28th February 2013
Ghana
It was a bit of performance getting a visa for Ghana. We arrived at the the Ghanaian embassy in Abidjan to be told that we can only have a tourist visa if we have a letter of invitation from someone living in Ghana and 2 references (address and telephone no). To us, it was a ridiculous requirement, but like any bureaucracy we have to comply in order to get this visa. We could not get passed the receptionist who was a real 'job's worth' person. She was very polite and correct, but she was unable to help us. If we didn't have an invitation letter, she could not take our application for processing - that was the end of the matter.
We came back to the hotel and frantically emailed all our Ghanaian friends in UK and Ghana, anyone who could be of help to us. One of the problems of using emails is that you can get lulled into a sense of security, and expect all those whom you emailed to reply the minute you hit the 'send' key, of course, this was not the case. By the next morning we still did not get any response, so we decided that we would go back to the Embassy and ask to see the Consul in order that we could explain our situation. The receptionist reluctantly agreed. We met with the first secretary - a very 'nice young man' who was very understanding of our problem, we explained that we wanted to ship our van from Ghana to Namibia, and that although we do have contacts in Ghana, we were still waiting for a response. He was amazed that we had driven from London, showed great interest in our road trip and was keen to help. He advised that we print out the email from the shipping companies that we've made inquiries about the shipping process, and this will suffice as evidence of our intention to leave Ghana.
We then went to a internet cafe, where when I logged on to my email, I saw a response from our friend Alexandra, (thank you Charles) and printed this out. (Thank you to Shika, Katie's friend, Ricky and Nesta, all of whom who responded later). We submitted our applications with these 'evidence' collected our visas the next day, and left for Ghana on 14th February.
Road from the Border
Arriving in Ghana is like coming home, English speaking, it is beautiful, it reminds me so much of Malaysia - lush green tropical rain forest, the rubber and oil palm plantations, coconut trees swaying in the breeze and the beaches that goes on forever. I am sure the filth, smell of drains and dirt roads are out there in the towns and cities, but staying in some idyllic resorts protects you from all of that.
Same country, worlds apart.
We had our 9th puncture on our way to "Big Milly's backyard", a wonderful rustic resort, favoured by many Ghanaians and tourists escaping Accra on weekends. You have to draw your own water from the well to have your bucket bath in the open air shower area, but you can also stay in luxury A/C accommodations with all the services.The staff here were delightfully helpful and nothing was a problem.
Omei and Ping at Big Milly's
At "Big Milly's" we have met some very interesting people from all over the world and spent alot of time talking about our adventures and theirs. There wasn't much time to relax as we have had to get the van ready for shipping. Noel had some carpentry to do to secure the van for shipping to South Africa.
Ghana
It was a bit of performance getting a visa for Ghana. We arrived at the the Ghanaian embassy in Abidjan to be told that we can only have a tourist visa if we have a letter of invitation from someone living in Ghana and 2 references (address and telephone no). To us, it was a ridiculous requirement, but like any bureaucracy we have to comply in order to get this visa. We could not get passed the receptionist who was a real 'job's worth' person. She was very polite and correct, but she was unable to help us. If we didn't have an invitation letter, she could not take our application for processing - that was the end of the matter.
We came back to the hotel and frantically emailed all our Ghanaian friends in UK and Ghana, anyone who could be of help to us. One of the problems of using emails is that you can get lulled into a sense of security, and expect all those whom you emailed to reply the minute you hit the 'send' key, of course, this was not the case. By the next morning we still did not get any response, so we decided that we would go back to the Embassy and ask to see the Consul in order that we could explain our situation. The receptionist reluctantly agreed. We met with the first secretary - a very 'nice young man' who was very understanding of our problem, we explained that we wanted to ship our van from Ghana to Namibia, and that although we do have contacts in Ghana, we were still waiting for a response. He was amazed that we had driven from London, showed great interest in our road trip and was keen to help. He advised that we print out the email from the shipping companies that we've made inquiries about the shipping process, and this will suffice as evidence of our intention to leave Ghana.
We then went to a internet cafe, where when I logged on to my email, I saw a response from our friend Alexandra, (thank you Charles) and printed this out. (Thank you to Shika, Katie's friend, Ricky and Nesta, all of whom who responded later). We submitted our applications with these 'evidence' collected our visas the next day, and left for Ghana on 14th February.
