“You need to roam”

I am an introvert having an extrovert’s adventure. Literally less than a month before leaving for Ghana I remember telling someone that I didn’t think I could ever travel by myself. For whatever reason—maybe because I was coming to Ghana for an internship rather than a vacation or maybe because I knew that I would be stationed most of the time in one city—I didn’t think of this summer as an experience of “traveling by myself” as some of my friends have done throughout Europe and other places around the globe.

After being in Accra for three weeks, I have finally realized…that I am traveling by myself—forging my own travel adventure with merely my own (sometimes very mundane) thoughts, many books, and the passing world as entertainment. I don’t dislike the experience so far…but without the laughter of friends and the courage of companionship, the world can feel very big and the adjustment to a new place can take a bit longer. Encouraged by a co-worker to “roam” I have started to do just that—roaming the diverse neighborhoods of Accra, getting called an “obruni” (white person), paging through my tour book, getting brutally lost, bumping my head on Tro-tros, eating from street stands, and stealthily whipping out my camera to take photos of whatever I happen to pass. Accra is a big city like any around the world; it is noisy, dirty and difficult to navigate. The sites are few and far between—a lighthouse here, a museum there, and a monument…somewhere?—and any hope of a tour is far gone. Nonetheless, I believe I am conquering it (albeit VERY slowly) and every day make at least one useful discovery amidst all the confusion.

This past weekend I managed to escape the horn-honking bustle of Accra and visited Cape Coast and Elmina (see next post for details of my tours of the slave castles). It was amazing be able to follow a map and walk the length of a town without having to negotiate a taxi or decipher the mystery language of the Tro-tros. Both Cape Coast and Elmina are fishing villages and I loved having a peak at the rickety fishing boats as well as the bustling market where the catches are sold. I met two English med students on the bus ride from Accra (who are doing an ob/gyn elective in Ghana…obviously Pathfinder is following me on the weekends, haha), so even had people to hang out with on my weekend getaway. We managed to book an ocean front hut for $12 per person (!) and had many laughs discussing the peculiarities and frustrations of our time here.
So, I’m getting used to traveling alone…and, like the big bad city of Accra, it’s something worth conquering slowly but surely. But, if it involves beautiful beaches, new companions and interesting sites…it might be worth conquering a bit faster.