliated when Myrna said something to one of the subjects the next day, the poor woman turned around and walked away.






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Hal