Tema, Ghana

Before 1961 Tema was just a small fishing village but then the powers that be decreed that it would become Ghana’s principal economic harbor, putting the most modern facilities within reach of Accra, the capital. Nearly everything about Ghana is spectacular.  It is one of those places in Africa where people have always wanted to live.  The oldest pottery in the area dates from as early as 4000 B.C.  From the earliest times, life here has seen the extremes of good and bad in human experience. For a relatively small place, Ghana has made a huge impact on the outside world.  From floods of gold, to appeals for freedom and harmony, the people of Ghana have contributed to a more vigorous cosmos.  It’s no accident that they are proud to show their land to others.

Eight of us hired a car to take us to Accra.  It is 20 miles from the ship and took us 2 hours in a van with no air conditioning.  The temperature was about 100 and we were all wringing wet and frustrated by the time we got there.  Barbara wanted to go shopping, but Gary & couldn't bear the thought of standing in those kiosks for 3 hours, after that awful drive, looking for African shirts & wood carvings.  The roads are dirt and in disrepair and the people we saw were living in abject poverty. There is also a big presence of Yellow Fever both here and in Togo.

We saw a casket maker that makes caskets in various shapes & sizes.  For instance, if someone had always wanted to fly, the casket would be in the shape of an airplane.  We saw a cow, a coke bottle, a fish, a lobster, a pineapple & a truck – all caskets. Very strange! We decided to go back to the ship but stopped at a lovely hotel en route to get a coke. We now have 2 days at sea before reaching Dakar, Senegal.  This evening we head westerly and will parallel The Ivory Coast.