We were on our own today. No guide, no driver and new worries about how to get to where we want to go. I was a bit nervous about haling a cab and negotiating the price. There are no meters so you work out the cost of where you’re going with the driver before you get in. The problem is you need to have a context for distance before you know how much is reasonable. This is easier said than done, though. We asked the receptionist at the hotel to get her thoughts on the cost from our location well outside of the city center to the National Museum in central Accra. She said 5 cedis ($3.50) and the driver said yes, so we were good to go without feeling ripped off. I actually now appreciate negotiating up front for the ride because, in Accra, you never know the extent of the traffic jams, and there are many.
The National Museum is like many other tourist sites in Ghana, it seems like it was built 30 years ago and hasn’t had much love since then. It holds a nice collection of Ghanaian artifacts and exhibits but it could use much better signage and upgrades. It’s also not air-conditioned so the upstairs area is freaking hot. After spending an hour or so there, we enjoyed the fresh air at a nearby cafe. It is actually amazing the difference in temperature when you are in the shade with a breeze.
Enjoying the fresh air outside of the National Museum
We walked on the busy, tree-lined streets towards the Makela Market, listed in the guidebook as having beads and textiles without as many tourists and hassles for sales. It was a sprawling place with just about everything you can think of for sale but we didn’t see many beads. I love visiting markets when I travel because you really get to see how people live, eat and what they like to buy. It was truly organized chaos with each type of product occupying a certain area in a maze-like system. There was a structure and roof in some parts but it was primarily outside and quite steamy. All in all the hassles were minor in the grand scheme of the typical market experience.
We wanted to go towards the areas of James Town and Ussher Town noted in the guidebook as being the “real Accra.” I should really learn those terms usually mean crowded and easy to get lost in. We headed in the direction of the ocean towards the areas the map indicated. We stopped to get money from an ATM at a bank and we asked a guy where Ussher Town was and he had no idea what we meant. I should have known. Clearly, this was a place marked on a tourist map and listed in a way no local knows. We continued walking on until our blood sugar ran too low and the heat was too much. The area we turned around in was very busy and the “sidewalks” were narrowed by tons of stuff for sale on the streets. In this area, for the first time, we heard the word obruni, or white person. We had been told we would hear it often but that hasn’t been the case. It isn’t a big deal, basically someone is confirming the obvious: you’re an outsider. Rob was called “white man” a few times as well. I wanted to turn around and say, “Clearly, your vision is good.” I was also told the lovely comment: “he’s not giving it to you good, I will.” Wonderful. I’ve always wondered, do people really think catcalls and comments like that work?
After wandering in circles, we finally made it back towards the market and copped out with a lunch at the posh Novotel Hotel in the city center. I was nice to be in AC and to have access to a washroom. Our feet were nasty with all the dirt we walked through on the sidewalks and our clothes were coated in sweat. We looked like ragamuffins wandering in. I did have a cappuccino—a wonderful treat after Nescafe every morning. After lunch, catching a cab to the W.E.B. du Bois House and Museum proved more difficult than expected.
Many cab drivers don’t know where tourist destinations are as there aren’t all that many tourists in Accra, so you need to know other landmarks around the area where you want to go. This can prove difficult if you have no concept of where you are. We told the driver it was near the Benin Embassy and we knew the street address from the guidebook. But, street addresses are pretty laughable here as street signs are a rare occurrence. After driving around and around and asking 3 different people where to go, we finally stumbled across the museum.
Du Bois was invited to live in Ghana by President Nkrumah to work on his pan-African research and policy initiatives. We visited the house he lived in from 1961-1963 when he died. It’s a small but interesting place to see some of his personal items, old books, and awards. His body and the ashes of his wife are interred in a gazebo-like structure next to the house.
W.E.B. du Bois House and Museum
The museum is close the enormous US Embassy complex. The place takes up an entire city block and is surrounded by armed guards. I think this is the largest US Embassy in Africa and formidable structure it is (no pictures allowed)!
Getting back to our hotel proved to be another interesting experience. We idiotically did not know hotel’s address and it is a pretty small place so the first 2 cab drivers we spoke to had no idea where to go. We knew the museum and the hotel were in the same vicinity so we walked a little bit before asking an apartment complex guard. He pointed us in the right direction and we were able to catch a cab and the driver knew where to go from there. We made it back safe and sound although grubbier than we’ve been in a long time, if ever.
Exhaustion!
This was the final full day for Rob and I on our travels and I’m bummed. I have a dinner with the Maymester group tomorrow night and he will be off to find a place to watch Manchester United and Barcelona play in the UEFA Cup. On Thursday he is heading towards a few coastal towns west of Cape Coast and Elmina where we were a few days back. I know once the lectures begin and we focus on our service-learning projects, I will be enthusiastic again but I have so enjoyed our adventures together.
