One of the main things I miss about living in Newcastle is the beach. I don’t just miss swimming in the ocean, Friday night fish and chips on the beach, watching the kids play in the sand, throwing the ball for the dogs on the dog beach (I miss this more than I care to admit); but the physical presence of the ocean. Being able to drive home along the coast road which links the beaches of Newcastle. A stormy day or clear, I never tire of the view.
The red and yellow lifesaver flags!
We knew a trip to the beach in Ghana would be different. Not the beloved Pacific, but the Atlantic. The Atlantic at the equator. And the activities on a Ghanaian beach, well, as you would expect, just much, much more…of everything. Slightly chaotic, a bit dirty, always loud, and most of all, festive. Horserides, quad bike rides, games of football which take dominance over whoever is standing on the shore, the ubiquitous black plastic bags, paintings and carvings for the tourists, beach bars with distorted sound systems which blur into a wall of high-life beat between them, drummers (and weirdly a guy playing a flute with his nostrils). And everywhere, people, wearing swimmers, shorts and t-shirts, even pyjamas, all enjoying the water.
Here is a video of a walk down a Ghanaian beach. [Email subscribers click the image].
While Jock, with his yellow hair, got his usual dose of photo requests, and the girls suffered concerns that they really couldn’t swim in deep water (here is not a nation of swimmers), we had a good time. And that’s what the beach is about really, it’s the great equaliser. Everyone is just there to enjoy themselves.
six degrees north 
I lived in Ghana as a child and one thing my family and I did weekly was go to the beach. We would go to Mile 16 every Sunday for lunch with friends. I miss (almost) everything about Ghana, its certainly a place my family looks back on with fond memories and where i learnt that sometimes the only solution to a problem is to laugh about it.
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Thanks for your comment Danielle. Bill and I laughed out loud, you are so right. I think if you didn’t laugh here you would go crazy! How old were you when you lived in Ghana? Did you go to school here?
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I was 8 when we moved there and 16 when I moved back, We stayed with my Grandparents out there and I went to Roman Ridge school for while, but then moved back to England to do my GCSE’s and A Levels.
My Great Uncle is Chief of a village now! and my Grandad still does some work out there.
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Reblogged this on RD Revilo.
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Why is there no one n the water?Was the water exceptionally cold that day?
Explain the horses on the beach (the horses look really nice)
A lot beautiful people with nice skin and color.
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There were a heap of people in the water!! Splashing about and having fun. Not many Ghanaians are good swimmers though, so most people are just wading. The horses are just for people wanting a ride, for fun. You pay to take a ride. It was a very festive atmosphere.
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