Another travel day - to Tamale

Sunday, June 23, 13

            Although Ghana is a relatively small country (a few of them could fit in California’s space), moving from place to place takes considerable planning and inevitably involves a lot of waiting and suffering.  Today, I moved from the Ashanti capital, Kumasi, to the Northern Region / Muslim Capital city – Tamale (pronounced tAh-mah-lay, not like a Mexican tamale).  

The Streets of Kumasi are deserted this early in the morning

            To move from Kumasi I had to get up and packed by 4 AM, took a cab to the Muslim district (referred to by the Ashanti as the derogatory term “Zongo” district), and bought my twenty Cidi ticket.  By now it was four thirty, and after the morning call to prayer, it was time for a quick breakfast before the long journey – Egg sandwich.

An egg sandwich chef - you can spot them from far away by the stacked tea and cream containers

            Once on the bus, I found it impossible to sleep.  Although the roads have improved since last time I was here, the whole 7+ hour ride was filled with incredibly loud Dagbani movies.  I couldn’t believe how loud they cranked up the volume for these movies – I couldn't drown out the yelling with my iPod earbud volume all the way up or ear plugs.  Saaa.  

            The afternoon was pleasant – Plenty of good food at “SWAD Fast Food” (a local favorite) as well as a calm walk up and down the streets here.   

Homemade SWAD Hummus!

      I'm staying at a small hotel on the outskirts of town called the Catholic Guest House - It's the cheapest place I've stayed in this trip, $14, but I've never had any problems with it.  However, when I finally decided to trim my beard and shave my neck, I was a little surprised to see that the mirror had been removed.  I'm glad I've got no one to inspect my shaving job here.

 

Tomorrow I hope to conduct a few interviews.  For now, I’m exhausted – goodnight!