So, Ghana made it through to the quarter finals, with much thanks to their goal keeper. If Kingston's not man of the match, then I'll eat my smock hat.
Australians colloquially call their country: "The Lucky Country." Frankly, the Blackstars ought to adopt this title for their country and call themselves the lucky team since they were dependent on others to make it to the next stage of the world cup. I hope someone learns how to kick a goal during play between now and the USA match.
Anyway, Ghanaians are incorrigible and it's been exciting, once again, to be here during a football tournament. 4 years ago the excitement was when Ghana beat the Czech Republic. Then there was the African Cup of Nations in Ghana, then in Angola...now the World Cup in South Africa. Either way, there is much "jubilating" when Ghana scores and advances through the competitions.
4 years ago I accidentally overstayed my visitor visa by a few days. I'd been so good at being on time up until then, but my date fell on a weekend and everything was football...I totally forgot. I remembered, however, on the morning of the day Ghana played Brazil. I decided that if I didn't face immigration before the game, I'd miss out on riding the high that had hit the whole country, and would quite likely face a depressed, grumpy office. I figured it was better to face the happy music, than the grumpy music.
Flag wrapped around my head, flags painted on cheeks, Ghana T-shirt on, I approached and handed over what would have caused some issues any other day. But, it was football. Hopes were high. The woman stopped eating her rice during lunch time, no less, and promised to help me renew...not a problem. I was grateful.
Ghana did not beat Brazil, as you may know. Moral of the story: If you have to take care of difficult business, do it before the world looks like coming down from its high.
I love this post 10 Unusual Ways to Wear a Ghana Flag. If you wonder how this crazy country looks when it celebrates and supports its team, check that post out. Love th Pres's wife and also the Trio.
Here's an excerpt:
"For those of you who are not president's wives, and have no hope of ever becoming one, I pity you. But do not despair. As long as you have a little bit of Reggae in you, you could still do the shawl thing like Kwesi Selassie here and look all pseudo-"conscious" doing it too. "
Ghana v Australia Sat 19 Jun
When I go to the market, I overhear the male traders talking about how appalling Australia is and how “Ghana will score them!” And I cannot disagree based on the last game each team played. Australia look liked they showed up for cricket. Or badminton. Or Aussie Rules. Not football. Ghana look like they showed up to put fear in the hearts of the best of the South Americans.
Today I’m a Gozzie: Ghana Ozzie. Either way, I can’t lose! But I’m kind of really going for Ghana, in case you couldn’t tell. Australia wins half of everything else they play on the world stage; they don’t need to win this as well. That’s my logic, anyway.
Where’s my popcorn?!
Kangaroo photo by André Gustavo and Blackstars supporters by manbeastextraordinaire.
Ghana Tour including Wa, Upper West Region
Continuing on the Ghana tour theme, this next tour of Ghana is what could be called “All Over Ghana to the Upper West: Wa and Hippos”. 14 Days minimum.
Where does this Ghana adventure lead?
Accra— Cape Coast (Central Region)—one of the beaches past Takoradi—Kumasi (Ashanti Region)—Techiman—Wa—Mole National Park—Tamale—Lake Volta Ferry to Akosombo—Akosombo back to Accra.
This is basically a circuit that can be traveled in either direction. But, travelers may want to start out easy by heading first to Cape Coast rather than the other way around, and that’s how we’ve outlined it here:
1. Depart Accra and head to Cape Coast, about 3 hours by public transport, depending on traffic. Enjoy Cape Coast for a couple of days. See Cape Coast Castle, take a tour of town, visit other historical monuments, travel to Elmina. Elmina is about 20 minutes from Cape Coast (15 kilometres), west. Visitors are divided about the Castle visits. My preference is Elmina, but Cape Coast Castle has an excellent exhibit.
2. Travel from Cape Coast to any of the beaches along the coast like Green Turtle or Axim for a day or two. This takes about 3-4 hours on public transport, depending on the traffic, in each direction.
3. Return to Cape and travel north to Kumasi—which is crazy so be prepared. However, there is a lot to see, particularly from an Ashanti history point of view. Visit the Cultural Centre and the museum. Perhaps visit the Kejetia Market in the centre of town for a truly shocking market experience.
4. From Kumasi travel to Techiman, 3 hours north, and stay at Operation Hand in Hand in Nkoranza for a day. It’s one of the most inspiring places in Ghana—an orphanage on sprawling, Eden-like grounds for mentally handicapped children who produce some of the most beautiful beaded products I’ve seen in Ghana. You can interact or just hang out.
