Well we're now in Cape Town. What a city, really beautiful place, modern, friendly, and the intimidating Table Mountain looming over you at all times.
We left Ghana after a fairly unemotional goodbye from Auntie Love in Ghana, whilst Jo was still pretty weak from her illness the previous day. She was a trooper and got through it though. We took a taxi to the bus station and took a big luxurious coach to Accra, then asked an American couple if they wanted to share a taxi to the airport, which seemed like a great money-saving idea... until we saw all of their luggage. Cabman was undeterred, and somehow managed to fit 4 adults, 2 big rucksacks, and 4 suitcases in the back of a very old vauxhall Astra (mk 1). If it were painted blue, I'd have sworn it was the TARDIS.
Lovely flight with South African Airways, and was very impressed when I was given a beer and then offered "another drink to go with your meal", so I happily took a bottle of red wine too. 2008 Shiraz, and was sooo good. I felt mightily sophisticated until I realised I was watching Puss In Boots.
Got to Jo'burg for the connecting flight to Cape Town, but had to do the whole check-out, pickup luggage rubbish and then check-in all over again, but was fast and painless. Then had a coffee in arrivals. The airport is lovely, with a huge atrium in the centre where arrivals takes up the ground floor and is basked in light, but with a huge ceiling feature which looks like a pure white zeppelin has crashed through the roof.
Got to Cape Town, took the bus to our hostel, and was very pleased; its entrance is right on the high street, but you feel miles away from it in the courtyard.
Had a quick shower, and by this time it was 2pm, and we hadn't slept since 8.30am the previous day. Jo managed to get off but I couldn't, so after 5 mins staring at the ceiling, I went outside for a beer and got chatting to a couple of British lads who'd just arrived. Spent a few hours drinking in the sun, then Jo got up and we went for something to eat. I felt half-cut, but don't think Jo noticed :)
Next day we wandered around the city a bit, got our bearings, bought a SA sim for the mobile, and decided on what we were going to do.
Plan today was to go up Table Mountain, but the weather was a bit cloudy, and it rained, so we went out with the intention of just getting some breakfast. We then wandered to the marina/harbour area, had a look around, got a boat out to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela and the other political prisoners of apartied where held. We then had an early dinner, and booked our PADI Open Water course, starting in Simons Town on Tuesday! And Jo is doing it too! Can't wait! Also popped into Baz Bus on the looong walk back and booked a daytrip around the Cape on Sunday, and our travel tickets to get us around the rest of SA when we come to leave Cape Town!
Tomorrow the weather should be back to glorious, so we will be going up Table Mountain in the morning.
That's enough for now I think, so have good weekends everyone!
Showing posts with label Ghana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ghana. Show all posts
Friday, 13 January 2012
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Green Turtle - Ghana
Ok, I'm not sure what happened there, but seems that the bloody great post I wrote yesterday vanished into the ether when I hit "publish". Oh well. Fingers crossed forattempt number 2... on a machine that doesn't even have USB ports... I wonder where you pu the coal in?
So after Cape Castle we went to Elmina which also has a castle for slaves that was run by the portugeuse and dutch. It wasn't quite as "nice" architecturally as Cape Coast, and but had some stunning views and equally harrowing history.
When we were finished in the castle some bloke who came and chatted to us before we went in came up to us again and handed us a shell each which he'd "personalised" with permanaent marker, and then immediately got out his football team sponsorship form. We said sorry, we couldn't carry them, and that we weren't going to sponsor and walked off. We decided against remarking that my shell was broken, and that Jos name isn't "Julian".
Got back to Autie Loves in the evening then the next morning headed to Green Turtle.
We took the tro-tro,then had to get a taxi as this place is a resort in the middle of nowhere by itself on the beach. When the drivers said 35 cedes we thought they were taking the mick,and haggled them down to 20. We felt a bit guilty when it turned out it was an hours drive,along roads which aren't meant to take a 300-odd-thousand mile Nissan Primera. But we got there, it was a little pricey for some of the food and drink, but as you have nowhere else to got for it, it wasn't a surprise, and it wasn't really that bad. 2 nights accommodation and food and drink over the 3 days came to about 30 quid each. And we had our own little hobbit-hut on the beach with 2 double beds too.
