The Zuiderdam moored in Takoradi toward the end of a long jetty, about 50-100 yards across stretching a mile from the mainland, around 7 am.  It would take another 90 minutes to get cleared before we could go ashore.  Meanwhile, vendors were busy erecting a couple dozen tents for the pop-up craft market that would open soon.

We booked a city tour with Across Africa and the eight of us met our driver and guide around 9 am.  There were four Across Africa tour vans/buses today and we would caravan to each of the stops where we would meet for a shared larger group tour.  Each of the other groups had about twenty people.

Our first stop was the Bisa Aberwa Museum which holds over 2000 artifacts and sculptures of heroes of civil rights movements from Africa and around the world.  The museum covers three floors and we spent about 30 minutes exploring.

The Albert Bosomtwi-Sam Fishing Harbour was our next stop.  To reduce congestion and minimize disruption of this very busy fish harbor and market, the tour bus arrivals from our groups as well as HAL were staggered.  While we were waiting we had a tour of a fish sorting and examination room.  The room had a removable floor with large removable metal ice containers.  The ice kept the floor cold to help keep the fish fresh when they were being examined and sorted.

Afterward, we walked over to the wharf and a large fish-handling shed, with a 20-foot roof.

Along the wharf, dozens of fishing boats moored and men offloaded their fish, mainly herring, into metal tubs.  Other very strong men quickly carried these tubs, balanced on their heads, to an open area in the fish handling shed where waiting women would cover the fish before they were moved out to the street where they awaited transfer to other locations.

The activity and energy level in this area was very high.  No one was sitting around and everyone was in constant motion.

Nearby Fort Orange was our next stop.  The Dutch built the fort as a fortification in the 17th century.  It was transformed into a lighthouse after being seized by the British in 1873.  The fort was also used to hold slaves prior to their being loaded onto ships.  There were some nice views of Takoradi and the Fishing Harbor from the walkway at the top of the fort.

One of the main markets in the area is Takoradi Market Circle, commonly known as Market Circle.  The HAL shuttle bus stop dropped off people near the circle.  We stopped a few streets back and walked a couple blocks down a different street to get a feel for the area and observe the activity.

Everything was for sale here from fresh meats, fruits and vegetables to housewares and clothing.  A few shops sold appliances.  It was like a WalMart was emptied along the street with each type of product being sold in small, separate shops.

There is a structure in the center of Market Circle that is under construction with an unknown completion date.  When complete this will provide more covered space for additional vendors.

Earlier in the day, Judy had seen a few women wearing dresses made of white fabric with a black geometric pattern.  She went into a small fabric store along the street and found a white fabric with a black geometric print that she liked.  She bought 4 yards for $15.00 USD.  One of the other guides in our caravan told us that this kind of fabric has a phrase stamped along the selvage of the fabric.  Google Translate translated the phrase on this fabric to “I leave my children and my loved ones in the Lord’s hands”.

Our final stop was the Vienna City Beach Resort.  We could have stayed longer at the ressort and had lunch at our own expense, but we decided to spend about twenty minutes exploring and taking some pictures before heading back to the ship.

Once back at the ship, we spent a few minutes wandering up and down the pop-up market.  We noticed a few well-dressed local officials heading aboard for a visit and saw a dozen or more uniformed Customs and Immigration officials leaving the ship.