(Note: sorry about the relative lack of pictures. Apparently, all this beach going means lots of sand, some of which is likely to get into your camera, breaking it. Even though its now fixed (Thanks Dad!), I think I've learned my lesson about bringing my camera to the beach.)
4: Bojo Beach
Pros: Less than an hour from Accra, this beach wins for distance. It’s this awesome little penninsula beach, maybe 20 meters wide (oh yea, I use meters now. Bang) with lagoon on one side, ocean on the other. You have to take a little boat across the lagoon to get there. So really neat. It’s a bit of a “party” beach so there’s always music playing (although that’s pretty par for the course in Ghana) and groups playing soccer and volleyball.
Cons: Probably due to its closeness to Accra, the ocean is a little dirty. At first you think it’s a lot of seaweed, but you soon realize it’s the black plastic bags that are ubiquitous in Accra. Also, the party beach is fun, but not always ideal if you’re going for a chill day on the beach.
3: Ada Foa
Pros: I returned to this town for a second time (read about my first visit here) to spend a relaxing, get-away-from-it-all-and-sleep-on-the-beach weekend. And it serves that purpose great. Even though its only two hours from Accra, it’s not a normal expat spot in the least. So you’re really just in this small town that happens to be located on the beach (this is a side note, but this town is tiny – there are maybe four major streets. Yet somehow, there are enough people to support EIGHT, yes EIGHT, churches. And they all happen to be right next to each other on what we called “Church Row.” We happened to be walking down Church Row at about 10:30 on Sunday morning and it was like witnessing a tour of Ghana’s religions: you had the Bible Thumper preacher, the one where the whole church was signing gospel, and the “cool” one which, although it was located in essentially a shack, had a full drumset which a guy was playing as if it was Saturday night in a bar.) ANYWAY, the major pro here is how utterly deserted it is. Beautiful white sand beach, and there is, no joke, not another human to be seen in either direction (this may be due to the fact that it was a Sunday and everyone was busy on Church Row). Still, very very cool.
Cons: For some reason, the two times I have come here have coincided with rather cool, overcast weekends, at least for Ghana. I guess I can’t blame the place but still not ideal beach weather. This last weekend’s somewhat subpar weather was attributable to the “Harmattan,” a wind that blows down from the Sahara every January making the area much drier and…I’m not exactly sure what else, except that Ghanaians HATE the Harmattan and blame everything on it. You have a headache? That’s the Harmattan. Your throat hurts? Harmattan. Bad mood? Harmattan. Your hair seems to be falling out at a faster rate than normal? Harmattan (By the way, I’m still searching for a better explanation/solution to this. IT’S WEIRD. In the absence of another reason I’m leaning toward believing the Harmattan theory, especially since my Ghanaian colleague looked at me and said, “Well of course. You can’t wear your real hair during the Harmattan,” as if it was the most obvious thing in the world).
One other con-ish thing of note: Ada Foa (or at least one guest house there) apparently is very paranoid about the potential of lesbian threesomes. We made a reservation for a room, intending for the three of us (all girls) to share to save money, especially since we heard they had GIANT beds at the place. Well, the beds were enormous, but unfortunately, we were told three girls could not share one bed. Apparently, if one of us was of the opposite sex, that would be ok. Yea, I don’t get it. We asked why and she replied “It’s just not done here.” So also looking for an explanation for that, since I honestly can’t understand why a guesthouse would turn down $40 (because we immediately took our business elsewhere).
2: Anomabo
Pros: This is a resort about two hours from Accra, much beloved by expats (my French boss spends practically every other weekend here). Unfortunately, that is a little steep for my budget, but luckily, said boss’s love of the place meant that our annual, year-end, planning retreat was held there. So I got 3 days there for free (and only had to work the first two). This beach definitely wins on amenities: lounge chairs, complementary coconuts to drink from, and a restaurant that served a damn good burger (it’s kind of sad how that has become the mark of a good restaurant to me now). Plus plenty of palm trees and calm surf for swimming.
Cons: Since being in Ghana, I’ve really come to appreciate the beauty of a completely undeveloped beach, and this resort (even though it’s much less so than some others) still feels like you are, well, at a resort. There’s a LOT of expat families around all the time so it kind of seems like you could be on the beach in Europe or something. And finally, (and I’m reallllly stretching here – this place is obviously incredible), the beach is a tiny bit narrow compared to some others.
1: Green Turtle Lodge
Pros: And here it is. The closest thing to paradise I’ve found yet. Down a terribly bumpy dirt road, this place is truly in the middle of nowhere. The wide, palm tree lined beach somehow feels completely untouched, like it must have looked like for thousands of years (no garbage! I can’t tell you what a big deal that is), while the lodge simultaneously offers great little huts for sleeping, awesome food (fish caught on the beach that morning!), and even a fun little bar. You open your hut door, step right on the sand, walk 20 meters to a hammock suspended between two palm trees, get lunch delivered to you, then take a swim in the warm ocean with PERFECT waves. And then to top it all off, you end the day with an absolutely beautiful sunset.
And the place is owned by this completely awesome British couple, who were nice enough to drive us to Busua, about 45 minutes away, for a music festival one night (which was pretty awesome by the way. Not much beats dancing all night to live music in the sand surrounded by adorable little kids). They’re actually selling the place though since their kids are almost ready to start school, so seriously, anyone reading this who is just fed up with life and wants to move to paradise? All it takes is $80,000.
Cons: The only thing remotely resembling a con is that its super far (about 6 hours from Accra) and a pain to get to down that dirt road. But even that is part of its charm.
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