Jamestown & Bojo Beach, Weekend #3

Not content with being run off our feet on Saturday, we made Sunday equally as busy. The first stop was Jamestown, the historic quarter in Accra, around James Fort. The area isn’t as developed as some of the other parts of Accra, and we were luckily able to find a guide to show us around (/he just jumped in the bus). We went down to the fish market area, where the locals weren’t too keen on being photographed by a bunch of tourists, but a couple of words and I suspect some cedi later from the guide, won them over.

The next stop was the lighthouse, which had incredible views of the old Accra harbour and the city. I loved the fact that we were able to walk up it. No occupational health and safety when you’re going around the twist.

After we’d seen enough of Jamestown, we headed out to Independence Square. We drive past it every day to the office, but we hadn’t had the opportunity to check it out. We also got to snap some photos of the creatively named Independence Arch.

Next to the Independence Arch is the Accra Sports stadium. After a rather confusing conversation with the guards at the entrance, they gave us a quick guided tour of the stadium.

The crown jewel of the weekend was without a doubt the trip to Bojo beach. About 40 minutes out of town, Bojo beach is an oasis of calm in comparison to Labadi Pleasure Beach. The beach is actually located on a sand bar, and you have to get a canoe across to it. Once you’re there, you can enjoy the clean water, deck chairs, and the obligatory bar. We ordered some lunch at the restaurant, and then went across to the beach for a leisurely couple of hours of swimming.

It’s interesting to note that Ghanians don’t really swim. A lot of the people just mill around in the shallows, shrieking at the sight of waves higher than their waists. I’m not a particularly capable swimmer, but I was complimented a couple of times on my freestyle prowess. Maybe I should move to Ghana and join the swim team.