Ghana 2026

Part 1: 1st weekend

We each travelled to the airport ready for our flight around 1pm. I took the train and then a coach, which was easier than I had expected because I had managed to fit everything I would need into 1 checked bag, 1 cabin bag and 1 underseat.

We made it through check-in and security very swiftly and then had some time to wait. When waiting at our gate we were told that our overhead bags would have to be checked. I had assumed this meant checked for size but they actually meant we had to get them put in the hold. This was a little stressful considering how last minute it was and that we were asked to just leave these bags in a pile in the corridor but it turned out fine.

The plane was nice. I ended up watching the Night Manager which I had heard good things about and it was good. (Did take me 3/4 of an episode to get into though)

With about 2 and a half hours left of the flight a passenger had had a medical situation. Luckily there was a doctor on board so we didnt need to intervene, but we had noticed the plane spun round and was going away from Ghana. That only lasted a few minutes so it seemed they changed their minds.

The descent was very bumpy. It was probably the worst turbulence I’ve experienced on a plane in terms of consistency. There was some throughout but for the last 45minutes or so it was constant. The actual landing was pretty smooth though.

Getting through passport control was easier than expected (easier than getting into Finland haha) and all our bags had made it with us. I did however start to feel very nauseous – this had been through the last section of the flight which I reckon was caused by tiredness (having woken up at 5:15) but the heat made it worse and I was unfortunately sick.

The rest of the night was a blurr to me because of how tired I was but we had met Sefa (our organiser) and got to our accommodation.

Above is the view from our bedroom

The night was long. The heat was consistent throughout the night and in my desire to get to sleep I had not worked out how to switch my fan on.

However, in the morning I did wake up well rested and feeling much better. Wearing long flowy trousers had made it cooler than shorts.

However with the thought of food I was feeling nauseous again and I did unfortunately throw up again. Not all bad though, it did help me easily decide that I would rather spend my afternoon in the slightly cooler air than outside exploring the city.

I spent the rest of Saturday indoors with not much to report.

I had slept well that night and on Sunday morning we checked out of our temporary accomodation in Accra and travelled to Nsawam where we will be staying through the weeks.

The journey was a couple hours or so because we had to take the longer route due to traffic. Some differences to the UK:

• people here will try and sell things to your car window at traffic lights, which they carry in baskets on their heads (their balance is very impressive)
• the roads are so bumpy that cars will travel to the other side of the road to avoid them

Above is the view from the journey and below is the accommodation we’re staying in.