GHANA, WEST AFRICA

November 21, 2017

We arrived in Ghana for the first part of our trip across West Africa a few days ago. We were only there three days but drank local beer, wandered through the slave dungeons of Cape Coast Castle, and I got hit by a man on a horse. At the Beach.

I am traveling with my buddy Garrett who spontaneously dances, wears loafers, and wants to visit every country in the world. There are 196. I want to avoid getting hit by horses.

Oh, and catch a Python.

There are two spots we visited, for the most part, aside from an overpriced, shady nightclub and even worse, a dingy dive bar full of odd ladies dancing to African beats.  

The first was Cape Coast which is home of the Cape Coast Castle. Said castle sits on the ocean and is where they used to gather up the slaves to sell and ship to the new world. There are five dank dungeons that held up to 1000 slaves from three days to three months. They are about the size of a small bus. I got nauseous. It was horrific.  

The second was Labadi Beach.

The beach was like a circus with touts selling everything from sunglasses to puppies. Shanty bars piped out reggae and hip-hop music through huge busted speakers. Just my speed.

At one point, I was standing near the water’s edge taking everything in when a dude on a horse ran into me.  

He looked at me, I looked at him and we both paused for a moment. I was shocked then thrilled as I had never been hit by a horse.  He looked shocked that he hit a white guy with his horse. The horse didn’t give a shit.

Then, in a flash of genius, he hopped off the horse and grabbed his knee like he was injured. He also grabbed his neck and started shouting in some bizarre language. Time to lawyer up.  

I stood there for a moment realizing he was literally trying to extort money from me and then said “bullshit”.

That didn’t work.

He got a little louder and a little more animated.  I got a little louder and more animated. Stalemate.

Finally, I grabbed my neck and wrenched with pain.

He paused, looked at me, and smiled. He shook my hand and said, “I like you” in perfect English.

Friends forever.

Then he asked if I wanted a ride on his beat-up horse for $5 bucks.

Trey