That was the slogan of the travel promotion banner at the airport in Accra, Ghana. And it was true! It has been six years since I was in Ghana and it felt really good to be back. We have a new project in Cape Coast and I am very excited to return and get to work.
Was in transit in London. Here is a new twist on an ambulance. Saw the medic peddling the ambulance to an emergency. Hope everyone survived.
A lot has changed, starting with the airport. I had expected a blast of hot tropical night air as I departed the plane, but instead was greeted with a modern jetway and air conditioning. No walking across the tarmac, no bus to take one the short distance to customs, a jetway! Then the arrivals area was spacious, clean and well organized with plenty of staff to help. A completely new experience! The modern airport is beautiful and I hope people appreciate the conveniences.
The other remarkable changes are in Accra itself, new roads, new construction of apartment buildings, hotels and shopping malls. And a lot of new traffic! The roads were as congested as ever and very slow going. The one constant are the hawkers, peddling their goods on their heads going from car to car at stoplights and tool areas. Sometimes I wish we had hawkers here as it would make it convenient to not to have to stop at the market on the way home. You can get almost anything you can imagine - from food to clothes to silverware and kitchen appliances to pictures for your walls.
My favorite hotel no longer exists and was completely demolished. No structure has been built to replace it yet. I enjoyed the Shangri-La as it was close to the airport, had a huge pool used by locals and guests and was a great way to stretch after such a long flight. The staff were also quite nice and I enjoyed the rooms and food. For me, it was sad to see it gone.
Site of the previous Shangri-La Hotel.
Airport in the background. Convenient for weary travelers. But there are plenty of modern hotels also very close to the airport. I still prefer the local accommodations.
Airport View Hotel. Yes, it has an unobstructed view of the airport.
Since the arrival was in the evening I spent the night in Accra then headed out to Cape Coast in the morning. But first, breakfast wit Dr. Ernest, a dear person who was in training in Cape Coast on my first trip there. Also had the opportunity to see his lovely wife and three beautiful children on my return to Accra before departing. Then I took a quick stop to Wild Gecko, my favorite shop for local goods. Sorry to say they had neither the wallet that I wanted nor do they have those cute musicians made of car parts. Yes, some thinks are changing. Some things are staying the same.
Women sitting along the sidewalk, begging at times.
Cute little girl. Played with a few children while walking along the street, kids are fun everywhere and love to play games.
The ride to Cape Coast was not too bad, my local hotel was comfortable and it was great to see my friends again. We had many meetings and plans and hope we paved a smooth path for my medical student to complete her research project.
This is Dr. Derek, who will help on the day to day monitoring of the project. We had worked on several projects together and he was able to get his PhD on the basis of some of his field wirk with us. A really nice person.
This is Anthony, who is a graduate student at the University of Ghana in Accra. He will be the right hand man for our medical student Fejiro.
This is Dr. Morna's administrative assisant. Love the way the women carry the babies. The little ones usually sleep soundly when being carried like this.
Dr. Martin Morna, one of two clinical faculty at the University of Cape Coast Regional Teaching Hospital. The other is Dr. Sam Debrah, who was not in town for my visit. Both are gentleman and class acts.
A nontraditional approach to carrying a baby.
These are Dr. Ernest's children, all three really nice, well mannered and well behaved. And cute, too!
Sunset on my last night in Accra. Taken from Airport View Hotel window.
The boys did well with the house sitter but were very happy to see me when I came home. Good boys! Fionnegan, Shorty, Gunnarr (l to r).
Was in transit in London. Here is a new twist on an ambulance. Saw the medic peddling the ambulance to an emergency. Hope everyone survived.
A lot has changed, starting with the airport. I had expected a blast of hot tropical night air as I departed the plane, but instead was greeted with a modern jetway and air conditioning. No walking across the tarmac, no bus to take one the short distance to customs, a jetway! Then the arrivals area was spacious, clean and well organized with plenty of staff to help. A completely new experience! The modern airport is beautiful and I hope people appreciate the conveniences.
