17 Cape Coast: Chatted Up in Hippy Heaven

I have time-travelled back to the Hippy Era of the 1960s to a circular rendered brick and thatched roof beach hut with zany patchwork curtains, wild mosaic floor tiles, bamboo furniture and a concrete framed bed! Very trippy! Very cool! Far-out, Dude! Welcome to the budget-priced Oasis Beach Resort on the time-warped Cape Coast of Ghana! 

I can hear the roar of the roiling grey ocean and finally that mangy dog on a chain has jumped down from the fence and is now biting fleas off his hind leg under the shade of a palm tree.

Not sure what to do next? Go into town and find a cash machine, a late breakfast, an internet café? Abraham, the cabbie delivered me to this exotic ‘resort’ this morning, just a short 15-minute drive from Elmina along the scrubby coastline.

Oh ecstasy, euphoria, elation! I found a vegetarian café! A funky little healthy eatery called Moringa run by a German charity, the Boabab Children’s Foundation. Leisurely reading a political magazine and watching the activity, I devour a fresh salad drenched in delicious oil with…wait for it…avocado and tofu! Manna from Heaven!

I sip on a divine coconut and pineapple smoothie! Coconuts, like pure cocoa, are now being ‘discovered’ (they were under our noses all the time) by the western world. Re-branded a ‘super food’, for centuries the health benefits of coconuts have been know to indigenous cultures; a source of omega oils for the brain, assorted nutrients and instant rehydration that no amount of straight water can match. Arrhhhh! Now I feel better!

Yes I found a cash machine and yes, I found a pokey internet café tucked away in a narrow laneway. I had to turn sideways to squeeze through, now twice my usual size after mountains of carbs. I fire off a few rushed emails and facebook messages and I’m back on the street armed with cash and dangerous. (Warning to Husband: Do Not Read This Bit)

I did some impulse shopping, the best kind! A cornucopia of stalls selling irresistible colourful clothing suddenly springs up out of nowhere in this historic seaside town. I single-handedly boost the local economy buying African apparel for the whole family! I wonder how the wild new outfits will translate in London?

Running the gauntlet of the sweet-talking boys hustling for business, I land back in my groovy beach shack. The more I hang out here, the more I like the peace and solitude and view of the tumultuous waves from my window. I have a cup of tea, thank you very much, and a coconut cake from the veggie café, my laptop and my mythical readers and I am truly content in this sublime moment.  

Some people tell me they suffer inner conflict; that they are constantly arguing with themself! However I have discovered on this trip that I get along with myself very well! I’m enjoying my own company.

One of the pleasures of travelling alone is being free to make my own observations on people and places without absorbing fellow travellers’ views. This is why professional writers, photographers, artists and musicians relish wandering through foreign cultures alone. Creative souls can interpret their surroundings with indisputable subjectively. I’m channelling Vincent Van Gough, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen… did someone slip Magic Mushrooms in my salad?

Better clear my head with a wistful walk on the overcast beach (missing exuberant Labrador Bonny.) The forlorn dog on the chain is standing on the fence again. Maybe I can free him for a romp on the sand?

His owner says ‘No, he bites people,’ which is hard to believe! I saunter off with only my camera as company and get my baggy white pants wet misjudging the reach of the frothy waves. Teenagers are joyfully playing football, fishermen are meticulously tending their boats and three little pigs are foraging on the beach. Three little pigs on the beach? I’m not hallucinating, honestly! 
Nothing surprises me anymore in this easy-going country!

I suddenly remember why I’m tired. I was awake at 4 am, illuminated with light bulb ideas and writing frantically. This attack of creativity is wearing me out! And then I had an in-depth conversation over breakfast with an American nurse who volunteers in a clinic up north and her Ghanaian husband who supports the village through exporting crafts. We shared our enthusiasm for volunteering and agreed that the benefits are mutual.

Tonight at the Oasis beachside restaurant under the stars, I must confess I am tempted to eat fish. Tired of rice, spaghetti, yams and bean stew, I fancy a different taste and a good serve of protein and this being a fishing village, the catch is ultra fresh. In my pre-vegetarian days I did enjoy the succulent snapper and mackerel caught by dad and cooked by mum. I come ever so close but then opted for the ever-reliable veggie pizza.

And another confession! I do believe a Reggae musician with faulty eyesight is chatting me up! When he enquires why I am on my own I explain my husband is home in London missing me and that my son is older than he is. This is the reality check and wake-up call that sends him scurrying into the dark night! Being chatted up by a sexy black man half my age? Flattering, unnerving, actually, quite weird.