I was a bit ill out there, and I've got a load of little spots on my back and chest, but apparnetly this is a reaction to the Doxycycline in the sun. So I shall be hunting down Malarone or something for our next stint on the anti-malarials!
Had a couple of lovely days relaxing on the beach, then had to head back to Auntie Loves yesterday. As we couldn't barter for the cab, we had to accept the price, so we shared with 3 Dutch girls. Then halfway along the track (it reminded me of the ridgeway on the downs this road) we got a puncture. Not surprising with the girls big backpacks, plus all our daysacks and 6 people crammed in the car. Helped the guy change it to his spare which had a massive pressure bulge in the side, so I thought it was only a matter of time before it happens again, but we made it.
Got into Takoradi at about 4.30, went to an internet cafe, then home.
Today has been a bit slower than normal as Jo has caught a bug or something and was up all night throwing-up. She was tired out this morning and drained, so I got her some more water sacks and a can of coke to replace the sugars,and wandered into Takoradi alone for the first time to check on whether STA have replied conforming our flight change to tomorrow night. Also, to rewrite this whole thing again!
So fingers crossed, next update will be in a couple of days from Cape Town!
So after Cape Castle we went to Elmina which also has a castle for slaves that was run by the portugeuse and dutch. It wasn't quite as "nice" architecturally as Cape Coast, and but had some stunning views and equally harrowing history.
When we were finished in the castle some bloke who came and chatted to us before we went in came up to us again and handed us a shell each which he'd "personalised" with permanaent marker, and then immediately got out his football team sponsorship form. We said sorry, we couldn't carry them, and that we weren't going to sponsor and walked off. We decided against remarking that my shell was broken, and that Jos name isn't "Julian".
Got back to Autie Loves in the evening then the next morning headed to Green Turtle.
We took the tro-tro,then had to get a taxi as this place is a resort in the middle of nowhere by itself on the beach. When the drivers said 35 cedes we thought they were taking the mick,and haggled them down to 20. We felt a bit guilty when it turned out it was an hours drive,along roads which aren't meant to take a 300-odd-thousand mile Nissan Primera. But we got there, it was a little pricey for some of the food and drink, but as you have nowhere else to got for it, it wasn't a surprise, and it wasn't really that bad. 2 nights accommodation and food and drink over the 3 days came to about 30 quid each. And we had our own little hobbit-hut on the beach with 2 double beds too.
I was a bit ill out there, and I've got a load of little spots on my back and chest, but apparnetly this is a reaction to the Doxycycline in the sun. So I shall be hunting down Malarone or something for our next stint on the anti-malarials!
Had a couple of lovely days relaxing on the beach, then had to head back to Auntie Loves yesterday. As we couldn't barter for the cab, we had to accept the price, so we shared with 3 Dutch girls. Then halfway along the track (it reminded me of the ridgeway on the downs this road) we got a puncture. Not surprising with the girls big backpacks, plus all our daysacks and 6 people crammed in the car. Helped the guy change it to his spare which had a massive pressure bulge in the side, so I thought it was only a matter of time before it happens again, but we made it.
Got into Takoradi at about 4.30, went to an internet cafe, then home.
Today has been a bit slower than normal as Jo has caught a bug or something and was up all night throwing-up. She was tired out this morning and drained, so I got her some more water sacks and a can of coke to replace the sugars,and wandered into Takoradi alone for the first time to check on whether STA have replied conforming our flight change to tomorrow night. Also, to rewrite this whole thing again!
So fingers crossed, next update will be in a couple of days from Cape Town!
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Ghana
First post of a new blog, so fingers crossed this works!
Landed in Accra on the 30th after a normal flight, apart from the landing where the right wing came very, very bloody close to the ground. We landed at 5am, and the sun was just coming up and it was 25 degrees!
Stayed at a hostel that day (and night) in Accra. It's not a very nice plac to be honest, with little to do, but luckily we were wiped from the flight and heat, so had a good sleep, shower and wander about, then headed to Takoradi to stay with Jo's old gap year school owner Auntie Love. She lives in a what we would view as a shanty town (I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but it's the best way to describe it) in very poor surroundings, but has room for us and was welcoming.
