Ghana - Accra and Kumasi - A Journey Back

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An August 1998 trip to Ghana by binta

Quote: Accra is a bustling city full of history, sculpted wooden art and artists, lots of food and lots of young and old entrepreuneurs. Everyone is selling something on the streets from handkerchiefs to packaged snacks to cold drinks, to prepared food to trinkets to household necessaties. A densely settled city, there are pedestrians, cars, buses, mini-vans and motercycles everywhere. The sounds and sensibilities of Accra are memorized until the next trip.

Ghana - Accra and Kumasi - A Journey Back

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Overview

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The most educational site was the Kwame Nkrumah memorial, where an extremely informative guided tour is free and the crypt is somberly impressive along with the omni-present Black Star Arch. The Arts Center and Craft market is worth several trips. Quick Tips: The bargain transportation inside Accra is the private taxi. Several years ago, just about every trip could be negotiated down to 3,000 cedi or roughly .50 USD.Best Way To Get Around: Outside of Accra, a taxi will negotiate and take one to places such as Cape Coast and Elmina. In 1998, the cost was 60,000 cedi for the return trip with three travelers at night. The public transportation or bus cost was 7,000 cedi each for the t...Read More

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Windward Passage Resort

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Hotel | "Labadi Beach Hotel"

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Expensive, but worth it, in a nutshell. The rooms were nicely decorated, with good bathrooms and great showers. The hotel sits on a prime piece of beach, better for relaxing and watching the active water and tides than for swimming. At night the power and might of the water opens an excellent meditative environment for water lovers. The hotels grounds are immaculate, with landscaped gardens.

I usually look for much less expensive lodging. This was an excellent alternative, with a great staff.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on April 7, 2001

Windward Passage Resort
418 ESTERO BLVD
Fort Myers, Florida 33941
941463-1194

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Panafest Cultural Festival

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Attraction

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Panafest is a PanAfrican inspired festival which focuses on the philosophies and implementation efforts and educational exchange of a united Africa. One of the highlights is a visit to the slaveholding castles in Cape Coast and Elmina, where African-Americans connect with the roots of the past, captured persons sold into enslavment, the Transoceanic slave trade and the legacy of European colonialism. The castles were homes to Dutch and English officials during the occupation and colonialization of Ghana. It is a moving ritual to watch and experience tourists touch the walls and take their shoes off to walk the walk of the enslaved in small cavern-like rooms where they were held until the ships app...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on April 7, 2001

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Kumasi

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Attraction

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Kumasi is a dusty, laid-back city with Ashanti pride visible in the walk of the residents.

Wooden masks and statues are slightly better priced in Kumasi, thought one really needs to have excellent guidance when shopping for antique woods. The contemporary workmanship is generally excellent, and it is a matter of taste for the shopper.

The Kente cloth 'capital' of Ghana is about 40 miles from Kumasi and a wide selection of this gorgeous cloth is available, including custom weaves.

The Palace of Ashantehene is located in Kumasi, a rather somber place where Ashanti ceremonial artifacts are enshrined.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on April 7, 2001

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W.E.B. Dubois Center

Attraction

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Sitting on wonderful acreage with natural trees and foliage, this wonderful compound was the home Dubois retreated to, escaping racism in his native U.S. An advisor to Nkrumah and a leading PanAfricanist, his library and home furnishings are intact. He is buried on the peaceful and beautiful land which is well kept. Guided tours are required to view the house, which provides a view of the life and philosophy of this great American.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on April 7, 2001

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Eating

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Story/Tip

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In Accra, we were guided by locals, who would point to a place and say, go there. Not realizing one day, we'd want to journal this, we never took note of the names. But the food was top notch. Fish was pan fried or grilled, chicken was stewed in groundnut (peanut) sauce, palm soup was to die for, yams and rice were staples and Ghanian beer was not bad, particularly, since it was not always frosty cold. Pan-fried plantain was a favorite for desert. The food was always plentiful. Eating from the street stalls is common amongst the locals, many carrying bundles, who manage to eat so elegantly, as if sitting down for dinner.