Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana. The capital of the Western Region. Referred to as twin cities.
Tall commercial buildings pierce the horizon while dilapidated colonial buildings dot the countryside.
Gridlock traffic wreaked havoc to any sort of flow. It took about 45 minutes to move out of the hustle and bustle as we maneuvered our way to a coastal fishing village. The blurry photos are from the bus window – click photos to enlarge.
The chiefs and village elders spoke to a crowd of cruisers while Bill and I chose to roam and visit with the locals. 
Living conditions were rudimentary at best. I needed to use the bathroom and was invited to a back corner walled area that was about 3’ x 3’ with a wet mosaic tile floor. The floor barely slanted towards the edge of the wooden structure. That’s it. No running water, no drain, no trash – only two small buckets. Imagine my confusion. Bucket? Floor? Bucket? Floor?
A fellow female cruiser approached me later and asked floor or bucket? I asked her without answering and she said she was told floor…. Ain’t life grand?
A few spoke English so we were able to converse. We talked politics a bit. Their election is coming up in a couple days and their “biggest” issue is compulsory schooling for children. Some want it and others think it’s a waste. We talked with two who had differing opinions.
The village children were delightful. I taught them to fist bump with an explosion. The first child warily and bravely humored me and then one child after another lined up to give it a whirl. After a few minutes they were so animated that they acted like they were falling backwards with each explosion. Their smiles and laughter were contagious. 
A couple moms and big sisters asked to have their photos taken and I received a marriage proposal from a giddy young man. HA!
In this particular village the fish are salted and smoked. 
The rural commercial fishing area was lined with long wooden boats, some with piles of knotted up used nets stacked high. Left over piles lay on the sand waiting to entangle and cling to the shoes of daydreamers.
People were hard at work weaving and stacking nets, cleaning fish, selling/buying goods and washing clothing. A fishing expedition can last from one to seven days. From here it’s not hard to imagine that the most common occupation in Ghana is fishing.
My light skin and white hair had some stop me to say how beautiful I was. Which, at my age and full of wrinkles felt like at any moment a camera crew would jump out to say “You’re on Candid Camera”. 
During such an event one woman, with her wares on top of her head, took both her hands and stroked my hair over and over – smiling from ear to ear. It was so awkward but I reminded myself about curiosity and humanity. We who can step out of our comfort zones get to actually embrace one another.
It dawned on me that only one boat had a shade canopy with a single man weaving under it. His partner sat four feet away in the sun, with a towel on his head, dripping sweat. In my best sign language I complemented the smart guy and tried to ask the other man why he was in the sun. Encouraged by the complement, the shade man motioned for me to walk around the boat to his side to watch him weave.
A school grounds visit was spectacular. I can’t even express the sheer joy that I experienced. There were hundreds of kids from all ages.
A group of mostly elementary kids gathered and I whipped out my phone with my FatBooth app open and ready. I took a photo of a child and then asked them to wait one moment while my phone munched away and came back with a photo of her with a “fat face”. They roared – laughing and falling all over one another – each egging the next on to see what they’d look like.
One of the girls asked me to play music so I put on Katy Perry’s “Firework” song and the dance party began.
Before we sadly had to depart I asked them to all jump for a photograph. Craziness ensued. What a blast. I could have stayed there all day.
My heart was full. It was a good day!