The following day we went into Takoradi and took a tro-tro (heavily overloaded minibus that looks like the love-child of all my dad's worst vans combined) to Busua beach. This is a sort of beach town with a few hostels, so we found a cheap double room for the night, dumped our stuff in the room and headed to the beach. We showered and deet-ed up to keep away the mozzies, and went for some food, drinks, and ended up in a little outside cafe thing sharing choc and banana pancakes with tea, playing Bananagrams.
The next day was spent on the beach which was PACKED due to the bank holiday, so had lots of chats with lots of people and kids. Ghanians are the friendliest people I've ever met, they just come up to you to chat and ask where you're from and practice their English. About half the time they'll then ask for money or something, but they are very happy just to see you. As white people it's almost like being famous - you aren't seen very often at all, and stand out a mile!
The next day (Tuesday 3rd Jan) we took a tro-tro to Cape Coast. This is where the biggest fort was built for slave export, and had 2 million go through it's "door of no return" out to the ships to the Americas. Not a good feeling being a Brit. Seems we have done very little in history to be proud of. The West coast of Africa was originally shared between the Portuguese and Dutch, and they paid the local chiefs rents for the land which they built forts, and traded with the locals for gold. Then we waded in to take people away as slaves, making a fortune from it, and kicking out the other nations!... I'll get off the soapbox now.
Anyway, we found a nice German run hostel in Cape Coast, and decided this morning to stay another night and go to the canopy walk in the rainforest at Kakum today and to Elmina tomorrow (another fort).
Ghana is lovely, but there isn't really that much to do to fill 2 weeks, so we've bought our flight to South Africa forward to the 10th, and will go to the Green Turtle (another beach resort) for a couple of days, visit the new site of Jo's old school (as it has moved since she was last here), and prob put in the next update when we arrive in SA, where we'll hopefully do our PADI open water, and do some rock climbing at Table Mountain!
Landed in Accra on the 30th after a normal flight, apart from the landing where the right wing came very, very bloody close to the ground. We landed at 5am, and the sun was just coming up and it was 25 degrees!
Stayed at a hostel that day (and night) in Accra. It's not a very nice plac to be honest, with little to do, but luckily we were wiped from the flight and heat, so had a good sleep, shower and wander about, then headed to Takoradi to stay with Jo's old gap year school owner Auntie Love. She lives in a what we would view as a shanty town (I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but it's the best way to describe it) in very poor surroundings, but has room for us and was welcoming.
The following day we went into Takoradi and took a tro-tro (heavily overloaded minibus that looks like the love-child of all my dad's worst vans combined) to Busua beach. This is a sort of beach town with a few hostels, so we found a cheap double room for the night, dumped our stuff in the room and headed to the beach. We showered and deet-ed up to keep away the mozzies, and went for some food, drinks, and ended up in a little outside cafe thing sharing choc and banana pancakes with tea, playing Bananagrams.
The next day was spent on the beach which was PACKED due to the bank holiday, so had lots of chats with lots of people and kids. Ghanians are the friendliest people I've ever met, they just come up to you to chat and ask where you're from and practice their English. About half the time they'll then ask for money or something, but they are very happy just to see you. As white people it's almost like being famous - you aren't seen very often at all, and stand out a mile!
The next day (Tuesday 3rd Jan) we took a tro-tro to Cape Coast. This is where the biggest fort was built for slave export, and had 2 million go through it's "door of no return" out to the ships to the Americas. Not a good feeling being a Brit. Seems we have done very little in history to be proud of. The West coast of Africa was originally shared between the Portuguese and Dutch, and they paid the local chiefs rents for the land which they built forts, and traded with the locals for gold. Then we waded in to take people away as slaves, making a fortune from it, and kicking out the other nations!... I'll get off the soapbox now.
Anyway, we found a nice German run hostel in Cape Coast, and decided this morning to stay another night and go to the canopy walk in the rainforest at Kakum today and to Elmina tomorrow (another fort).
Ghana is lovely, but there isn't really that much to do to fill 2 weeks, so we've bought our flight to South Africa forward to the 10th, and will go to the Green Turtle (another beach resort) for a couple of days, visit the new site of Jo's old school (as it has moved since she was last here), and prob put in the next update when we arrive in SA, where we'll hopefully do our PADI open water, and do some rock climbing at Table Mountain!
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