It's good to be back in Ghana! There's so much to love about Ghana - its people, the colorful clothing, the food, the markets, and the various ways to get around. I love wandering through the big open air markets in every town.
You will find everything you need and more, from smoked fish to colorful plastic buckets and everything in between. Every shopper has their favorite vendors for the various items they are looking to purchase. You might buy fresh eggs from one woman, cassava from another, smoked fish from another, beans from another, and so on and so on. It's really amazing to watch people shop and see how they haggle to get the best price.
Transportation in Ghana can also be a fun experience or a life threatening one depending on the quality of your driver. For the most part there are no traffic lights or stop signs let alone speed limits. Both passengers and pedestrians really take their life into their own hands every day as drivers zip in and out of traffic, passing on the left and the right in the oncoming traffic lane, squeezing in front of your vehicle in the nick of time. There are small cars which are taxis that pick up and drop off multiple passengers along the way. Vans called Tro Tro, which have 4 rows of bench seats cram in as many people as they can, picking up and dropping people off wherever they want to go on their prescribed route.
Another risky mode of transportation is the pragyia. These look like a motorized tricycle and can hold 2-5 passengers. And finally there are motorcycles where up to 3 people ride on the back praying they get to their destination safely. Motorcycles don't drive in a lane with other cars instead they zip in and out between cars wherever they want to. All these modes of transportation become even more risky because not all drivers are licensed and are self taught.
More on my life in Ghana in my next post.