TRAVEL BLOG THURSDAY - ACCRA || Part 2
MY RETURN TO THE CONTINENT || ACCRA || GHANA || JULY 2018 || Continued...
Okay, so this one will be relatively short today since I’m just finishing up our last day in Accra.
Day 4 - Monday, July 23rd, 2018
Day 4 started with breakfast; meaning fresh fruit! We ate at the hotel. They had the same offerings for the breakfast buffet as the day before.
After breakfast, we headed to the Togo Embassy to get our VISAs. While we waited, some of the ladies had a photo shoot since the embassy grounds were well manicured with a variety of plants. They had a lot of croton plants (I had to google the actual name) which reminded me of childhood in Nigeria.
We then traveled to the W.E.B DuBois Center and learned about his time in Ghana. DuBois was working on the Encyclopedia Africana and was invited by president Kwame Nkrumah to come stay in the newly independent Ghana and work on the project. Nkrumah was the first president of Independent Ghana and one of the Big 6 who fought for Ghana’s independence years prior. I’ll talk about him later.
The pictures should be big enough for you to read some of the text from the walls of the center. You can also zoom in to look at the text if you’re on your phone.
Just outside of the W.E.B DuBois center there was an ackee tree…
RANT ALERT! which was one symbol of all the pieces of our African culture that we brought with us / that survived the gruesome journey from capture, to walking to the slave ports, to being housed like cattle and tortured at the ports for weeks up to month, treated and stored on shelves inhumanely on ships, and then, for those who survived, being made to work for free in deplorable conditions for hundreds of years. The same things we see in the Americas and the Caribbean, we saw in Ghana. The same cultural elements that make us, US, are the same cultural elements we experienced in Ghana. This rant will never be over but let’s get back to the story of Day 4.
After the W.E.B DuBois center we visited the Diasporan African Forum to learn more.
I don’t really remember where I got these boiled peanuts from. These were eaten on the bus after leaving the Diasporan African Forum. Someone must’ve purchased them and shared. Either way, I’m glad they did. Being a southerner, I love boiled peanuts! I’d like to point out that this is another cultural similarity; this one being of a culinary nature.
We went to Accra Mall for lunch. My friend and I went to Shoprite in search of snacks and my favorite Peanut Butter; Yum Yum Peanut Butter. I hadn’t been able to find it since I was in Zimbabwe. They had so much of it and I rejoiced in excitement. I bought four jars!
We also grabbed food at the hot section after looking around the store. We decided at that point to try jollof rice at different locations to see which one was best. I lowkey think Shoprite’s was best. I said what I said! *Nene Leakes voice*
Side Note: As a “Nigerian Halfrican Southern American” (gotta love intersectionality), I typically don’t eat Ghana jollof but *shrugs* when in Ghana, right? It’s mostly jokes really but a small part of me is serious about eating ONLY Naija jollof! I’ve got a story about how my body essentially rejected Ghana jollof later in the trip. I’d had so much at that point that my Naija body told me to stop! Ha!
Anyway, peanut butter! We also got some peri peri chicken, my favorite thing when I visited Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. I haven’t blogged about those cities but stay tuned. Finally, we checked out the baked goods and dessert section because why wouldn’t we? A food scientist who develops baked products and a pastry chef; how could we pass up a chance to do “research”?
Pro Tip: To save coins when traveling, buy groceries rather than eating out for every meal. Hostels, Airbnbs, and some hotels have kitchens for guest use. If there is no kitchen, buy things to snack on or things that can be eaten cold.
Once we had our fill, we headed to a few shops; one hair salon and natural hair product manufacturer and one clothing boutique; both black women owned producers of high quality handmade items. The hair products are awesome and the clothes are bomb! Afrodesiac, the clothing brand, was at AfroPunk in Brooklyn this year. Follow them on IG if you’d like. I do, just to see all the cool, creative pieces they post @afrodesiacworldwide. Also check out Strictly Roots Beauty Bar & Hair Spa and follow them on IG @strictlyrootsintl.
After shopping, we went to the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park & Mausoleum to learn more about him and the symbolism of the monuments in the park.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was a Ghanaian revolutionary. In 1957 he led Ghana to independence and became the first president of the nation.
The statue is pointing forward to symbolize the people’s progression forward. “We face neither East nor West; We face forward” – Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
The mausoleum houses Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and his wife Fathia Nkrumah who was an Egyptian. Their marriage was meant to bring unity between North Africans and Sub-Saharan Africans; a union that the British and Americans were nervous about.
There is water throughout the park and within the mausoleum. In front of Nkrumah’s statue there is a pool of water with people kneeling and blowing water out of the horns. The water is a symbol for life, the memory of his life, and the memory of our ancestors through future generations.
At the top of the mausoleum is the black star, seen all over Ghana, representing unity. In keeping with Nkrumah’s Akan culture, the mausoleum is also shaped like an inverted sword which symbolizes peace.
Our final stop for vittles that day was the Tam Tam African Cuisine Restaurant in Afrikiko Gardens. This place was nice 1. because the food was tasty as well as already prepared and 2. because we could try many different types of Ghanaian cuisine at once #buffet. Of course, I had my fufu with goat stew but I also had smoked fish, palava sauce (spinach stew), jollof rice (again), plantains, red red (stewed black-eyed peas), waakye (rice and beans).
The following day we piled on to the bus and made our way towards the next city.
This turned out to be not much shorter than the last one… oh well.
…Next time on Travel Blog Thursday I’ll take you on the journey to Mankessim and Cape Coast, Ghana (well part of it at least).
Until next time.
Thanks for reading all these words!
Love ya!
Taste Tutor