A day in Takoradi, Ghana

As Ronnie said, we got our steps in today walking the streets of Takoradi, Ghana. You can find just about anything known to man not more than 20 feet from the street. We didn't have an excursion booked for Sekondi-Takoradi so we took the shuttle from the port to be dropped off into the city market area.

Like yesterday, it was hot and humid! As in some other cities we've visited in Africa, photo ops abound. But one still needs to be as discreet as possible when engaging in street photography. For example, I don't take a regular camera with me (only my cell phone, which many of the locals carry as well). Being white, we still stick out as tourists and are always being stared at. Some locals are wary of tourists or they just don't want photos taken (children being the exception). Others greeted us with smiles saying "Welcome to Ghana." 

 

fresh produce

very fresh snails (still alive)

onions for sale

cassava lady, coconut man

winnowing rice to sell

dried fish for sale

 

Locals shop along the streets where there is an array of colorful produce, fresh green coconuts, kenkey, dried fish, live snails and yooyi. There is also an abundance of merchandise (clothing, shoes, purses, watches, electronics, etc). There are women dressed in brightly colored outfits carrying all sorts of items on their head or babies on their backs and of course there's the usual trash and occasional bad odors.

what is it? it's kenkey

We saw a lot of this for sale. We later learned that it's called kenkey. I googled to learn that it's a type of bread or dumpling. It's a staple dish in Ghana and it's made from ground maize or corn that's been fermented, then steamed or boiled into a final solid shape. The actual process of making kenkey is very time-consuming, but it's still performed nearly every day in certain areas. After fermenting, it's often wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.

 

pretty sure she's stirring up some kenkey

Ok, so I also googled to learn more about this small edible fruit they call blackberry or yoyi. It claims many health benefits - Vitamins A and C, iron and calcium that helps boost immunity and maintain strong bones. But there are lots of people who are sensitive to its ingredients and end up developing symptoms like rashes, itching, inflammation, stinging sensation, light headedness, fainting, vomiting, shortness of breath, etc.

yoyi (African velvet tamarind)

 

We walked a ways down to look at a church called Our Lady Star of the Sea Cathedral. There was a school next door (probably affiliated with it) and it happened to be recess. Unlike some adults in Ghana, the children are real hams in front of a camera. They kept yelling at us to take their picture. We wished that we had had some candy to give them.

 

happy little hams

 

Mary Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Cathedral

school moms

eggs, pigs feet and peppers for sale

 

Takoradi is a sister city to Sekondi and has a population of about 445,000 people. It's chief industries are timber, coca processing, plywood, shipbuilding, railway repair and more recently crude oil. During WWII it was an important staging point for British aircraft destined for Egypt. 

 

dried fish snacks

sunglasses for sale here

getting ready to set up

fresh bread for sale

Like my friend Annette Hand once said, "I like to see the way other people live." Even though there is so much more to learn about all of the places we're visiting, like Annette, I enjoy seeing how people in other cultures live and there's no better way to do it than to walk through their streets and just observe.