Spent the morning changing the oil. Went into town and spent nearly an hour at the internet cafe before the net crashed. Had lunch with some of the overlanders that were camped next to us then went to the post office and waited for Dean and Stu to make phone calls. We'd intended to get an early start out of Accra but 4:30 found us stuck in traffic trying to get out of the city.
After a fantastic sunset we finally got to the village of Apam - the site of the Dutch built Fort Patience. With some difficulty we found the fort on the bluff above the ocean and village. The guide book indicated that there should be a guest house in the fort but when we found it there were no lights and all was silent. We got out, looked around, and were getting back in the car when the watchmen showed up and let us in. We were the only people staying there and we each got our own rooms. The rooms are sparse but fairly large and relatively clean. No electricity or running water but we're staying in a fort that was built in 1698!
We wandered down the hill into town, had a beer then wandered out on the street for food. Tourist obviously weren't present very often and the most common question was "What's your name?" instead of the more usual "Give me something". Diner was a couple egg sandwiches on the fantastic Ghanaian bread.
Walking back to the fort we stopped at a table selling fireworks and the fun began. When dean asked what one of them did the woman replied a few unintelligible words followed by the word "police!" at which everyone in the vicinity started laughing hysterically (we had quite a crowd following us). Then a man behind the woman started tossing firecrackers in the air towards the table - quite a surprise and good fun, although I'm not sure how happy I was about how close to a table of explosives he was throwing the small bombs. Dean negotiated for a small collection (for Christmas - he claims) which ended with the woman's exclamation "It's a deal!!" The exchange was really pleasant, everybody involved had a good time (including the spectators), and nobody felt threatened - it felt like an honest cultural exchange - with the bonus that things got blown up.
Back at the fort we lounged around on the ramparts and bastions under the nearly full moon enjoying the cool breeze off the ocean and the ambiance of the fort.
