Before taking the front passenger seat of a shared cab, I spent a minute weighing my options. Buses were out of the question because they pick up and drop off passengers all over the place. As a result, they spend nearly the entire day on the road.
Initially, the plan was to squeeze my long frame into an 18-seater van, but the limited legroom and small windows made me consider another option. Although the express saloon car I eventually chose cost twice as much, it was comfortable and fast.
My entry point was Aflao, a bustling border town in the Ketu South District of Ghana’s Volta Region. On the other side of the border is Lomé, the capital of Togo. I crossed into Ghana after an extensive tour of Togo’s Maritime Region.
The Lomé–Accra highway is quite scenic. When we reached the Volta River, I pretended to be pressed and politely asked the driver to pull over. It is an old trick that works all the time. Having learned about the river in primary school, I felt the urge to take a closer look and snap a few photos.
I was guilty of gazing at the river and taking selfies instead of attending to the supposed call of nature. However, I felt better when I saw my fellow passengers, including the driver, rushing into the bush to empty their bladders. They were the ones who truly needed the bathroom break I had requested.
After a short photoshoot on the riverbank, on the same bridge that featured on Ghana’s currency in the 1980s, we continued to Accra. Upon arrival, I was dropped off on Ring Road Central.
What followed was a half-day, self-guided tour of Accra, an experience that eventually led to the publication of my book, Six Hours in Accra.
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