I knew what I was in for when I spotted the scotch bell peppers floating around in the slimy okra stew. Ghana is exactly that dish. Accra was steamy from the start. And our little Effia, as little girls born on Fridays are called (Kofi – yes, just like the former UN leader – if you are a boy) was a good sport about putting up with the heat from both the dish and the streets. Well, not really, but a nice tall neon orange Fanta made her forget about being hungry and being hot.
We also thought it might be a good idea to head up to the National Museum to cool off and wishfully thought that Alex would sleep. Wrong again. She decided to put on a big show for our taxi driver who probably wished that the traffic on Barnes Road had moved just a little bit faster. And the cool museum? Not exactly the temperature inside, but they did have some great information on the various meanings of Kente cloth and the slave routes including a vigorously scratched out photo of a former slave owner’s grave.
Day two in Accra had us running to and from the Burkina Faso embassy for US dollars and Alex’s US passport. Apparently there is some agreement between the US and Burkina Faso to allow US citizens to have multiple entries into the country good for 5 years. We walked straight to the Paloma Hotel for lunch and took a scenic cab tour near the streets of the bustling Makola market on our way back to our hotel.
Tomorrow, we are off to Akwidaa for palm trees, white sand and some relaxation!
