Back in Accra

Tuesday and Wednesday, January 17-18

Tuesday morning sees us up early at seven and ready to catch the first car into Ho. The ride is uneventful and in a cab rather than a tro-tro. In Ho, Courage spots a Metro Mass Transit bus which is waiting to be filled so it can leave—we grab it. The great fare of 5 GHC ($3.12 USD) is tempered by the fact that there is no A/C, it’s 91 degrees F., we are crammed into small, plastic seats configured 2 X 3 with the narrowest of aisles and carrying your animals with you is permitted. We board at 8:00 a.m.; the bus is full and leaves at 9:30 for the three hour trip to Accra.

This afternoon is laundry, resting and internet time at our lovely home away from home, the Brittain’s estate in the Cantoments section of Accra. Alan does the laundry and Maxwell does the ironing for us—what service! Sam, our hosts’ nephew comes to talk about development of E-quip Africa here as well as his own endeavors and shares valuable information with us. Sam recently returned from Canada and the UK from his studies where he earned a degree in Information Technology. We know there is mutual benefit from our meeting.

Eddie Amoah also arrives, but we are summoned upstairs for happy hour and dinner. So that Eddie has something to do while we enjoy yet another great Ghanaian meal, Greg sets up a DVD he brought along showing a gasification process some friends in Minnesota have developed. It has every possibility of working in Ghana because it converts everyday garbage and refuse into fuel.

On Wednesday morning Eddie, Greg and I travel to the Max Mart to pick up some Claritin for Greg and some chocolate bars for Doug. Max Mart is an air conditioned, well organized grocery market with very high prices which some foreigners living in their embassies might like to pay. We’ll shop elsewhere when we next need supplies.

Next we travel on to view Eddie’s energy business, Encol, which supplies prepaid water and solar heated appliances to the newer communities in northeast Accra. It’s a neat business and fulfills a need in the rapidly expanding housing needed in Accra now that oil is being produces from off-shore rigs.

In the afternoon we share the gasification process and DVD with Zoomlion, Ghana, a garbage and waste handling company with the motto, “Keeping Africa green, clean and healthy.” Their website: http://www.zoomlionghana.com/

By three o’clock we are starving and head to Labadi Beach for a sandwich and the local cuisine. It’s located on the Gulf of Guinea and provides a comfortable break from the day’s activities. We are approached by the usual flock of vendors, but fewer than on the beaches of Mexico. Doug tries and survives his thrid variety of Apetishi, "local gin", or "Ghana Moonshine." This one is made from sugar cane and sells at Labadi for only 60 pesewas. (cents)