So I have finished my last big trip in Ghana. Its insane to think that I have less than a month left here. Here’s some statistics from our trip.
1 trip
2 countries
3 people
6 days starting at 5 am or earlier
9 days
40 km on a bike
55+ hours in buses
Day 1
We started out last Friday a little after 5. We got to circle but unfortunately our bus did not leave til 8. Eventually we got on the road to Tamale. Katie and I were in the back row which was most unfortunate because the backs are straight up. I was lucky though b/c there was an empty seat beside me and the guy next to that kept making sure no one sat there. I took Tylenol pm so I was able to sleep for about 6 hours of the trip and my seatmate kept tucking me in. so cute. After 13 hours in a bus we arrived in Tamale. A random Ghanaian helped us to find our hotel which turned out to be disgusting. The bed was of course covered in a single sheet that probably has not been changed in years. There were no working outlets, no running water, and the world’s hardest smallest double bed (not great for 3 people who have not had running back at school for over a day).
Day 2
We made do though and got up at 3:30 to walk to the bus station to find a bus to Mole national park. That turned out to be quite a process but eventually we got a private tro tro and made it to Mole by 9 0r 10. We had a delicious lunch and I swam in a pool! Mole hotel was by far the nicest place we have ever stayed in Ghana. Our room had 3 single beds, with sheets and pillows! We had a western toilet and a shower and a sink. Unbelievable. We all took naps and then went on a nature walk. We saw tons of baboons, monkeys, antelopes, and water bucks. Unfortunately NO ELEPHANTS! What the bejeezer! It was still really cool though but I really wanted to see an elephant. After a dinner of rice, of course, we went to bed because guess what time we needed to wake up? 3:30!
Day 3
We took that 3:30 am bus back to Tamale. It was quite a bumpy ride and unfortunately I could not sleep. A women got on the bus beside Shane shortly after 4 and was in labor. She had 3 other young girls with her and looked to be about our age. She didn’t make a sound during contractions just grasped her leg and someone else’s. She must have been waiting for the bus to take her to the midwife or something. I can’t imagine. That bus is the only form of transportation going that way and some days it is hours late! I am glad we were on time for her!
Day 4
Immediately upon getting to Tamale we got a tro tro to Bolgatanga. Even though being in transit so much is sort of unfortunate, we got to see so much of the landscape of Ghana. The north is so much drier and the type of housing changed to almost solely mudbrick houses with thatch roofs. There also appeared to be much more poverty in the north—very tattered clothing and a much larger presence of clearly donated clothes bearing names of American schools and locations. We found a really yummy restaurant in Bolga and because lunch was so good (but took forever to arrive) we ordered dinner. We went to our hotel and it was so adorable and nice. The communal showers and bathrooms were super clean and the bed had sheets!
Day 5
Woke up after an excellent nights sleep at 6ish and got a bush taxi to Paga. There we met this cute little man who was our guide. He gave us a mini tour of the village and let us try on some traditional hats and bow and arrow stuff. Then we got to see the crocs! In this village killing a crocodile is the same leads to the same punishment that killing a human does. The crocodiles roam freely and they say they do not harm humans. We bought 2 chickens and with them coaxed a few crocs out of the water. I held one of the tails and even gave it a kiss! Paga was a ton of fun and super interesting.
We walked to the border where we met a Canadian volunteer who spoke French and shared a cab with us to Po, Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso looked so different from Ghana driving in. For the entire hour we did not pass through a single legitmate village only sporadic clusters of about 10 mud huts all enclosed within one circle. There was clearly no running water or power. Po was a village but very modest. We got delicious Fanta’s though and got to use a hole to go to the bathroom. Burkina Faso does Fanta really well. We continued on to Ougodougou (pronounced Wagadogoo). This was a big city and appeared more modern than what we have seen in Ghana. Interesting that there are such extremes in a country. Riding motorcycles/bikes is the thing to do here. Very interesting.
Finding a hotel was quite a task. Shane knows a wee bit of French and I am sometimes to understand because some words are similar to Spanish. Together we do not even come close to communicating well. We wanted to find a cheap hotel so we started asking around. Eventually we came across a guy who seemed to know someone who spoke English. His sister worked in a high class perfume shop and knew a small amount of English. At first she thought we were trying to find a bank to change money (clearly our communication skills were lacking) but after some charades we understood one another. She said that she and her brother would take us on their motorcycles to a place they knew, but then their taxi driver friend arrived. So the brother and the taxi driver took us to this hotel which was cheap as we like. The hole bathroom was a little gross and had no light, but our room had a shower (even though it lacked a door) so we took it. David (taxi driver) somehow communicated that he would be back to take us to dinner, which was amazing considering our limited French and his almost nonexistent English. He came back and there was a kid in his front seat, which we thought was his and that he was dropping him off at home before he took us to dinner. False, it was his sister-in-laws son and he took us to her house to meet her. Titi went to the U of Ghana so she spoke English and we had a blast sitting in her house and talking. Then David took us, and ate dinner with us at a random restaurant. Katie and I split a very mysterious pizza which had vegetables, eggs, and some undetermined meat, possibly grasscutter. After dinner I had to go to the bathroom but when I went to leave the door wouldn’t open. The door had no knob or anything but somehow it had locked itself. I was banging on the door and shouting at the top of my lungs but no one heard me. Eventually when Katie and shane were ready to leave Katie came to check on me and found me. I was so relieved! She somehow explained to the cook what happened and he used a knife to set me free. Apparently david had heard me but didn’t know how to tell Katie and shane! Haha, I would get stuck in a bathroom.