5. From Techiman you can travel directly to Wa, which is the capital of the Upper West Region and the jumping off point to visit the Hippo Sanctuary. However, right now, during the rainy season, is not the best time to visit as hippos are hidden by vegetation and extremely hard to see. If you want to see them specifically, wait until October or later when everything dries out and they are more visible.
6. From Wa travel via bus to Mole National Park where you can spend a couple of days looking at elepehants, wart hogs, monkeys, baboons, and other animals and birds. I have read of a few people unable to see elephants at this time, but most report seeing them—as I also did during an August, rainy season visit—it was awesome.
7. Head to Tamale from Mole and then catch a tro to Makongo from where you can catch the Lake Volta Ferry all the way down the lake to Akosombo in the Eastern Region. This can take a day or two, depending on various issues like lake water levels and how many stops the captain makes.
8. Stay at Akosombo on the River Volta—Aylo’s Bay is my fave—and then head back to Accra, an hour away by trotro.
This tour of Ghana was based on one of the maps in our Ghana guide which shows this route around Ghana. Our guide includes 15 maps showing routes all over Ghana for different themed tours. We outline the map in markers, with the stops noted, and the best order in which to travel. This is more or less the textual version of those tours.
We’ll be posting the other travel routes, in writing, over the coming weeks so readers can get a sense of what is possible when traveling in Ghana.
If you want to match these explanations with the maps, you can buy our Ghana travel guide here.
Let us know if you have any experience traveling these routes and what you’d suggest others to look out for.
Thanks for reading!
Where does this Ghana adventure lead?
Accra— Cape Coast (Central Region)—one of the beaches past Takoradi—Kumasi (Ashanti Region)—Techiman—Wa—Mole National Park—Tamale—Lake Volta Ferry to Akosombo—Akosombo back to Accra.
This is basically a circuit that can be traveled in either direction. But, travelers may want to start out easy by heading first to Cape Coast rather than the other way around, and that’s how we’ve outlined it here:
1. Depart Accra and head to Cape Coast, about 3 hours by public transport, depending on traffic. Enjoy Cape Coast for a couple of days. See Cape Coast Castle, take a tour of town, visit other historical monuments, travel to Elmina. Elmina is about 20 minutes from Cape Coast (15 kilometres), west. Visitors are divided about the Castle visits. My preference is Elmina, but Cape Coast Castle has an excellent exhibit.
2. Travel from Cape Coast to any of the beaches along the coast like Green Turtle or Axim for a day or two. This takes about 3-4 hours on public transport, depending on the traffic, in each direction.
3. Return to Cape and travel north to Kumasi—which is crazy so be prepared. However, there is a lot to see, particularly from an Ashanti history point of view. Visit the Cultural Centre and the museum. Perhaps visit the Kejetia Market in the centre of town for a truly shocking market experience.
4. From Kumasi travel to Techiman, 3 hours north, and stay at Operation Hand in Hand in Nkoranza for a day. It’s one of the most inspiring places in Ghana—an orphanage on sprawling, Eden-like grounds for mentally handicapped children who produce some of the most beautiful beaded products I’ve seen in Ghana. You can interact or just hang out.
5. From Techiman you can travel directly to Wa, which is the capital of the Upper West Region and the jumping off point to visit the Hippo Sanctuary. However, right now, during the rainy season, is not the best time to visit as hippos are hidden by vegetation and extremely hard to see. If you want to see them specifically, wait until October or later when everything dries out and they are more visible.
6. From Wa travel via bus to Mole National Park where you can spend a couple of days looking at elepehants, wart hogs, monkeys, baboons, and other animals and birds. I have read of a few people unable to see elephants at this time, but most report seeing them—as I also did during an August, rainy season visit—it was awesome.
7. Head to Tamale from Mole and then catch a tro to Makongo from where you can catch the Lake Volta Ferry all the way down the lake to Akosombo in the Eastern Region. This can take a day or two, depending on various issues like lake water levels and how many stops the captain makes.
8. Stay at Akosombo on the River Volta—Aylo’s Bay is my fave—and then head back to Accra, an hour away by trotro.
This tour of Ghana was based on one of the maps in our Ghana guide which shows this route around Ghana. Our guide includes 15 maps showing routes all over Ghana for different themed tours. We outline the map in markers, with the stops noted, and the best order in which to travel. This is more or less the textual version of those tours.
We’ll be posting the other travel routes, in writing, over the coming weeks so readers can get a sense of what is possible when traveling in Ghana.
If you want to match these explanations with the maps, you can buy our Ghana travel guide here.
Let us know if you have any experience traveling these routes and what you’d suggest others to look out for.
Thanks for reading!
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