Back from Accra

B767Driver

B767Driver

New Member
Doug,

Accra was an interesting trip. I wouldn't bid away from it nor bid for it. They pretty much use ICAO transatlantic procedures. Some new IATA inflight broadcast requirements, that are new to us, and specific to Africa...I believe.

Definitely 3rd world...but some of the touring experiences there are very neat. If you get a chance...go, but give me a call prior and I can fill you in on where and where not to go. Our crews are beginning to get a repoire with some of the reputable locals...I can tell you how to find them. Also, some of the scams going on. There are some restaurants that crews are using...but nobody drinks the ice or water. Bottled stuff only. Never saw a mosquitoe the entire trip.

I was able to barter jewelry and other junk for very little money. Some of it is nice. I think they have a price for locals, a price for blacks and a price for whites...so you could probably do very well.
 
go to nairobi to eat wild animals. i think the name of the restaurant is carnivore. it is a tourist trap and a half but you can say that you have had wildebeast, zebra, giraffe, etc.
 
Are ya ready for a public high school and Riddle degree backed question?


Where the heck is Accra?
 
I had "Geograffy fer Riddle piolitts" too! :)

Accra is in Ghana.
 
would you say it's an ok layover for wives/gf's to go along? as in "safety" wise?

I'm about to send out for my Ghana visa now....it's only a 5 day processing time compared to Russia
 
why not? i mean there are always places that you should go and places you should not go. i am not familiar with ghana but im sure there are some places you should go with a guide and others where you can go by yourself. i would suggest staying away from open markets if you are going by yourself.
 
Kristie said:
would you say it's an ok layover for wives/gf's to go along? as in "safety" wise?

I'm about to send out for my Ghana visa now....it's only a 5 day processing time compared to Russia
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Undoubdtedly. Very safe, the people are exceedingly friendly...although they will try to rip you off/scam you. Nothing has a published price. It is all negotiated. Even a taxi ride. So you have to be careful pertaining to what you should be paying for goods and services and not pay too much. Some of the jewelry I bought....I paid 1/5 of their asking price. Also, if you have unique items...you can trade for goods and services too. One of our F/As traded in an old cell phone for a $50 picture that she intends to sell at a black expo for $300.

You can purchase a visa at the airport if you don't have one. You simply walk up to a window at the airport and purchase it and you're in the country. I'd check with the embassy for further info. The guy I was flying with was bringing his wife next month.

The pool at the hotel was very nice and the beach was a 15 minute cab ride ($3) and it was a good place to spend half a day. For $100 per vehicle (3 or 4 people), there is a guy who will take you into the rain forest and to some old castles from the slave trade days up the coast. It supposed to be a good tour.
 
You can purchase a visa at the airport if you don't have one. You simply walk up to a window at the airport and purchase it and you're in the country. I'd check with the embassy for further info. The guy I was flying with was bringing his wife next month.
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that's interesting because they don't have that on the embassy website. I emailed them and asked them how i go about applying (considering the nonrev circumstances) and he said to just put a cover letter with the application. So i've got all 4 applications (Ghana requires 4 copies) ready to go in the mail along with my passport. Maybe they'll give me a 90 day visa for filling it out ahead of time, i really don't know. one thing they do say is that processing is 5 days, unlike russia, who knows when i'd get my passport back there! haha

Let me know if you talk to the guy whose taking his wife on the next trip.. i'd like to know if i really don't need to apply for the visa ahead of time! :)
 
I thought Accra was a place that you never went anywhere away from your hotel without armed guards. They pick you up at the airport and take you to the hotel, and you don't leave the hotel during the entire layover.

Or maybe that is my fathers home country of Nigeria (Lagos) that I'm thinking about!

:confused:
 
Ghana is going to great lengths to join the world community and break the 3rd world perception. They sent a delegation to Washington in March to pitch to Civil Air Patrol's national governing body participation in the International Air Cadet Exchange (IACE) program, and CAP just sent an advance party to Accra to check things out.

For all the things that are messed up about CAP, IACE is not one of them. It was begun in 1948 by Gen. Carl Spaatz, the first USAF Chief of Staff, as a program for spreading goodwill amongst aviation-minded youths around the globe. Every summer, CAP sends abroad about 120 cadets ages 17-20, and we host the same number of foreign cadets here, all over the country. I went to Switzerland on the exchange 20 years ago, it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. As guests of the Swiss Air Force, we were shuttled about in their King Airs, treated to fighter fly-bys pretty much everywhere we went, plus aerial sightseeing flights around the Alps, glider flights, even aerobatic flights, all while being treated to some of the best that Swiss culture has to offer. And all I had to pay for were my passport, uniforms and spending money. Everything else--airfare, meals and lodging--were free. The trip also included a few days in Washington DC and Frankfurt, Germany, the staging area for the exchange (over 800 college-age cadets from all over the world at Rhein-Main Air Base...you can bet there was more than a little partying!)

In my group that summer were 6 American cadets, two Brits and two Canadians, plus an American adult escort. I discovered a few months ago while skimming a copy of Air & Space magazine that one of the Canucks with us then is now the #3 pilot for the Canadian Snowbirds demo team. Small world!
 
Maximillian_Jenius said:
I thought Accra was a place that you never went anywhere away from your hotel without armed guards. They pick you up at the airport and take you to the hotel, and you don't leave the hotel during the entire layover.

Or maybe that is my fathers home country of Nigeria (Lagos) that I'm thinking about!

:confused:
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I'm thinking that's in Dekar, not Ghana
 
Nah, we're flying to Lagos now too and it's where they apparently have all of the extra security.
 
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