My Trip to the Motherland - Ghana, Specifically, Continues
The plane lands—I am in Africa! Accra, Ghana, to be precise. My first trip. Instantly, I am hit by the humidity. Next, I am hit by the horde of cab drivers vying for fares. 120,000 cedis they tell me (about $12 U.S.) to get to the main part of the city. The guide books and Ghana tourism site said the ride would about $4 U.S. But at nearly 11 pm and after countless of hours in flight, I am ready to pay just about anything to get to a hotel. Plus, my haggling didn’t work as all the cabs kept saying the same fare. (I later find out that if you can make it through the cab crowd around the door, just a few steps away from the airport exit, you can get a cab for about $4.)
On a tight budget, we had chosen a super, super cheap hotel. All the guidebooks suggested it for travelers on a shoestring. The cab pulls up. We don’t even bother to get out—the place is rundown, the area in front is filthy and judging by the windows there was no AC. This is why you need travel guides written for and by black folk; most African-American travelers don’t go for the survivor-on-the-road mode. The cab driver suggests another place else near by, at about $20 U.S. more (so about $40 a night, which is still cheap). While in the same area of town, which even in the dark (no streetlights to be found) you could see how poor the city was. The next hotel was cleaner, neater and had AC. The St. George it was called. The staff was extremely pleasant though very formal in manner. We fell asleep immediately.
Venturing out the next morning, I explored the main part of the city on my own. It was like black New York in overdrive. The people were hurrying about. There were street vendors everywhere (selling everything from fish to cell phone time). Little kids wondered around with no clothes on playing in open sewers. School children rushed to class dressed in crisp uniforms. Cab drivers constantly beep their horns--or hissed at you--looking for new fares. But in the midst off all this seeming chaos, the people were friendly, stopping long enough to greet you every time you passed someone on the street. If you were on line is a store, those coming in would offer greetings to all those already inside. Items were incredibly cheap (a can of soda was .10 cents). Another thing stuck me, the people were unbelievably beautiful. Woman after woman I saw on the street could put any supermodel to shame. Some wore weaves, some close crop afros. Some wore colorful and customed traditional dress, others blue jeans. Many carried items—huge ones--on their head without so much as a wobble. All the men reminded me of my brother and his son.
Some 6 million slaves were taken from West Africa and brought to North and South America. Maybe this is where my family hailed from. It was worth exploring more...…
Travel Tips…Looking for some travel books to help you on your next trip? Check out "The Travel Detective: How to get the best service and the best deals from airlines, hotels, cruise ships and car rental agencies" by Peter Greenberg (Villard) and "Travel Photography: A Guide to Taking Better Pictures" by Richard I'Anson (Lonely Planet Publications)...A new website called Unique Jamaica (www.uniquejamaica.com) is a well-organized guide to where to go, what to do on the island. Unique Jamaica includes allied members representing: hotels, bed & breakfast accommodations, restaurants, eco- & geo-tourist attractions, air and ground transportation, tour operators, tour guides, integrated marketing communications, public relations & event management companies…St. Lucia is getting a new boutique resort in Feb. Called Discovery at Marigot Bay (http://www.sonesta.com/stlucia/), it will have 124 rooms, a spa, marina, pool and beachfront luxury room…Grenada’s new (debuted in April) Maca Bana Villas (www.macabana.com) has a deal going. Gorgeous hillside, ocean-view one-bedroom villas are $360 per night from now from December 15th – April 14th. Each villa include a six-person dining table and a lounge area with wireless Internet access, satellite TV, stereo—and a private hot tub and an infinity edge swimming pool overlooking the beach.
On a tight budget, we had chosen a super, super cheap hotel. All the guidebooks suggested it for travelers on a shoestring. The cab pulls up. We don’t even bother to get out—the place is rundown, the area in front is filthy and judging by the windows there was no AC. This is why you need travel guides written for and by black folk; most African-American travelers don’t go for the survivor-on-the-road mode. The cab driver suggests another place else near by, at about $20 U.S. more (so about $40 a night, which is still cheap). While in the same area of town, which even in the dark (no streetlights to be found) you could see how poor the city was. The next hotel was cleaner, neater and had AC. The St. George it was called. The staff was extremely pleasant though very formal in manner. We fell asleep immediately.
Venturing out the next morning, I explored the main part of the city on my own. It was like black New York in overdrive. The people were hurrying about. There were street vendors everywhere (selling everything from fish to cell phone time). Little kids wondered around with no clothes on playing in open sewers. School children rushed to class dressed in crisp uniforms. Cab drivers constantly beep their horns--or hissed at you--looking for new fares. But in the midst off all this seeming chaos, the people were friendly, stopping long enough to greet you every time you passed someone on the street. If you were on line is a store, those coming in would offer greetings to all those already inside. Items were incredibly cheap (a can of soda was .10 cents). Another thing stuck me, the people were unbelievably beautiful. Woman after woman I saw on the street could put any supermodel to shame. Some wore weaves, some close crop afros. Some wore colorful and customed traditional dress, others blue jeans. Many carried items—huge ones--on their head without so much as a wobble. All the men reminded me of my brother and his son.
Some 6 million slaves were taken from West Africa and brought to North and South America. Maybe this is where my family hailed from. It was worth exploring more...…
Travel Tips…Looking for some travel books to help you on your next trip? Check out "The Travel Detective: How to get the best service and the best deals from airlines, hotels, cruise ships and car rental agencies" by Peter Greenberg (Villard) and "Travel Photography: A Guide to Taking Better Pictures" by Richard I'Anson (Lonely Planet Publications)...A new website called Unique Jamaica (www.uniquejamaica.com) is a well-organized guide to where to go, what to do on the island. Unique Jamaica includes allied members representing: hotels, bed & breakfast accommodations, restaurants, eco- & geo-tourist attractions, air and ground transportation, tour operators, tour guides, integrated marketing communications, public relations & event management companies…St. Lucia is getting a new boutique resort in Feb. Called Discovery at Marigot Bay (http://www.sonesta.com/stlucia/), it will have 124 rooms, a spa, marina, pool and beachfront luxury room…Grenada’s new (debuted in April) Maca Bana Villas (www.macabana.com) has a deal going. Gorgeous hillside, ocean-view one-bedroom villas are $360 per night from now from December 15th – April 14th. Each villa include a six-person dining table and a lounge area with wireless Internet access, satellite TV, stereo—and a private hot tub and an infinity edge swimming pool overlooking the beach.
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