It’s a breezy night, nice and cheerful, even though the rains have stopped now. We’re sitting pretty at the terrace overlooking the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Emma and I. We were having tea. With Theophilus taking more than 10 minutes to bring it in, we thought not to order any accompaniment when we later wanted to. But the night was a happy one. There was an event going on at the poolside, a barbecue for the CNN/Multichoice ‘African Journalist of the Year’ squad who had ‘invaded’ the hotel. In Accra from all over Africa for the main ceremony today, they were getting it down after dinner, dancing to live band tunes, making a song and dance, and giving us guests too something cheerful to observe.
Accra’s newest address, the hotel is big! Lobby, grounds, somehow, everywhere is, not quite uncharacteristic of an Accra hotel, nice and spacious. And the designers did a fantastic job with the incorporation of sculpture and carvings! There’s a nice elephant feature at the lobby near the lifts that’s rather very beautiful! I wonder why nobody has said that’s an NPP hotel.
I spent a night recently at another spread out hotel, but one which has a beach - Ghana’s vacation address, the quixotic Busua Beach Resort. That’s one place I can never get enough of! I don’t know if it’s the low-lying beach shoreline here, the waves, the omnipresent island in the distance, or the weather which is often overcast setting a nice temperate mood or what! There’s just something that makes Busua, the whole township, calm, sleepy, tropical! I never tire of it, and now that the rooms at the Golden Beach Hotels managed resort there have been improved, there’s an even more exciting reason to be there.
The other day, when Abena and Eric invited me to their ‘after-wedding dinner’ we had it spread out near the Ghanaian Village restaurant but in the sand, close to the shore, set with candles and lamps and burning torches giving the whole experience a thrilling feel! F&B Manager Caroline, and Ofosuhene, the head waiter, ensured everything was nice and on the spot. Later that night, I tucked in well with a warm glow, dreaming of a repeat performance!
I didn’t realize there was so much to do down there at Ghana’s west coast. In the Busua, Butre and Dixcove area! Waking up at Busua is one of the most amazing buzzes in life one can ever get, with the solemn hum of the sea’s waves, and pretty birds chirping through your window. It’s an amazing feeling! I thought I have been there and done it all, but then I learnt the indigenes had recently been groomed to guide visitors around their town, in a hike through lush tropical landscapes, to nearby Butre , another historic small fishing village located in a sheltered bay with the 17th century Dutch built Fort Batenstein. Nearby, to the west, is also Dixcove, a rocky cove of a place with another animated fishing community which is also dominated by the white washed Fort Metal Cross, built by the British around 1696. Here, there are traditional sea-fishing excursions, on canoes fitted with powerful outboard motors on demand. And there are still scenes of masculine men pulling in the nets of a catch from a fishing expedition, and one in which you can join! I remember joining in a number of them during visits to Busua as a child! My Dad would call me to go and participate, and it was all fun and adventurous.
Well, it’s a busy weekend in the capital. Tonight, at the international Conference Centre, international musical sensation Sean Kingston, will be titillating feet with some of his infectious music, and I’m sure that will be a thrilling affair. Also on stage tonight will be Fat Joe of ‘Lean Back’ (or ‘Rean Back’ – for those who know) fame! And we’ll all be there to do the forward dance as he tosses the “Lean Back, lean back”!
KSM! He’s back, and I’m not talking about his new court drama on TV, which I must confess, I haven’t –what with all this travelling around places with no TV and that – had time to catch a glimpse of! But coming up at the end of August -30th-, he’s staging what will be the hottest political comedy since ‘Politically Incorrect’! ‘Castle or Suicide!’ he calls this one, and it’s under a theme; ‘Laughing for Peace’! God knows we need that, and he says he’s got a resounding “O, great we’ll be there...” from every serious presidential candidate’s camp! That would be a laugh and a half! I can just imagine the jokes, with all the Primaries wahala, and door-to-door campaigning! That’s a hot date, for as he says, ‘God, am I going to poke fun at all of them!’
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