The other remarkable changes are in Accra itself, new roads, new construction of apartment buildings, hotels and shopping malls. And a lot of new traffic! The roads were as congested as ever and very slow going. The one constant are the hawkers, peddling their goods on their heads going from car to car at stoplights and tool areas. Sometimes I wish we had hawkers here as it would make it convenient to not to have to stop at the market on the way home. You can get almost anything you can imagine - from food to clothes to silverware and kitchen appliances to pictures for your walls.
My favorite hotel no longer exists and was completely demolished. No structure has been built to replace it yet. I enjoyed the Shangri-La as it was close to the airport, had a huge pool used by locals and guests and was a great way to stretch after such a long flight. The staff were also quite nice and I enjoyed the rooms and food. For me, it was sad to see it gone.
Site of the previous Shangri-La Hotel.
Airport in the background. Convenient for weary travelers. But there are plenty of modern hotels also very close to the airport. I still prefer the local accommodations.
Airport View Hotel. Yes, it has an unobstructed view of the airport.
Since the arrival was in the evening I spent the night in Accra then headed out to Cape Coast in the morning. But first, breakfast wit Dr. Ernest, a dear person who was in training in Cape Coast on my first trip there. Also had the opportunity to see his lovely wife and three beautiful children on my return to Accra before departing. Then I took a quick stop to Wild Gecko, my favorite shop for local goods. Sorry to say they had neither the wallet that I wanted nor do they have those cute musicians made of car parts. Yes, some thinks are changing. Some things are staying the same.
Women sitting along the sidewalk, begging at times.
Cute little girl. Played with a few children while walking along the street, kids are fun everywhere and love to play games.
The ride to Cape Coast was not too bad, my local hotel was comfortable and it was great to see my friends again. We had many meetings and plans and hope we paved a smooth path for my medical student to complete her research project.
This is Dr. Derek, who will help on the day to day monitoring of the project. We had worked on several projects together and he was able to get his PhD on the basis of some of his field wirk with us. A really nice person.
This is Anthony, who is a graduate student at the University of Ghana in Accra. He will be the right hand man for our medical student Fejiro.
This is Dr. Morna's administrative assisant. Love the way the women carry the babies. The little ones usually sleep soundly when being carried like this.
Dr. Martin Morna, one of two clinical faculty at the University of Cape Coast Regional Teaching Hospital. The other is Dr. Sam Debrah, who was not in town for my visit. Both are gentleman and class acts.
A nontraditional approach to carrying a baby.
A little bird and goat watching while on the medical school campus.
Capital Hill Hotel, Cape Coast. A nice and friendly establishment, food was good, too.
A cute baby waiting for an operation in the OR.
If you look close, you will see an old and faded red line behind Dr. Morna. That line cannot be crossed in street clothes or OR clothes. It separates the OR staff from the patients and everyone else who may want to enter. The previous charge nurse, who has since retired, would put the fear of God into anyone who dared cross that line inapproapriately!
Street scenes. Hawker women carrying her goods in a bowl on her head.
View of the airport and restaurant, formerly an airplane.
View of the airport and restaurant, formerly an airplane.
Black and red are traditional funeral clothes. Funerals are major events, sometimes taking place many months after the death of a loved one, and most often held on Saturdays.
For a trip that started with many stresses with major flight changes and lost luggage, it was really good to be back in Ghana and especially good to be back at work on a research project. But missing luggage or not, I had a birding trip scheduled and I was going. I had been to Ghana many times and had few opportunities to see the country. I decided I would make the time on this trip. Business first and completed, I was off to Kakum with a birding guide and driver, wearing my work clothes and dress shoes. Stay tuned for the blog with pictures of the many school kids crossing a tree line canopy.
These are Dr. Ernest's children, all three really nice, well mannered and well behaved. And cute, too!
Sunset on my last night in Accra. Taken from Airport View Hotel window.
The boys did well with the house sitter but were very happy to see me when I came home. Good boys! Fionnegan, Shorty, Gunnarr (l to r).
Until next time...……..
May your days be many and your troubles be few. And may all God's blessings descend upon you.
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