Ghana Day 17 032912 The Road to Kumasi

Ghana Day 17 032912 The Road to Kumasi

As I write this, I'm sitting on a coach bus that represented to us that it was taking the fast direct road between the capital city of Accra to Kumasi. It is about a 200 mile journey, but takes 5 or 6 hours. I understood that a part of the delay was getting through the morning rush hour congestion in Accra. 

With that behind us, the direct road between these two cities of over one million residents each, is what looks like the early surveying phase, pre-surfacing, pre-paving effort of a highway road construction project. It is the kind of sandy, moderately cleared open space that would be fun in an ATV or mountain bike. You would never take anything less than a panzer tank or hummer on this road because your suspension and transmission would be toast in about six minutes. 

But, here we are, 30 captive passengers in wide, reclining first-class seats negotiating this mine field of blasted rock, small goat families and potholes, kicking up dust like John Wayne riding out of Dodge into the sunset. Our tires seem mostly bald. There is a scalloped purple and gray interior curtain surrounding the perimeter windows of this bus, making it feel a bit less like a passenger vehicle, and more like a Moslem worship shrine or altar of some sort. There is a 40 inch LCD panel TV in the front of the bus that still has some protective plastic wrap on it, hinting that it has not yet been energized for use. Instead, the well worn and slightly raspy PA speakers in the bus are blaring a local drive-time radio station, alternating English, the native language of Twi and some mostly Carribean music at about 80 decibels, just short of deafening, about the sound level of using a VitaMix and a blow dryer superimposed on the background noise of a commercial airliner at full speed and cruising altitude. I'd put our average speed at about 30 mph, which is starting to make this look like a full-day 7 hour trip. Then again, we often slow to a virtual stop, as the driver negotiates this passenger whale through potholes that rock the bus in a left-right rhythm that mimics the motion of rioters rocking a vehicle during a civil disturbance, prior to lighting it on fire.

No doubt, you've flown on a jet that passes through those big puffy cumulus clouds on its way up to 30,000 feet. For those brief moments, visibility is reduced to zero, as we place our trust in rnon-visual, adio navigation. That is the visibility level on this bus, passing through this lunar surface hell. A few nuances, though. The cloud that we pass through is the red dust excrement of excavation equipment .The roadside vegetation, formerly green, is covered with a red-brown dust. We've passed three, similarly sloganed “VIP” traveling lunar transport tabernacles that have not been as fortunate as us, grounded in the hot dusty roadside, with various engine and storage doors swung upward like solar panels to the Ghanaian sun. So far, our host's travel prayers for us this morning are holding firm. I spot a section of pavement ahead. Soon, the familiar whirr of rubber meeting the road will moderate the high energy DJ on the radio background noise. Our speed increases to over 40 mph. We are survivors, moving forward with stealth towards Kumasi. Our bed and breakfast experience awaits. Tomorrow, we will find our way to the small village of Sefwi Wiawso to visit an isolated Jewish community of 250 for the Sabbath.

By the way, Penny commented, in passing some of the incredibly dusty, open air "stores" along the way, that she now knew where all the tube TVs went. Watch out Best Buy!