But before I get ahead of myself, I left out some key events that took place in Ghana between Christmas and my homecoming that deserve mention. As I spoke about in my previous post, we spent a few days with Becca's host family in Mampong over Christmas. After leaving mampong we then tro-tro'd it to Accra to give a teary good-bye to our beloved Mo. This was a sad day, Mo was really the perfect travel mate. We laughed, we cried, we ate foods that probably should have killed us, and there was not a dull or negative moment through any of it. Thats the mark of a great friend with whom I hope to be in touch with for many years to come. (You better be reading this Mo!)
But she left us nonetheless... We moped for a day or so and then hopped on the highway towards paradise, a little eco-friendy beach resort called the Green Turtle. Green Turtle Website
I promise you, if there are stars in the sky, that if you ever make it to Ghana, and stop by for a sojourn at this establishment and you are anything but amazed by the food you eat, the service they provide, or the activities they offer, IN THE MIDDLE OF WEST AFRICA!!!, I will pay your bill. Yeah, its that good.
After spending a few days longer than we anticipated in the arms of luxury, we set off for Kakum National Park. Kakum's website I was initially attracted to Kakum, not for its main tourist attraction, the canopy walk, a 300 meter(900 ft) suspended walkway that hovers over the forest's floor 33.3 meters (100 ft) below, but instead, we read that it was "possible" (a very funny word in Ghana that has soo MANY meanings) to hike to a field station about 20 kilometers into the bush where we stood a good chance to observe a herd of extremely rare forest elephants. These elephants which were once abundant throughout the forests of Ghana and other West African nations have seen a rapid decline in population due to poaching and even more prevalent, habitat destruction. They are now limited to one of two preserves in Ghana, Kakum and Mole (Northern region). I was itching to see and get some pictures of these guys, but unfortunately for the amount of money and hassle we would have had to put up with for the short amount of time we had to spend there we opted to be tourists for the day.
Canopy walk it was.
It actually turned out to be pretty cool. Picture Indiana Jones style rope/wooden plank bridge tied between trees way up above the canopy. However, instead of dodging poisonous darts and rolling boulders we were dodging camera toting tourists (some resembling boulders) and replace being chased by a crazy witch doctor priest and his army, we were running just as fast from the crazed taxi drivers who were more interested in your wallet rather than your heart. Fun times. All jokes aside, it was a fun experience. Its not every day you get to see a forest from a bird's eye view.
We then struck off for a bead market North of Accra, which turned out to be closed, because EVERYTHING closes on Sundays. Despite this setback, we managed to meet a woman who was really nice, a tad on the loopy side, but nice nonetheless, who's mother made beads and would sell some to us. After the transaction it was time to face the reality that there really is a real world out there and that my time away from it was growing short. We caught, what would be my last tro-tro ride back to Accra.
And after piddling around in Accra for a day, taking care of some last minute sight seeing and a little business, my time was up. I boarded my flight, made friends with my pillow, and woke up 11 hours later, an ocean away from what had so quickly become my home.
Culture shock that must have set off Richter scales up a down the eastern seaboard, sums up how I felt stepping off that plane in Baltimore. In only two months I had become so accustomed to the way of life in Ghana that I had completely forgotten how it worked here. Speed sums up so much of modern America, and as nice as efficiency is, you loose so much of the substance of life by rushing. A quote that I recite often in my head as I travel is "The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination." has taken on a new meaning to me as I step back into a world of haste and bustle. I never thought about it until now, but this quote applies to everyday life as much as it does to third world excursions or hikes in the mountains. So much of our lives are spend in transit, neither here nor there that if we are preoccupied with just "getting there" we miss out on so much that we could see along the way. So now, as I find myself waiting in line at the bank, or sitting in traffic, rather than gnaw my hand to a nub, I try to look around a bit more and take in what I would otherwise be speeding by. Just little words from a little man, but it makes sense to me so I thought I would share.
So im now back, living in Richmond, anxiously (but patiently) waiting for Becca to return, looking for that next path to open up. Please keep checking up on her at her blog: Beccasghanaway.
Thanks a lot for showing an interest in my trip to Ghana, if you are ever inclined to visit please let me know and I would be happy to help you prepare. I will also be giving presentations to help raise money for the orphanage in Tafi Atome in the coming months. I will announce these as the dates come up.
In my next post I will put up the best of my photos from Ghana and maybe a few that ive taken since ive been back.
Take care,
John
PS- I would love to keep people updated on whats happening in my life via this blog but unfortunately its hard to tell if anyone is reading. If you read this, and you would like me to continue to post please leave a comment. As long as people are reading I will keep posting.