Day 6
We took yet another bus to Bobo. This is the second largest city in Burkina Faso towards the west. We decided to take a tour of the old village which is a mix of Islam and voodoo. Our tour was quite interesting considering our guide’s translation of French to English was sometimes humerous. There were times of beautiful kids and I spent most of the tour playing with them. Outside of the mosque I met these two little girls and I played and took pictures with them. Later when I saw them the little girl came running over to me and jumped into my arms. I WANT A BURKINABE BABY!!! Its amazing how much you can communicate without words especially with kids.
Day 7
This was an adventure of a day. All week shane and Katie had been discussing the plan to ride bikes 17 km to this waterfall in Banafora (about an hour and half outside of bobo). I was too embarrested to mention that I have not been able to ride a bike since knee surgery and was growing more anxious by the day. Eventually though, the time arrived and we had our bikes. A Burkinabe guy on a motorbike had agreed to lead us to the start of the trail to the waterfall. The road had been described as a pleasant dirt road. False. As we left the town Katie, Shane, and our guide stopped at the top of the hill since that is where he was going to leave us. As I crossed the street I realized that I could not stop.
As I careened straight for them I said “I don’t know how to stop!” and promptly fell right over after crashing into a bush. Our Burkinabe man was quite distressed and picked the bike off me and was concerned about my bleeding knee, arm, and shoulder. Shane and him went back to get a new bike and we continued our trip. The seat of this new bike was unfortunately much too tall and not very comfortable. We could not for the life of us find the waterfall and eventually had to get a farmer to lead us there. Once we finally arrived, exhausted and hot, we were pleased with the gorgeous waterfalls. We had lunch underneath mango trees and then played and explored the waterfalls and rocks. All too soon we had to head back. I switched bikes with Katie since her’s was shorter, but unfortunately was less stable. We were booking it back and acquired the company of another Burkinabe biker who persistently attempted to communicate with us despite our inablility to answer him. About 45 minutes into the ride we got to this roped off area and had to go along this hilly rocky edge. False, I am not that skilled. It was a major man down situation. I massacared my hands, re-opened up my knee, and got a baseball size bruise on the inside of the other knee. But I had know choice but to laugh at myself and keep going. Suffice to say I was quite excited when we got back and I could hold a cold Fanta between my bleeding and sore hands. It was still really fun though and feel excited that I have re-learned how to ride bike!
Day 8
Another travel day. We moseyed around Bobo until our bus left for the border. I re-read for the 3rd time A thousand splendid suns which was amazing as ever. We arrived at the border in the dark and of course met a friend who was eager to help us. The immigration office in Burkina Faso was lit solely by the flashlight held under the chin of the lone officer. Classic Africa. Then we went to the Ghana office which had real lights—classy! Once back in Ghana we found a hotel with the classic name of “by the power of God hotel.” We met another friend who helped us to get bus tickets for the bus the next morning. He kept talking to people who had seen the driver and we went from place to place in search of him. However, the town was quite wild because the former president Jerry Rawlings was due to arrive anytime and people were ecstatic. Eventually we found the driver asleep in a random building and he told us the bus would leave anytime between 2:30 and 5—“Africa time 3:30”. So we set our alarms for 2 am which would have been more upsetting if our bed hadn’t been filthy and hard and the bathroom or “pitch” hadn’t smelled awful and been a hole filled with visable cockroaches and god knows what.
Day 9
Having become complacent to bus rides, this 8 hour trip was fine except for the worse bathroom I have used my entire trip here. Words can not describe that experience, but suffice to say I will not miss that aspect of my time here. We arrived in Techiman and shnae split off to go see some caves and Katie and I went to Nkoramaza. This was by far my favorite part of the trip. We stayed at a place called Hand in hand which is a home for physically and mentally handicapped Ghanaian children. It was started by a dutch man and they take individuals who were abandoned or not functioning in hospitals as is common in Ghana because children are needed to work in family’s so children with special needs often are abandoned. The center was beautiful and boasts a workshop where many of the children make beads, necklaces, bags, and even kente. What pride they showed when pointing out their work. Katie and I played with beautiful children who were full of life and celebrating the exisistence that had almost been taken from them. I loved carrying the children, holding their hands, smiling into their eyes, and singing with their sounds. There were kids with autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and everywhere in between. One little girl, age 4, had been born without arms or legs. Her mother tried to throw her in the bush but the nurse rescued her and took her to hand in hand. Her beautiful smile and sweet “hello, goodbye” capture your heart. She does not need limbs to change hearts and brighten lives. I made some purchases from the store, had a wonderful shower, a delicious dinner, and decided that I want to come back. I would love to stay as a long-term volunteer there. What a meaningful and excellent place. Ahh, I want to go back now! Its hard for me not to smile when I think about it. (you should look it up—they have a website—look up Hand in Hand Ghana)!
Day 9
Today we woke up at 6:15 (late for this trip) and then got on a tro tro to Kumasi where we picked up another tro tro to Accra, and then another one back to campus. I loved coming back to Sophie and getting a giant hug. What a wonderful home I have here. It’s good to be back and crazy to realize I do not have too much longer.
If Home is where the heart is, I must have 2 homes because pieces of my heart are going to stay here forever!
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