Want to lose weight? Find a fiance? Maybe just travel for cheap? You can do all of this and more on a simple ride on a Tro-Tro, the Astro-van-styled vehicles that dominate the public transportation scene.Tro-Tros are privately owned shuttle vans driven down the poorly built roads of Ghana by a young man, usually between the age of 20 and 40. I haven't been able to find the life-expectancy of these drivers documented anywhere, but I would expect it is quite a bit below the national average of 59, due to the cruising speeds, road conditions, and other drivers. Some Tro-Tros have predefined routes that the drivers cruise, picking up passengers along the way. Others drive around at random, yelling "bra! bra!" (come! come!) as the locals walk by. Each driver is accompanied by a younger "mate" who collects the fares, recruits passengers, and keeps order in the overpacked vehicle, sometimes while literally hanging out the sliding side door. (We suspect the mate's life expectancy is much lower than that of the driver.)
Losing weight on the Tro-Tro happens, whether you like it or not. Mostly water-weight lost through sweat, as the vans pack in as many human beings as possible as they cruise the roads. When full, most Tro-Tros pack 24 into their vans (driver plus two on the front bench, five rows of four passengers, and the mate). But it's a bad idea to attempt to estimate the mate's idea of the van's capacity; on one trip from Accra to nearby Nsawam, our van packed almost 34, by my count. But with others laying on your arm, sitting on your lap, yelling passionately, or maybe all three while trying to breast-feed, it's hard not to shed a few pounds.Getting engaged is a bit more rare, and I've yet to see it happen. However, I have witnessed several of the girls on our team be proposed to while cruising the pot-holed dirt roads. The romantics usually get right to the point: "Marry me, white girl, and take me to your country!" Any takers?
Travelling for cheap is by far the best takeaway of taking the Tro-Tro. Our 2-hour trek to the capital city, Accra, costs just 2 cedi ($1.40) a person. Soon - perhaps after another post - I'll depart this internet cafe to find a Tro-Tro that will take me back to my village, 20 minutes away, for 70 Pesewas (less than $0.50). Wish me luck!
