Most of you are familiar with bus stops. Most of you are familiar with train stations. The same goes for underground transportation and airports. If you've ever been to countries like Thailand or India, you are well acquainted with tuk tuks or auto rickshaws. I personally thought I'd seen it all as far as modes of transportation. But then I came across the trotro.
Trotros are THE way to get around in Ghana. There are also taxis, but for longer distances or larger groups, you always go with the tro. A trotro is a large van that can seat about 9-12 people (or more depending on how many the driver wants to squish into the rows of seats). They drive along basically every main road and pick up and drop off passengers along the way. The "first mate" of the trotro shouts out the destination of the tro out the window to people standing next to the road, and if that person wishes to go there, the trop stops and picks him or her up. The first mate also collects the fare, which can generally be negotiated but is crazy cheap by our standards.
Tros are certainly a bargain, but they can also be a bit uncomfortable. If you are in the middle squished between two sweaty strangers on a 6 hour drive, a tro ride can feel like an eternity. Gotta love having stranger sweat dripping down your arm. Sometimes you end up in the one seat that doesn't have a back (this happened to me. Not ideal.) and have to sit upright the whole time. But other times, you get the wonderful window seat and get to feel the cool breeze whip over your face. The window seats are certainly the most ideal for naps, unless you don't mind laying your head on some random person's shoulder (or if you are next to a friend who doesn't mind acting as a pillow).
Trotro stations are a sensory overload of seemingly disorganized chaos, but it actually is pretty efficient. At these stations, tros are lined up and the drivers shout out the destination of the tro. Once the tro is filled, it heads out. While you are waiting to depart, people with giant baskets on their heads approach the windows to try and sell passengers anything from ice cream to phone chargers to toothpaste. Seriously, ANYTHING you can imagine. Hard boiled eggs. Plantain chips. Fabrics. Hair brushes.
Trotros are THE way to get around in Ghana. There are also taxis, but for longer distances or larger groups, you always go with the tro. A trotro is a large van that can seat about 9-12 people (or more depending on how many the driver wants to squish into the rows of seats). They drive along basically every main road and pick up and drop off passengers along the way. The "first mate" of the trotro shouts out the destination of the tro out the window to people standing next to the road, and if that person wishes to go there, the trop stops and picks him or her up. The first mate also collects the fare, which can generally be negotiated but is crazy cheap by our standards.
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| Nice n' crammed in the back of a tro |
Tros are certainly a bargain, but they can also be a bit uncomfortable. If you are in the middle squished between two sweaty strangers on a 6 hour drive, a tro ride can feel like an eternity. Gotta love having stranger sweat dripping down your arm. Sometimes you end up in the one seat that doesn't have a back (this happened to me. Not ideal.) and have to sit upright the whole time. But other times, you get the wonderful window seat and get to feel the cool breeze whip over your face. The window seats are certainly the most ideal for naps, unless you don't mind laying your head on some random person's shoulder (or if you are next to a friend who doesn't mind acting as a pillow).
Trotro stations are a sensory overload of seemingly disorganized chaos, but it actually is pretty efficient. At these stations, tros are lined up and the drivers shout out the destination of the tro. Once the tro is filled, it heads out. While you are waiting to depart, people with giant baskets on their heads approach the windows to try and sell passengers anything from ice cream to phone chargers to toothpaste. Seriously, ANYTHING you can imagine. Hard boiled eggs. Plantain chips. Fabrics. Hair brushes. 
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