I didn't get a chance to post photos from my last few days in Accra, but also wanted to recap on my first days in Cape Town, so I decided to combine the two into one post. By the way, my page reached 500 views today - awesome!
On my last full day in Accra I headed to the beach of course, where else? Unfortunately the weather was overcast, but HEY I love the beach no matter what. I thought we were going to Labadi beach, but found myself at Bojo beach instead. Bojo is located about an hour outside of Accra (but can be much longer depending on traffic), but is much much nicer than the closer, more frequently visited Labadi. The beach is technically on an 'island', or a sand bar, separated by a small river that you must cross by canoe.
Bojo was peaceful, extremely clean, and the water was warm. If the weather wasn't so cold I would have jumped right in, because I obviously came prepared in my bathing suit. However swimming is highly advised against because its said that this part of the coast has an incredibly strong undertow. 
Kinglsey, my go-to and life saver while in Accra.
On the last day at the International Student Hostel a friend of mine bought me breakfast as a surprise. He ordered what he usually eats of breakfast: plantain, chicken, and eggs. You can buy a meal like this for oh, GHC 3 or less, or $1.50. Food runs cheap at the night market near our dorms on campus where you can find all the local dishes - jollof rice, plantains, groundnut soup, fufu etc - and almost anything else you can imagine. Usually for breakfast I'll buy an egg sandwich from my 10-year old friend Porshia for GHC 1.50 ($0.75) and fresh fruit, mango and pineapple for GHC 1 ($0.50). That's breakfast for $1.25... gotta love it.
My first day in Cape Town was rough. I was extremely tired from the 9+ hour trip and wanted to sleep all day. However, in efforts to save money I skipped the shuttle service from my hostel and decided to take the MyCiti bus instead. Rather than paying R180 (180 South African Rand), equivalent to USD $22 I opted for public transportation at a price of R57 which is about USD $7.50, paying less than half the original price and familiarizing myself with the city. Score!
MyCiti bus had a direct service from the airport to Civic Station in the City Centre. I was impressed! The bus was clean, quick, and convenient. As of July 2012 they started a digital service where you purchase a card similar to a credit card and recharge it with money. I bought a card for R23 and loaded it with R20, about enough for 4 one-way rides. When I'm done with the card I give it back and get my R23 refunded. I was surprised at how empty and underutilized the public bus was, making me wonder how long its been around.
Look how pretty South Africa Rand bills are! 20 Rand is about $2.50. Each bill has a different animal printed on it. The R100 bill has an elephant, R20 has an ox, and R10 has a rhino.
Back of the bills.
Don't mind my nail polish.
But, I forced myself to walk down Long Street, or the main street in Cape Town's city center with a majority of restaurants and tourist life. I met a friend on the bus on the way to the City Center from the airport and hung out with him and his friends on Long Street (after a LONG nap). They introduced to some of Cape Town's infamous drinks while exploring the area's night life:
'Springbokkie' - Peppermint Liquer and Amarula (left) and a 'Suitcase' - Jack Daniels and Passion Fruit
One of the many murals and buildings that decorate Long Street.
Morning views from the hostel, Zebra Crossing.
Table Mountain in the background, taken in front of Zebra Crossing.
Today I'm still going to take it easy - visit some of the cultural museums, do some more online research, and follow-up with a few producer groups. I'll have time at the end of my Cape Town trip to do the outdoorsy stuff - Table Mountain etc. and I don't want to burn myself out. Oh yea, and its FREEZING here. By New York or even California standards its not that cold, but after spending 6 weeks in Ghana my tolerance for cold weather obviously flew out the window. I miss my collection of scarves in New York right about now...
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