This is really a twin city port of Sekondi-Takoradi and Ghana’s first deep water seaport which has proven to be a great success. A few high points to see include the inviting beach areas, Monkey Hill (a tropical reserve for primates), nearby Fort Orange, built by the Dutch in 1642 which now serves as a lighthouse.
A bit further afield there is an opportunity to look back at the tragic history of the Atlantic slave trade at Elmina Castle, the earliest known European structure in the tropics which was built in 1482 by the Portuguese. One could also wander the ramparts of Cape Coast Castle and view villagers mending their fishing nets and setting out to sea in their painted fishing canoes. Even further afield you could explore one of Ghana’s last remaining tropical forests at Kakum National Park which offers a wonderful walk through the verdant canopy.
One of the big interests here is the Takoradi Circle Market, a 100 year old market located inside a huge ring road, essentially all roads led to the Takoradi Circle Market. With over 2,000 vendors there were goods and items from fruits and vegetables to electronics and beyond, you could easily spend a good portion of your day here. Unfortunately, this entire market was levelled recently and is under reconstruction to be completed sometime next year, do you hear that the 2023 Grand Africa people. They had to make this difficult decision as it was becoming too dangerous in the tightly packed market. There were substandard wiring and building materials, and vendors occupying niche spaces not designed for retail space. This all caused over crowding and a fire hazard, so they decided to start over but build it bigger and better. This market is currently the third largest in Ghana but I’m sure it will be in contention to move up a notch.
The original plan was for the shuttle bus to drop guests off at this circle market but with reconstruction this was not going to happen, the shuttle drop off point was a beach front Best Western Atlantis Hotel. For us today we did not have a plan, this is one of those countries and areas where we must be a little more vigilant when it comes to possible Yellow Fever and or Malaria, Jan cannot have the Yellow Fever vaccination and we heard that the Malaria safeguards side effects can be very unpleasant, so best to err on the side of caution.
We were very pleased to see a local market setting up at the pier, now that’s more like it. We were also pleased to see a band and dancers welcoming us as we disembarked. Today, there was not the drama of Luanda, Angola, the clearance seemed timely, we did dock a half hour late but that was due to the dynamics of where we had to dock and the pilot but because we did not have a tour we were also not waiting in the hot corridor. We left the ship at about 9:30 and spent a good half hour at the pier side local market before jumping on the shuttle bus. Please note, today was Sunday, so many places were not open. The hotel was nice enough and did have good space to accommodate the wifi hungry crowd. There was a large lobby area with plenty of seating as well as a bar and restaurant area which all fed out to the outdoor pool and lounging area. One could have probably enjoyed the facilities with a resort pass for the day, not sure, we did not inquire. We made our way down to the beach area, a very hot and muggy 10 to 15 minute walk away. We started at the public beach we’re locals were enjoying their Sunday playing beach soccer and frolicking in the waves. We continued to the Vienna Beach Resort which looked like a nice retreat place to buy a day pass for. Again we just did a walk through. Again, for us this was just to be an easy day where we could our feet on Ghana soil here in Africa, we did manage a few fridge magnets at the local pier market, so a good day for us. BTW, the people here seemed all pretty laid back and friendly, I brought my good camera and never felt uneasy or had to look over my shoulder. We did get to the end of one of the streets when a shirtless man came out of a building but he was friendly and just confirmed out way to the beach, he said he was the security for the property he came out of and yes, this is the way. So all good. Very nice warm sail away as we head to our next port, Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire.
Some pics of our day, hope you enjoy…
Quote of the day, “Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life.” - Michael Palin
Getting creative with water wings?
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