Road from the Border
Arriving in Ghana is like coming home, English speaking, it is beautiful, it reminds me so much of Malaysia - lush green tropical rain forest, the rubber and oil palm plantations, coconut trees swaying in the breeze and the beaches that goes on forever. I am sure the filth, smell of drains and dirt roads are out there in the towns and cities, but staying in some idyllic resorts protects you from all of that.
Same country, worlds apart.
It is so very hot and humid! Noel has had to fit yet another fan,to stop me complaining and we had to consider more mosquito netting so that we could sleep with the back doors open.
Omei and Ping at Big Milly's
At "Big Milly's" we have met some very interesting people from all over the world and spent alot of time talking about our adventures and theirs. There wasn't much time to relax as we have had to get the van ready for shipping. Noel had some carpentry to do to secure the van for shipping to South Africa.
We had to go into
Accra as Noel needed a dentist urgently. When we found one, Noel spent 2 hours
having root canal treatment, not sure which was more painful, the treatment or the
bill of US$780. I hope the insurance claim is not going to be a hassle.
After the treatment we drove across Accra to the Rising Phoenix Magic Beach hotel (it's got a website) where they had promised us a place to park our van and camp. We arrived to find a Rastafarian establishment and the air was thick with the smell of marijuana and the sound of loud Reggae music.
The promised camping ground turned out to be the town car park adjacent to the hotel. It was getting late, Noel wasn't feeling too good after the dentist and we had just spend an hour driving through the heavy traffic of Accra to get here, so, we had no choice but to take a room. There was no electricity for the first 2 hours and everything was conducted in pitch darkness lit by candles or tiny LCD lights. However, the room, shower and toilet seemed clean enough. What we couldn't see, we ignored. The staff were so helpful, charming and welcoming and things got better after we've had a shower and something to eat.
We were
able to sit on the veranda, playing scrabble and be cooled down by the breeze
from the ocean, accompanied by whiffs of drains and sanitation from the
beach below, and ganja from the other residents. The hotel is perched on the
cliffs in the heart of the city, and has some amazing views of the Gulf of Guinea,
perhaps a little spoilt by the amount of litter being thrown over the cliffs. Having
said all this, The Rising Phoenix Magic Beach Hotel may not have been our ‘cup of tea’ but it was delightful
in its own way and we were glad to have stayed there.
Coffee on the beach with Conrad and Sarah
After the treatment we drove across Accra to the Rising Phoenix Magic Beach hotel (it's got a website) where they had promised us a place to park our van and camp. We arrived to find a Rastafarian establishment and the air was thick with the smell of marijuana and the sound of loud Reggae music.
The promised camping ground turned out to be the town car park adjacent to the hotel. It was getting late, Noel wasn't feeling too good after the dentist and we had just spend an hour driving through the heavy traffic of Accra to get here, so, we had no choice but to take a room. There was no electricity for the first 2 hours and everything was conducted in pitch darkness lit by candles or tiny LCD lights. However, the room, shower and toilet seemed clean enough. What we couldn't see, we ignored. The staff were so helpful, charming and welcoming and things got better after we've had a shower and something to eat.
Amazing views from the veranda
We were very lucky
to meet with Conrad and Sarah when we first arrived in Ghana, lovely people who
showed great interest in our road trip. We
mentioned in passing that we were worried about shipping. Conrad, who is
working in Ghana, was able to introduce us to the shipping branch of the company
that he works for and which has helped us to ship the van with very little trouble.
We have been very well looked after by the staff and managers of the shipping
company, as a result we have been able to avoid most of the hassles that nearly
everyone experiences when shipping in this way. The van left last night on the the Hoagh 'Trapeze’ and with amazing technology, we are able to track its
journey! Why South Africa and not Namibia is another story, including all
the details which Noel will write about in the next blog.
We hope to be in South Africa in the next week for the next stage of our journey where I hope we'll be able to see some wildlife which has been disappointingly elusive up till now.
Keep the emails coming, missing all of you at home.
Ping and Noel
pingbow54@gmail.com
noelbow51@gmail.com
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