Hey everyone,
So, I didn't realize the demand would be so huge for a follow-up regarding the last 2 weeks of my adventure in Ghana - until mom pointed it out to me when I got home and reminded me that I had quite the following who are interested in how everything all worked out... so, here we go.
Let me just say, the last 10 days of my trip were a blast.
The Canadian group of us attended the Ada festival - where the heritage of the Ada people were celebrated (70th anniversary festival this year), in Big Ada (go figure) for 2 days. There was music, dancing, singing, parading, and general merriment... including enormous amounts of alcohol (one brand called Pusher - more commonly known as "Pusha" - tastes like cough syrup, not that I had all that much...) and there was gun firing, albeit, no bullets, just gunpowder. Now, I don't know about you but when you've got a guy with a gun next to you and he shoots up in the air, you definitely go partially deaf for some time - it wasn't pleasant. We all got to a point where we became the 'find-any-guy-with-a-gun-and-let-the-others-know-so-we-can-all-plug-our-ears' team. It worked generally well until a drunk man with a gun (yes, I said drunk) wanders over to scare the living hell out of you. Not cool.
Anyway, we enjoyed the music and the festivities for 2 days, although it did become rather irritating as WE became part of the entertainment as people pulled you in different directions.
Three of us headed out the next day to Kumasi (about a 4.5-5 hour bus ride north-west). We explored the market there (the largest in West Africa) and needless to say we got lost inside it all. It was covered with tin roofing and was so large there was no way we'd see it all - however we did manage to pick up some neat fabrics from a lady that we just happened to find.
We spent the night in a pretty hilarious hostel room where the shower, the toilet and the bed were all within 1ft of each other - no privacy, no doors (although there was a shower curtain). We got really comfortable really fast. Only one person asked the other 2 of us to leave the room while she took care of her business.
We ate bread and "porridge" for dinner on the bed out of bags. The next morning (3:30am) we wandered the streets of Kumasi (in hindsight, not the best idea) to the big bus station to take a taxi to ANOTHER station to get a tro-tro to Tamale (4am - left at 4:30am). We were going to take a bus but the previous day when we went to purchase tickets they were sold out... so we took a tro-tro (mini-bus that has no leg room, no a/c, nothing but cramped, uncomfortable seats - and for 8 hours). We managed.
We made it to Tamale by noon. It was totally different from the south - much more Muslim, more motorbikes, more poverty, and more mud huts. It was as if we had stepped into another country altogether. It was pretty neat to see. We saw sheep on motorbikes, and even saw some shoved into the bottom of a coach bus - I don't really want to know how that turned out.
We had a child from the station lead us to the hostel - we gave him some money for taking us there, it was cheaper than a cab. We hung out for the day, relaxed, bee-bopped around and spent the night in a hotel room where the toilet and shower were separate from the bedroom.
The next day we met up with a young guy the other girls met earlier in their trip. He's Canadian and has been working at a local hospital - he's at U of Toronto studying medicine. The four of us got on a crowded bus (made for 50 and seating 70 at least) and took a 4.5 hour bus ride to Mole National Park. The ride was, well, the bumpiest, scariest, sketchiest ride I have ever taken in my life. It was as if we were on the moon, the craters were so huge we could have easily gotten stuck in any of them AND, it began to rain during the ride.
We arrived to the park without a reservation and because everything was booked, the 4 of us slept on 3 student mattresses (meaning they were maybe 3 inches thick) on the floor in the men's dormitory. What an experience. I'm pretty sure the Ghanaian men were quite confused as the three of us women crawled onto the floor to sleep and our male friend tucked himself on the edge with us. We needed somewhere to sleep, and that was our only option.
The next morning we got up and went on a two hour safari walk. We saw elephants, monkeys, antelopes (4 different types), spiders, warthogs and some beautiful scenery. The park (Mole National) is named after a famous slave trader - I don't know why, so don't ask.
The safari was pretty neat and we got really close to the elephants and monkeys, but let me tell you this, it's one thing to see these animals at the zoo when they are stuck behind a fence and you are safe, and another when they are merely feet away from you and there's no protection in between! AND, I learned afterwards that the park doesn't have a first-aid kit.
HOW DO YOU SEND PEOPLE ON A SAFARI WITH ANIMALS THAT CAN KILL YOU, AND YET YOU DON'T HAVE A FIRST-AID KIT!?
Anyway - we spent the rest of the day at the pool (yup, it's a touristy place so they have to have a pool!). It was a nice change.
The next day we took the 4am bus back to Tamale. We left our male friend to go back to work at the hospital and the three of us women killed 8 hours at a restaurant before catching our 4pm bus back to Accra (the capital). It was a 12 hour bus ride and it felt like 20 hours for me. I just couldn't get comfortable, but the other two managed to.
We made it to Accra at 4am and then hopped on a tro-tro for another 2 hours to Sega. It was a long journey.
We relaxed for a day and then headed to Ada Foah (the beach) to unwind.
I headed back to Kpong on Tuesday and made it in time for dinner.
Wednesday was my last day and I honestly don't remember too much of it off the top of my head. I spent it with the family, just hanging out, sharing some gifts I brought them and enjoying our last full day together. My "husband" showed up that evening to say goodbye, it was tough as we had a great friendship but it was necessary, and we promised to keep in touch (he called me this morning in Canada).
Thursday morning my host threw a small party for me at the house where everyone in the house was invited to eat and drink (non-alcoholic beverages) with us. There were speeches and laughter and then pictures.
Saying goodbye was tough but I tried to remain as composed as possible. I hugged everyone goodbye and only sobbed for a couple of seconds as I waved goodbye to some people as I walked down my road to the street to get a tro-tro. I was quite proud of myself as it was very hard to say goodbye. I wasn't ready to leave.
We (Pops and I) made it to Accra and eventually so did everyone else, albeit a couple of hours later. We had something to drink at a nearby restaurant and then we said goodbye to Godwin and I to Pops before heading in to get ready for our journey home.
It was a long journey home.
Accra to Frankfurt was long, although through the night so I slept some... but the 7 hour layover in Frankfurt was super long. Fortunately though, my VISA card worked and I (and the others) were able to get Big Macs at the McDonalds at 8am in the morning. It was really good.
We were surprised in the airport by 2 other Intercordians coming from Ukraine who were going to be on the same flight with us on our way home. It was so nice to see some familiar faces.
The 2nd flight felt like forever but we made it and quickly got our baggage and headed for our families. Mom and Dad were thrilled to see me and I them, and we booted it out of the airport as fast as we could - yet it was 5pm in Toronto on a Friday night, going North, AND there was a 4 car crash on the 400. It took a little while but we made it.
As we did when I came home from Ecuador, we went to Mr. Sub and got food for dinner.
It's now Sunday night and I've been home for 2 whole days. I've seen my best friends and my schedule is already packed until I go back to school. Tuesday-Thursday this week I have a reintegration seminar with all the other students in the program, it should be interesting, and I'm lucky it isn't far from home - only 45 min or so, so no long drives.
After the seminar I'll write my final post after I've had some time to reflect on all that has happened.
Thank you for your continued support - I'm glad you've been sharing this journey with me.
I'll post soon :)
Dede
