20241216 Seabourn Sojourn Grand Africa Cruise Day 21/96 - Tema, Ghana

Grand Africa Cruise Trip Day 21/96 -Tema Ghana - Shopping and Cooking, Ghanaian Style and changing hemispheres

Our adventure today was in Tema, toward the eastern side of Ghana. Thirteen of us plus a local chef were taken by small bus to a local community market. We watched her pick out and purchase ingredients for several dishes. She went vendor-to-vendor buying what she needed. Then, we drove to a local high school where she teaches. We divided into three cooking teams, each tasked with preparing a dish. Finally, we were able to sample the results. Here's how the day went.

Departing the port in Temu

That lady boarding the bus was our chef, Sylvia

On the way to Community 1 Market, we passed all kinds of street vendors

Yup - pig's feet

We arrived at the market and went in. It was narrow, crowded, noisy, and very, very cool. The place was alive with people buying all kinds of fresh food, spices, and supplies. I wish we had more time to take it all in, but the chef walked like she was on a mission and we all had to race to keep up.

You like these onions?

The smoked fish was the main part of our dish

Mixing a fermented corn paste

Chicken for a different dish

Snapper for another dish

Greens for our stew

These African yams were part of our dish

Plantains for frying

We got back to the bus but our driver was nowhere to be found - they finally found him and we headed for the school

One interesting thing in Ghana was the number of people we saw carrying baskets on their heads. It was amazing how effortless they made it look. Let's play a round of what I like to call, What's On My Head?

The variety was incredible

The roads were better than Tekondi, but the traffic was crazy

Whatever you wanted/needed was available on the side of the road

The buildings here were much more modern and well-maintained as were the roads

We arrived at the school and got down to the business of cooking. 

Checking the map, I noticed something interesting.

If you look at the coordinates at the top, the market we visited sat exactly on the Prime Meridian - the point where the Eastern and Western Hemispheres connect - the school was slightly to the west and the port slightly to the east

We split into three cooking teams, each with a different dish

Yeah, we were stylin'

The ingredients for our dish

And, the instructions

We tore the greens and later chopped them

Dicing some tomatoes

I'm chopping yams

Our instruction assistant, getting the oil-based stew going

Chunks of smoked fish and onions are in there

Ultimately, we added a rue of liquified melon seeds and the greens

Our boiled yams and our stew

It was pretty tasty

Here it is with eggs for garnish and the yams behind

We boarded the bus for the trip back to Sojourn

Need a lawnmower - just stop on the side of the road for a sale

More modern buildings and ranges for sale

Arriving back at the port

We browsed the small pop-up shops that set up on the pier before returning to our suite. Pre-dinner drinks in the Observation Bar and another lovely dinner at Earth and Ocean took us up to showtime.

We went to the Grand Salon on Deck #6 for Earth Song, the latest production show from the Seabourn Six - the ship's four production singers and two dancers. I've mentioned before that production shows aren't our thing. Typically, on ships with four singers, in our opinion, there are two good singers, one adequate singer, and the other one. So far, our experience with the Seabourn Six has been different. If forced to rank the singers from worst to best, I wouldn't be able to do it. All four are very talented singers and performers. The addition of the two dancers augments the experience. We continue to be impressed with the Seabourn Six and their ability to put on a quality show.

We are sailing in the Gulf of Guinea en route to our next stop, São Tomé is the capital of the African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe. This area has been known to have piracy activity so we received a notice of unlikely, but possible actions that the ship may have to take, and the passenger responsibilities and actions. Most likely, nothing will happen, but it's good to know they have a plan, especially since we'll be back through here again in a couple of months on the way back to Barcelona.

I mentioned that we crossed the Prime Meridian from west to east. In a few days, we'll cross the equator north to south. That always involves a big to-do where new sailors must confess their transgressions to King Neptune and ask for safe passage. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the day we will cross the equator is for significant downpours Therefore, Seabourn will be doing the ceremony tomorrow as it is a sea day. It should be fun seeing all the pollywogs (never crossed before) become shellbacks (someone who has sailed across the equator).

After three port days, we're looking forward to a relaxing sea day tomorrow.