After I woke up, I sat outside enjoying a cigarillo. I walked a little bit through the garden and sat down on several places. I examined the old helicopter which is in the garden. I was not the only one interested in this helicopter. Today some military were in the park and they also checked this helicopter. Emmanuel already arrived to pick me up. I collected my luggage and around 10.15 am we left. It's only 35 kilometers to Accra, but the first part we had to travel slowly because of the bad road. We passed the villa which was built by the first president of the country. Emmanuel told me the president often stayed here and went to the Botanical Garden.
After we were on the paved road, it did not take long to reach the outskirts of Accra again. It became more and more crowded. We passed the oldest university of the country and finally ended up at the city centre. We looked for a hotel and we ended up at the north ridge where I checked in at Frank's Hotel. Although the neighbourhood looks poor, this place is quite reasonable. I took a self containing room for about 160.000 cedis. It would be for my last night in Ghana. Again I said goodbye to Emmanuel and walked around in the neighbourhood. I also looked for a place where I could eat this night. There were not many places to find.
After I was back at the hotel I had something to drink. A local man approached me, but the first thing he was asking was if I could arrange to get him to Europe. He did not even ask for my name. He was only interested in his own benefits. So I walked away from him after I told him I did not like this way of conversations. He definitely had no respect for me. After the drink I had a shower and just relaxed. The garden of the hotel is well maintained and a pleasant place to be.
After 7 pm I went out again. I walked to a restaurant I saw this afternoon, but after I entered I also left soon. The prices of the food were too expensive for me, at least compared to the prices I paid for food in restaurants so far. I walked on and along the main road I found a restaurant at the Palamo Hotel. It also was not cheap, but I just thought this would be my last meal in this country. Some musicians played some music at the court of this hotel. It was nice to sit outside. After a cigarillo I went back to my own hotel and sat outside and had a couple of beers. Later I watched some TV and went to sleep.
Initial publication: 14 augustus 2008
Last update: 03 mei 2010
© A. Heeroma