Ghana and no water

A few facts about the Republic of Ghana: It is slightly smaller than Oregon; supplies most of the world's cocoa beans (and bauxite); there are over 50 languages spoken although English is the official language; is located almost on the equator so it is hot; was visited by President Obama in 2009, his first visit to an African country; and was a major port for the exportation of slaves.


 There are several "castles", more like  forts, where the slaves were held until they were sent abroad.  During the height of the slave trade, 1000 slaves were crammed into dungeons to await departure. These dark rooms contained little air, and those held captive, received little to no food and water with no facilities to eliminate waste.  Those who were "troublesome" were bound to dungeon walls, and women were often raped.  Those who died were thrown into the ocean.  Upon leaving the castle, Africans were forced through an opening that was called "The Door of No Return" as all those who departed through the doorway would never return to Africa again.


Interestingly, of the 10 million slaves forced across the Atlantic, only 5% of the slaves ended up in the US; most went to Brazil and the Caribbean Islands.  One of the reasons this percentage is low is because of the natural population growth.  The largest trading countries were the British, Danish, Dutch and Portuguese.


The reason we have no water is a mystery.  First the Captain said there would be no laundry while we are in port; then he said no china would be used, only paper plates and cups; then the said the water would be turned off from 10 pm to 7 am.  Then last night the Asst. to the Dean (The Voice) announced that water would be turned off from 10 pm to 7 pm tonight!  And we may have the same routine tomorrow night.  The rumors are rampant:  the City couldn't supply enough fresh water and we couldn't use water from the ocean to desalinate because it is too dirty in port.  We do have drinking water.    We leave tomorrow night and we have already packed up our dirty laundry to send as soon as the ship hits open ocean.

The Voice is so called because she makes all of the announcements at 9 am, noon and 5 pm, and in between.  Her voice is rather harsh, so  whenever she makes an announcement, everyone cringes.  Turns out she's a litigation attorney!  Figures.

We have as much fun watching the port traffic and  the loading and unloading of container ships.  The cocoa beans in burlap bags arrive on huge trucks, driven into the warehouse, loaded into containers and trucks take the containers to the ship for the cranes to take on board.  Watching the loading of containers on the ship is like watching a dance: all the containers are piled on the pier; frontend loaders pick them up and put them on the pier for the cranes to lift onto the ship.  Yesterday, there was a container ship with three cranes unloading and was gone this morning.  It was huge.  I can't understand why the ship doesn't tip over in heavy seas.

Walked to the Central Market one morning, about 2 miles after a shuttle bus ride to the port entrance. Bought some Kente print fabric. Print being the operative word. Real Kente fabric is thick, almost beaded and of a distinctive pattern. Got the print of the pattern. Heavy bargaining to determine final cost. Getting better, but I don't think I took advantage of any of the vendors.  The market is a huge circle and you can find most anything in or around it. VERY narrow aisles going every which way with sellers also babysitting and cooking at/in their stalls.

This is the lady that Prof Cecil and I bought fabric from. Lots of choices. Note the children in lower left. As we walked through and around the market, we saw everything from eggs to appliances.  Remember that most have no refrigeration, so they must go to market every day. Not unusual to see a purchase of one or two eggs; or a potato.
 The market appeared to be segmented by various groups/tribes and/or religons.  You always ask before taking a persons picture. Most are happy to allow it and overjoyed to see the digital image. However, some were very outspoken about denying one to take their picture. Okay to film the product but not the person.  

Saw some interesting architecture.






A stairway to an abandoned building.




An exterior stairway to everywhere.




And a modern bank building.
Note the barbed wire fence around the bank. Not unusual!