Accra and independence day

Again I seem to be languishing a week behind on my blog buy hopefully today as I sit basking in the sun by the pool at mole motel I will be able to make amends.
Last Sunday was Ghana's independence day and to celebrate this we decided to head to the capital Accra. Accra is the largest and busiest of the cities we have visited, and comes with some draw backs.2 drawbacks in particular come to mind, the terrible taxi drivers who never seemed to know where we wanted to go, and the pushy street sellers who would grab your arm and drag you kicking and screaming into their shops. Despite this it is a nice city, although there are few tourist attractions, we spent a great day at the mall, drinking in the air conditioning and took in a film at the excellent cinema. The nightlife is also great, and we discovered plenty of really cool bars and a nightclub which felt like a decent club from home rather than the dark hall we'd experienced in Kumasi.
On independence day we got picked up by sefa and headed to independence square, which we visited on our first day in Ghana. We arrived to find thousands of people already milling about in the stands, and the last of the school groups marching into the square. Once we found a seat we settled down to enjoy the independence Day celebrations. Several hundred school children from all the areas of Accra and a group from each of the armed forces marched around the parade ground accompanied by a military band. Then the president turned up surrounded by the presidential guard on horse back. The president then got out his limo and greeted the dignataries before getting into a pope mobile and touring round the assembled regiments of children. He then lit a massive flame and there was a fly by from 3 jets and a salute from a battery of artillery. This was all well and good but the real entertainment came from watching as the children, standing in the baking sun, started to faint. They were dropping like flies and with every one to fall there were st johns ambulance men sprinting out with stretchers to fetch them. It became a real case of survival, with some schools suffering heavier losses than other schools, some of which had thought far enough in advance to bring replacements who donned their white gloves and sprinted out to replace their class mates. All in all a very entertaining weekend.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.6