Accra, the capital of Ghana, is a lively city of course but with a certain provincial character compared to the bustling cities of Dakar, Bamako or Abidjan.
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| Trafic in Accra |
But it's a city that changes its face. I remember my first visit here in 2010. I had found a very large city to the east, west and north, but nothing up! The tallest building should not be more than 5 stories high. Today modern towers are mushrooming in the city center.
We arrived in the vicinity of Accra towards the end of April. We had a hard week there. First of all, we had to find a new battery for Gandalf, and then replace the radiator that was leaking.
We spent then four days in Kokrobite getting ready for the 6 week vacation at home. Big cleaning of Gandalf and preparation of suitcases. We sweated a lot because of the relatively high temperatures (above 30 ° C in the afternoon) but mostly because of an extremely high humidity.
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| Big cleaning in Kokrobite |
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| Preparing the suitcases for the holidays at home. |
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| a well deserved beer with spanish overlander friends in the Kokrobite Gardens |
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| Last pinaple juice in the gardens |
On April 29 we leave Accra for Brussels then Frankfurt and Friedrichshafen leaving Gandalf to the care of a friend in Tema.
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| Leaving Gandalf in Tema |
Back on June 15 after 6 busy weeks in Germany and France. We find Gandalf appearing in good shape at the end of the afternoon.
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| Back to Gandalf 6 weeks later |
The next day, after filling the fridge and pantry at the Accra Mall, we take a tour in Old-Accra. After Jamestown, its churches and lighthouse, we spend the most time at the mausoleum of Kwame Nkrumah and its museum.
We are immediately approached by a young rastaman, Pakaro of his artist name. Pakaro is a very nice musician, he makes us listen to some of his creations on his cell phone. It's really not bad!
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| Pakaro and Christine |
Pakaro is also a painter, he shows us some of his works and although we really do not have much room in the car we are interested and we promise him to buy one after visiting the park.
The mausoleum and the museum are located in the center of a beautiful park of 5 ha. It is here in this very sober architecture mausoleum that lies the remains of Ghana's first independent president, Kwame Nkrumah. This is his third and last shrine after being buried in Conakry and then moved to a small mausoleum in his hometown of Nkroful. The small museum is very informative with a wall panel at the entrance summarizing the key moments of Nkrumah's life. A large collection of photos and some objects and furniture complete the visit.
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| Kwame Nkrumah's Mausoleum |
We then take a walk in the park around the pools populated by statues of traditional musicians and near which newlyweds come to have their picture taken.
We do not stay in Accra any longer even though there are still many things worth visiting. Big cities are not really our thing, above all by this wet heat.
We will continue tomorrow toward Aburi gardens in the near hills about forty kilometers to the north.
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