En Route to Accra

Before occupying a front passenger seat of a shared cab, I spent a minute weighing other options. Buses were out of the question because they pick and drop passengers all over the place. As a result, they spend a whole day on the way.

Initially, the plan was to squeeze my long frame into an 18-seater van, but limited legroom and small windows made me change my mind. The express saloon car I finally chose costed me twice as much, but saved me time.

My point of departure was Aflao, a bustling border town located in Ketu South District, Volta Region. The other side of the frontier is in Lomé, the capital of Togo. I crossed into Ghana after an extensive tour of Togo’s Maritime Region.

The Lomé - Accra highway is quite scenic. When we reached Volta River, I pretended to be pressed and kindly requested the driver to pull over. It’s an old trick that works all the time. Having learned something about this river while in grade 4, I felt the urge to take a closer look and snap a few photos.

I was guilty of gazing at the river and taking selfies instead of attending to a call of nature. However, I felt better when I saw my fellow passengers and the driver himself rushing to the bush to empty their bladders. They are the ones who needed the bathroom break I asked for.

After a short photoshoot session, on the bank of the river I studied in the 1980s, we proceeded to Accra. Today’s post highlights my experiences, observation and encounters in the Ghanaian capital.