The Captain warned us that there might be a holdup due to immigration but we got in on time. Later in the day the Captain told us that on arrival there were a lot of fishing boats in the water and they were all flying flags of different nations, not just Ghana. He also said that the ship was subjected to numerous safety and health inspections during the day.
We opted to take the shuttle to the market and were in no hurry to get off the ship. I can’t even tell you for sure what time we got off because we had a time change recently and apparently our phones reset incorrectly or we both messed it up.
We took the shuttle to the central market which turned out to be under re-construction. It was a circular metal building and looked huge but it was down to the steel framework and dirt, surrounded by a high metal fence and looked as if it probably won’t be completed for a long time. In an extreme opposite, the pier where we were docked looked brand new and it was nice.
We got off the shuttle bus, walked to the end of the block, and crossed the street. There were several men sitting on the corner. One man asked if we were from the US and I said yes. He said “Welcome!’ I said “Thank you” and he said “do you have any money?!”
We walked to the supermarket and went inside to check for Dr. Pepper. Seriously? We are in Ghana! We have nearly completed our circumnavigation of Africa and have checked in every country we’ve stopped in and have never seen Dr. Pepper … and right in front of us are at least a dozen cans! Jeff is just about foaming at the mouth. He picks up one and cradles it like it’s a long-lost child and then we come face to face with someone else from the ship that tells us they won’t take US$. Dejectedly, Jeff returns the Dr. Pepper to the shelf where we found it, but only after we immortalize the moment with a picture. Someone said we should have gotten local currency from an ATM or used a credit card. But, if you were standing where we were standing, you would realize that the closest ATM was probably in Accra, the capital city, and credit card …. Um … I’m not showing it to anyone let alone using it to purchase a couple of cans of Dr. Pepper. So, the search continues … maybe tomorrow in Ivory Coast.
We went back to the shuttle drop off location and watched in disbelief as a local man was attempting to help a non-ambulatory passenger off the shuttle bus. He couldn’t stand without assistance; he couldn’t negotiate the shuttle bus steps – he could barely stand up without assistance. His wife crawled underneath him in the bus stairwell and moved his legs to get down the steps. Once off the bus he got on his scooter. I’m just without words. This is a 3rd world country. There are sidewalks, but there are also steep curbs, cutouts for the water to run, broken steps … really, the only halfway level area is the street itself. I haven’t been in a Caribbean Island that is handicapped accessible, let alone any of the places that we’ve visited in Africa (with the exception of Cape Town, but even there it was not ADA as there were stairs everywhere). We didn’t stick around, but I have no doubt that they had no choice but to reverse the process and return to the ship.
How do you sleep on a bench??
We returned to the ship and visited the vendors that had set up tents on the pier. I was surprised at how congenial and non-pushy they were. Jeff picked out a shirt and I looked at some artwork and was close to purchasing something but we couldn’t agree on the money. In parting, the vendor said, “Thank you for considering and looking at the work of the local artists.” Another vendor had postcards for sale and was also selling stamps and had a box where you could drop the completed postcards and he would mail them for you …. What a great idea!
I don’t know what they were hauling off the ships docked at the pier but these trucks had 38 tires on them!!
This view was from our balcony and shows the area the shuttle bus took us to which was supposed to be the market:
This is what the locals had set up on the pier outside of our ship:
Apparently, a cruise ship is a novelty here. All the people selling on the pier were taking pics with the cruise ship in the background. I even saw one man who had his 4 kids with him taking a picture.
When we got back to the ship we were getting on as Stuart and Sharon were getting off. They broke out in song, singing happy birthday to Jeff and everyone around stopped and sang and wished Jeff a happy birthday. After that, we tried to go to the pool but it was too hot, even for me! So we went back to the room and I finished posting my blog and got it all caught up.
In the afternoon there was a knock at the door and a crew member delivered a cupcake and card from the Captain and wished Jeff a happy birthday. Later this evening we have dinner reservations at the Pinnacle Grill.
This is the special menu from the Pinnacle menu for this evening:
We have had a total pain in the butt with the reservation at the Pinnacle Grill for Jeff’s birthday. We made the initial reservation the FIRST day we were on board (60 days ago!) and then we had to change rooms. After we had been on board for a couple of weeks I looked at the Navigator app and the reservation wasn’t on there. We went to Pinnacle and inquired and they couldn’t find the reservation. They set it up (again) for Jeff’s birthday and the reservation showed up on the app before we even left the restaurant. About a week before today I looked at the app and the reservation had disappeared AGAIN. Jeff went to check on it while I was in painting class and there was no one in the restaurant so he went to Guest Services. They couldn’t find the reservation either and said that they would have the manager call us within 24 hours but he did tell us that they were having a special German Bistro dinner that evening. We were more upset that they didn’t bother did let us know that they had cancelled the reservation or bothered to check and see if we wanted it moved to another day. The NEXT day we got a call from the manager explaining that there was a special dinner that evening and we could book it for $62 per person but we never received a notification that our reservation had been cancelled. Jeff went to Pinnacle and talked to the manager the next day. He explained everything that had happened and she apologized but she had just come on in Cape Town so the cancellation was not her doing. She offered to set up the reservation for the day before or the day after his birthday. He said no, we specifically booked for his birthday (his reasoning … they won’t sing to me there!). She agreed to provide us with the regular menu and book for his birthday. He told her what we wanted for dinner and she assured him that everything would be perfect for his birthday.
We arrived for dinner and were greeted by name and led to a great table by a window so we could watch us leaving the port. We had a wonderful waitress and our meal was pure perfection. The manager kept coming by and checking on us and showed us the German Bistro menu and offered to provide us with anything from that menu. We declined graciously and enjoyed our wonderful steaks. When it came time for dessert she said that the 7 layer black forest cake was wonderful and we should try it. I told her that we were full but she kept insisting. I finally relented and told her that we would take the cake but only if she could bring us a small slice instead of a full slice. She said she would eat the other half!
When the cake arrived at the table it was only 3-1/2 layers hgh instead of 7! The wait staff came by to check on us and they were delighted in their ingenuity. The manager had told them to give us half a slice but the cake was made up so that each piece had a dollop of whip cream with a cherry and they finally decided to split it horizontally instead of vertically so as not to ruin the presentation … they were so proud of themselves, it was so amusing!
While we were eating on the black forest cake, the waitress showed up with another chocolate birthday cake and her and another waitress quietly sang happy birthday to Jeff! So much for Jeff not wanting anyone to sing Happy Birthday to him!
When we came in this morning we could see all these stacks in the distance and when we left we got the camera out to zoom in and see what it was. This is a “powership”. It is a special purpose ship on which a power plant is installed to serve as a power generation source. These ships are self propelled and are ready-to-go infrastructure for developing countries that can plug into national power grids and help supply energy.
We ended the evening at the Rolling Stone where the bartenders sang Happy Birthday to Jeff … if you’re keeping track … I’ve sang to him, Stuart and Sharon sang to him and the waitresses at the Pinnacle grill have sang to him and now the bartenders… Jeff 0 – Happy Birthday 4!
