Today we woke and started with breakfast provided by the hotel. We left the hotel at approximately 9:30 AM Ghana time. We originally had planned to go to a jatropha plantation. But it was closed due to the elections tomorrow. Instead we decided to go to the mall in Accra. It is the biggest mall in Ghana and it seemed very modern, however was nowhere near the size of the malls in the United States. The prices were very similar to U.S. malls, so we didn’t buy very much.
After we went to the mall we traveled to downtown Accra. We visited an automotive repair sector to take soil samples. These will be analyzed for an environmental study back in the U.S. There was an extreme amount of pollution from littering and car repairs. There are no environmental regulations, so old oil and other pollutants flow into streams and straight to the ocean. We also took water samples for further analysis for heavy metals.
Accra is currently in the dry season, but during the wet season water levels rise. A local woman spoke with us about the flooding, and indicated the water level was chest high. This flooding spreads contaminants throughout the area. This area of town was quite a sight. The woman we talked with had three children with her watching us. Actually, all the children watched us, then gave high fives, and took pictures. By the time we left there was a crowd gathered, and we received a warm welcome from an elder in the area.
Next we were off to lunch. We went to a restaurant that served local Ghanaian food. We had a wide variety including fufu, redred, rice & chicken, soup, etc. Rather than rushing dinner, we noticed that Ghanaians take time to enjoy their meals, making plans and conversing throughout the hour. Several said this was the best meal so far.
After lunch we went to see a monument of Kwane Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. It is a large park, and there were two wedding parties taking pictures while we were there. A tour guide showed us the statue, the burial place, and a small museum with Kwane Nkrumah’s articles. Nkrumah is famous for his vision of unity in Africa. This monument is similar to monuments in Washington, D.C.
Because of the late full lunch, we decided to get peanut butter and jelly for supper. We stopped at a local market and students split up: some buying soccer jerseys and others went to the mall to buy groceries. On the way home we stopped again at a local market for special “sweet bread”.
All in all it was a good day.
Tomorrow we head to Cape Coast, a village east of Accra on the coast. Stay tuned for exciting stories from this historic location! Also, please be patient with photos — the internet here is a bit slow and makes uploading photos tedious. Hopefully, as we travel to other locations we will be able to post photos and videos.
Click Here for a map of our day.
