Texas Girl Takes on the World: The Road to Kumasi

Yesterday, I left Cape Coast on my way to Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region. I left the hotel in time to catch the STC bus that leaves at 10 o’clock…or so I was told. When I was dropped off at the station, I was informed that the bus to Kumasi doesn’t depart until 1:30 p.m. Uh, no ma’am! Just as I was about to give up and go back to the hotel for a few hours, my buddy Kwabena (remember he was one of the taxi drivers at Kakum Park who helped me get in) came out of nowhere and saved me again. That Kwabena is just full of solutions, I tell ya!

He suggested another bus service that’s air conditioned, much cheaper and leaves more regularly than the STC. While the bus isn’t as big and you have to wait for it to fill up before departure, he assured me that it would certainly take off before 1:30 p.m. So, off we go to the bus yard in the center of Cape Coast. We arrive as one mini-van was departing to Kumasi and another bigger bus was being opened.

An hour goes by, all the seats on the bus have been purchased and we hit the road. I was able to get a seat right in front with the driver so I could see all the sights on the way – um, yeah, I regretted my seating choice a few times during the ride when I saw my life flash before my eyes. The road to Kumasi was something else. Picture this: Speeding at like 80 mph when the road is clear and smooth, slowing down to change lanes or swerving to miss the many potholes when it isn’t so smooth, passing slow drivers in the lane going the opposite direction, honking the horn every 30 seconds (sometimes I wasn’t quite sure for what), passing through small towns about every 30 minutes, a near head-on collision with another car trying to pass a slow truck and some of the most beautiful scenery ever. Whew, my adrenaline was pumping for the entire 3-hour trip.

One thing I noticed is that people generally keep out of the way of speeding vehicles and take heed to honking horns here. In America, small children would never be allowed to play right next to a busy road for fear that one of them might venture into the street. Well, not here in Ghana. Very small children (I’m talking one-year olds) were near the road throughout the entire trip, but they knew not to even think about coming out into the street. Even animals knew when they heard the horn to get the hell out of dodge – I can’t tell you how many chickens, birds and goats we came close to running down until they put some pep in their step. I haven't seen much road kill here in Ghana and I guess it's because the animals know people here do not yield to them. And I wish I'd gotten more interesting photos but I didn't want to be the snap-happy American on the bus. I already drew attention to myself when I yelped when the driver almost mowed down three cute little baby goats. Everyone on the bus laughed at me! HA!

Needless to say, I made it to Kumasi safely and I really love the city. It’s what I would consider the happy medium between Accra and Cape Coast – somewhere in between the rat race feel of Accra and the bored to tears feel of Cape Coast. I’m not sure exactly what it is about the city, but I instantly felt at home when we arrived. I can totally see myself living here. I only have two days in Kumasi and I kinda wish it was more. But there’s always next time.