Getting out of Accra...
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After some deliberating, Shanika arrived and we set on checking out this “Eco-Lodge,” which was described in the Bradt guide as somewhere you could relax, swim and enjoy the beautiful surroundings… sounded rather perfect actually. We made Shanika call the lodge to make sure there was availability (in retrospect it’s kind of hilarious we did this). They assured us that they could accommodate us, and explained where we should catch the tro from to get there. We headed over to the ‘long-distance’ tro parking lot, elicited loads of intrigued stares and with virtually no problems found our tro, paid our fare (1.90 USD), inquired how long the ride would be (2 hours) and found some seats on the relatively empty tro. Now it is necessary to explain that tros here (short OR long distance) wait until the very last seat is filled before departing (well usually anyway)… this meant we waited for what felt like an hour before we departed. That wouldn’t have been the worst thing, but it was absolutely sweltering outside… so you can imagine how much worse it was on the tro. Let’s just say we’re officially Ghanaian now, because we each have a handkerchief (read: sweat rag). Still aside from being hot and sweaty, it was a decent ride, and I think the fact that this older lady grabbed Trish’s arm when she came on to the tro and said: “You are welcome!” made it that much better… I love the small niceties in Ghana. Sometimes I think they even make up for the hissing and honking! :)
So a few hours later, we realized we didn’t know where we were getting off (this would have never happened to Naureen et al., I’m just saying, ahaha). So with the help of virtually EVERYONE sitting around us and the Bradt guide we determined that what we thought was one town, Anum-Boso, was actually two separate towns. When we pulled up in Anum, we hummed and ha’d for a bit, and decided to get off in the next town, Boso. This was a huge mistake, because Anum, as we found out later, has a regular taxi service, whereas Boso… not so much.
When we got out of the tro in Boso it was very apparent we were no longer in Accra. This was small town Ghana… and we were pretty sure no one had ever seen an Obruni before… let alone three, looking rather lost and toting backpacks. After refusing to pay 40,000 cedis (4 USD) for a taxi to the Eco Lodge (we thought it was 30,000), we wandered down what appeared to be the main road in hope that we might come across another taxi. How wrong we were.
After a few minutes of reveling in the silence of the town, we came upon a porch where a few guys hanging out. We decided to inquire about the taxi situation, since things weren’t looking too promising for us. A lady wearing funeral garb (black and brown/black and red) explained that there was no regular taxis in Boso, only Anum, but that we were welcome to wait on her porch. We were quite taken aback when a few of the guys brought a bench for us to sit on and wait… We began chatting with the lady, who it turned out lived in London, and was in Ghana for two consecutive funerals. She was absolutely lovely and after a few minutes of waiting told us we should go with her driver who would take us to the lodge. You can imagine our surprise… we had just met this woman! We tried to refuse her generous offer, but she insisted, saying that we shouldn’t pay her (when we offered), but we could tip the driver. It was one of those moments that makes you remember Accra is somewhat like many other big cities: cold and impersonal… it doesn’t necessarily reflect Ghana very well at all.
TBC tomorrow…
2 Comments:
Laura!! It's the 26th!! I need the rest of the story! :)
I used to be a Peace Corps volunteer in Boso in 1993! It was a sleepy little town then as well. I'm glad they treated you well.
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