Point of no return

Day 7 - Accra

We'd been put in touch with a driver by the hotel who could take us around to see a few sights in Accra, so we set that up with him via WhatsApp while we had breakfast.

We then walked down the street to the local MTN office to buy sim cards, which ended up being a lengthy procedure as it was a multi stage process. Fortunately we weren't in the queue for tech support as by the time we left the office that line extended out the door and into the car park. The lady that set up our sims was very nice, and she told us that her sister in law worked for the Ghanaian embassy in Australia and was arriving in Accra on Saturday.

The driver took us by Makola market where we were stuck in a traffic jam for a while, but it was quite interesting as we were able to observe the locals going about their purchases in a hectic environment while we were isolated in an air conditioned car with heavily tinted windows that no-one could see inside. The traffic did not improve so we weren't able to visit the market view point as planned, we think the normal chaos was compounded by the road closures for the swearing in of the president the next day, the Constitution Day public holiday. 

Next we were taken to the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, the mausoleum of Ghana's first president where Nkrumah made the declaration of Ghana's independence. This was a popular site, with what appeared to be mostly locals visiting, Nkrumah appears to be very highly regarded by the people of Ghana. 

We then went to visit Osu Castle which has a a very chequered history. We almost didn't get there, as the roads on the way were in the process of being closed for Constitution Day, and the castle was swarmed by gun toting soldiers. The castle was originally a fort built by the Danish, but most significantly it was the place of no return for more than 100,000 slaves who were locked up here before being sent away, primarily for the Caribbean. Over the years the castle has been owned by Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Britain and finally Ghana. Over the years the place has also been used as a presidential residence, so we were able to visit the (quite bare) room where Queen Elizabeth had stayed in 1961.  

It was terribly hot and humid, so by that time we'd had enough and were happy to get back to the hotel. We arranged with the driver to take us to the Lomé border in a couple of days, finishing with yet another early night (we must be getting old!).

It's going to be a hot couple of weeks!

Day 6 - Doha (Qatar) to Accra (Ghana)

Another very early start for an 8:15am flight to Ghana, arriving early afternoon Ghana time. We were met at the airport by our hotel, and taken to what seemed like a little oasis in a sea of humanity, as the streets in Accra are chaotic with cars, people and roadside stalls.

We were staying in Osu which is known as a place for shopping, restaurants and night life, so after checking in we headed out to the Oxford Street. There was a lot of traffic and no footpath, with drains and potholes along the way, so at times it was a little tricky, and the heat and humidity didn't help. We managed to find a supermarket where we bought some water, sweating all the way back to our peaceful hotel where we had a pleasant dinner by the pool.

In a few days we need to be in Lomé in Togo but hadn't arranged any transportation, so we spent some time researching our options before another early night as we'd lost another three hours on today's flight.

How much to buy your falcon?

Day 5 - Doha

Another attempt to visit the Falcon hospital, this time it was open as well as very busy. There were many men lined up with their falcons to get them seen to. The hospital had an informative section where you could learn more about falcons, their features, countries of origin and skeletons. The directory of departments, diagnostics and procedures on the wall was remarkably like a human hospital. 

The area near the hospital was falcon related shops, selling the birds as well as accessories like hoods, gloves and perches, and they were quite happy for us to visit and ask questions.

After spending the morning at the souk, M spent the afternoon walking along the Corniche to the high rise buildings in central Doha, past the dhows and the touts looking for people to take a boat ride, and the families taking advantage of the very pleasant weather. 

Quiet .... for now

Day 4 - Doha

Friday is the holy day so not much was open until after lunch. We took advantage of the lack of crowds to wander through the souk. It seems very safe, merchandise has only a rug thrown over it for security, I guess the extreme punishments for theft must act as some sort of deterrent. 

We had hoped to visit the falcon hospital but it was closed, but close by was a number of hooded falcons tethered to poles. We also walked through the stables of Arab horses used by the police and the yard with tethered camels which are paraded twice a day at the Parliament house opposite.

In the early afternoon we caught the train and tram to Lusail Boulevard, expecting some places to be open but apart from a couple of restaurants it was like a ghost town, and a very clean one at that, Doha seems to be the cleanest city in the world! Every piece of glass, chrome doors, walls and floors glisten without a mark anywhere. 

After lunch and a walk to the water we hopped back on the tram, looping back past the World Cup soccer stadium, and lots of construction everywhere. Alighting at Lusail marina we walked along the promenade, admiring the architecture of the extraordinary buildings before catching the train back to the souk. By this time the quiet from early in the day had completely dissipated, Souk Waqif was now busy and bustling with family groups and tourists.

Animal activists close your eyes

 Day 3 - Doha

Up early and out into a clear day we managed to find a surprisingly good coffee nearby. We then walked down to the Corniche, the long promenade along the Doha waterfront, and on to the Museum of Islamic Art, located in an impressive building on the water. We enjoyed the visit as we wandered through floor after floor of beautiful art history from all over the world.

Through the parkland and further along the waterfront we found a small kiosk near the waters edge where we had lunch. We have had opportunities for Doha stopovers at other times but the extreme temperatures have always put us off, this time we'd picked the best time of year as the daytime temperature is in the low 20s, making for very pleasant site seeing weather. 

Everything in Doha is immaculately kept and incredibly clean, including the Souk, there were always people cleaning and sweeping, we even saw someone cleaning the back of the traffic lights! 

Souk Waqif has the old world charm of alleyways and nooks and crannies, with exotic shops selling weird and wonderful products, but everything is clean and there is no hard sell, in fact almost no selling at all. We found ourselves in the pet section with hundreds of birds crammed in cages, tiny tortoises and scared little bunnies, you wonder how many will end up surviving, let alone flourishing.

This time of year the sun sets around 4.30pm and by 6pm the air is cool enough to need a jacket. We headed out for an early dinner at one of the restaurants in the souk, by this time everyone is out and about, so the souk was very busy, quite different to out first impressions from the previous day.