Ghana - Overwintering on the Gold Coast
By Steve Gregson
{gallery}ghana gold coast{/gallery}
The first six days in Ghana were certainly out of our recent comforBt zones. Savage heat, loose tummies, heavy traffic near Accra, days with nothing more than biscuits to eat:
Leaving Accra on Jan 5th, the first ten miles on a cycle path at the side of a dual carriageway lined with micro-businesses and the road rising at between 5 and 11% as far as Aburi, where no proper food. 36 Celsius at mid-day.
6th. Incessant village sprawls, ups and downs 5-10% all day, Anni hit on buttock by a car mirror, but the driver at least stopped to apologise. Scrub, bushes and isolated trees. I had been reading about the London-Edinburgh-London Audax and our days seemed to be so similar,' ride-eat-ride-eat-sleep a bit-ride'.
7th. A very dusty hard shoulder with lots of rumble strips. sleeping policemen. Cacti on roadside, hills to north and south. Again, 34 miles took all day, we are so slow.
8th. Rolling road terrain with a final 11% hill to walk up. In addition, we cannot accurately find out about ferry times across Lake Volta and how near we can stay if there is only the one ferry at 10a.m..
9th. We hear about a place to stay 20km from the ferry but no-one answers the door, so a neighbour telephones someone. We continue but there is nowhere to stay just mud huts, no food, a long way back to Mpraeso if we are isolated at the water's edge. A big car arrives with 4 burly ( but genuine) guys who invite us to return to their guest house. No thanks , we continue downhill along a dusty wide road to the ferry but one has just left however there are some wooden open boats waiting for the last four passengers, so in we go with our bicycles. Nowhere half decent to stay on the other side so 15km in sapping heat but at least its flat. Plus slash and burn roadsides keep us cosy! I think its the second day eating only biscuits.
10th. 39°C at mid-day. A sandy 'piste', washboarding, loose stones and again the slash and burn! Birdlife and bushes make for the interest. However, its flat. In mid-afternoon, we sat wearily on the road, fed up and whacked, but at Donkorkrom we find a restful Guest House in a garden and decide we have earned a few days rest. Ghanaians continue to be all friendly and cheerful. Longest day so far 38 miles. Mosquito nets, pills, repellent creams are all vital and require daily patience.
Heading to the ferry across Lake Volta east side, traffic had become much less now but on a sandy track I am still skidded into from behind by a motor-bike with an extra passenger carrying a bowl of fruit on her head. I had been wobbling along too. No damage.
We then put in an extra loop eastwards to the coast near Togo and found, at Keta, a Guest House by the beach with photogenic fishing boats/ men. On the way, 7 young men on side of road hand loom weaving bright Kente strips, clickety click. Further on drummers, trance - like dancers at some kind of religious or funeral event. In the lagoon, kingfishers, hornbills, plovers, stilts, weaver birds. Dragoman Tours pass us, open windows, a really strong old bus. Wonder if those adventurers are sorry or envious of us on 2 wheels?
We continue on our 'proper' holiday alongside the turquoise Atlantic Ocean, the sand and then the road, potholes connected with sand of which the most lands on our shins and in the chains. Gosh we have brown legs! Or sand covered!. Cross the Volta Delta on an 'engine boat', just for us 'special' price! At one point, on a lonely cul-de-sac along the coast, a Moslem lady in Blackburn Rovers top! My home town.
Eating improving too, octopus, lobster as well as the ocean's fish. Safer than chicken. Even a gin & tonic one evening. Most days we are asked our age, cries of 'Grandma','Grandpa' as they call folks who are past it.
West of Accra by now, we had decided to find more Rough-Stuff Touring and also avoid the main east west highway so turning west out of the Kokrobite guest house's gate onto a hard sandy byway, this soon became a grass- centred track then a footpath, then just grass next to the beach then onto the beach until an estuary which we waded across, fast flowing so we gave 2 panniers to 2 young 'porters'. The next day more dirt tracks but a nice hotel at the end. Then a 3-day diversion to the interior enjoying the cocoa plantations, short hills and hotels with colourful gardens where we ate our evening meals. Plenty of cycle repair sheds, wheel builders and even spare spokes.
Another route including a walk on the beach to Elmina and a few days later to Besua after a very steep headland track. Later a visit to a slave fort bought by a Surrey farmer. A rest day and then off again only to be halted by mild threats of extortion/ protection money on another track that left us further back than when we started! Still, in February there have been some lovely days touring near beaches, palm trees and eating tasty, fresh fish.
What an experience at the frontier to the Ivory Coast , a long straight road that became full of folk selling palm kernels, other fruit and veg. plus all manner of goods on both sides of the road, exports/ imports from the Ivory Coast, trolleys moving in all directions and us trying to make progress forwards. Tall herb/ medicine sellers from Niger and Benin. Eventually we came to some closed gates and in the distance, a lagoon, perhaps 2km to the other side. The Police, then Customs then Emigration let us pass but we were nervous in case of not being let back in but in the end an officer took us the to the edge of the Quay and we managed a photo. Mangos and avocado for lunch.
That was it, our tour nominally ended ,we turned our wheels for home. Just a couple of hundred miles to Accra with us rolling along in a big gear, hind-wind for the first time, and breaking a lifelong taboo when we rode the last kilomtres to our guest house in pitch darkness.
Yes, Ghana, 'The White Man's Grave' had certainly grown on us. The Atlantic Ocean, the welcome by the lovely Ghanaians and the hot, dry weather the real plusses.