In total we drove through five regions in Ghana. The journey to the North was a journey in itself. The roads were so incredibly bad that a significant amount of the ride I felt as if my seat was a saddle and the van was a horse and at times that horse was galloping. Imagine 10 people in a van for 6 plus hours a day bouncing on dirt roads. And because the roads were so bad, it took a major toll on the car. We had to make several stops to get the van fixed and for the last two days of the trip we went without air-conditioning. Since the van’s air was out we had the windows open which would be a lot nicer had there not been so much dust that consequently escaped into the van.
One of the times the van broke down in this small Northern village and a few of us got out to stretch. We started walking down a main trading road and everyone started looking our way. It felt like a scene straight out of a movie. Children's faces were filled with awe. It’s the strangest feeling being (potentially) the first white person a child has ever seen. Some children were frightened by our presence but most started following us around in excitement. One young girl wanted just to touch us. This unexpected pit-stop reminded me of all the hidden beauty there is to discover.
Our first day was spent in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city. A map of Kumasi brags that “all roads are paved” here. Indeed Kumasi is quite modern, maybe even more modern than Accra and also much busier than Accra. Before arriving in Kumasi we stopped at Greater Ashanti to visit the Ashanti historical museum. The Ashanti kingdom is the largest ethnic group in Ghana and the Ashanti is a familiar name to foreigners. There culture is very interesting and complex and because of the latter this is all I will say about them for now.
Day two:
On our way to Larabanga to go to Mole National Park we stopped at Kintampo to enjoy the breathtaking Kintampo Falls which lie on the Pumpum River. This was my first time actually standing underneath a waterfall and with effort I also made it inside the waterfall.
Day three:
We woke up at 6am to begin our safari through Mole National Park. In the early morning is when the animals are out most. Before we even started our hike we saw tons of baboons as we walked towards the camps meeting place. I’m talking like 20 plus baboons just sitting around.
Within the first 10 minutes of our ranger led hike we saw three wild elephants!!! You know how everyone has a life-long to do list (AKA bucket list)…well to see wild elephants was on my list. They were so spectacular. I was ~20 meters away from the huge creatures and it was one of the most exhilarating experiences. Our ranger would yell “everyone move back” as the elephants started to walk in our direction and we’d have to start running back. I learned that at their full speed elephants are the second fastest animal, crazy! They have super poor eye sight though and can really only see you if your closer than 20 meters. I also saw tons of warthogs (like Pumba from the Lion King) and antelope. If we would have gone in the dry season (when the vegetation is little) we would have seen more animals but that’s alright.
We took a 15 minute drive to see a famous Islamic mosque and a spiritual stone. When we arrived at the mosque, as soon as we opened the van’s door, children ran up to us—all wanting to hold our hands. As one of our guides started to talk about the history of the mosque it was hard to pay attention because one of the girls holding my hands had this plastic bag filled with brown liquid around her hand. My first reaction was to think the worst: was she missing a hand? Or, was this some sort of punishment? The older guy next to me explained that around her hand was juice from the baobao tree and it was their practice to dye the hand skin. The skin underneath the fingernails and cracks on the hands had a reddish tint. Before we left, I gave a few cedis to an older child who said he was fundraising for his school.The Mole Motel we stayed at had an outdoor pool where we spent most of our free time. Megan and I (the two whitest girls in the group) decided to borrow Naima’s sunblock. About 10 minutes after generously applying the lotion to our face, neck, and shoulders we realized that the bottle said “sun intensifier.” Our faces were burning like hell and upon realization we both jumped at the same time into the pool to try to save our skin and stop the chemical reaction we were having to it. Luckily the burning sensation seized and I was able to avoid extreme sunburn.
It was also during our pool side relaxation that one brave baboon started to walk really close to where we were sitting. One of the waitresses then yelled at us to use a chair to shoo him away. The baboon was looking directly into Ric’s eyes like he was going to attack or do something of the nature.
Day Four:
We left Mole National Park early the next morning to go back to Kumasi. By this time the sight of the van was beginning to make me feel slightly nauseous in anticipation of the rough ride ahead. After several delays, we finally arrived at the Hotel that we stayed in Kumasi that first night. The difference between that hotel and the Mole motel were far and many. In the hotel in Kumasi i was able to take a hot shower for the first time since I arrived in Africa. Nothing can quite explain how wonderful that shower felt. To be able to step in the water without first holding your breath because the shock of the cold water makes it hard to breath, to be able to shower and actually feel like you're truly clean afterward and not just like you moved the dirt around, and the best part, to be able to shower not because you have to but because you want to...it was so amazing. At Mole Motel it wasn't just that I was not spoiled with hot water, we didnt have any running water! There were buckets of water in our bathroom because the running water goes out so often.
Another thing about Mole Motel is that the restaurant service was probably the strangest I have ever had. The waitresses always looked at us as if we were ruining their lives and the food orders were always mixed up or missing. But the biggest thing was that the food was always brought out at different times. One morning we all ordered breakfast at the same time. I simply ordered scrambled eggs and toast. The time between when everyone else got their food and when I got mine was well over a half hour. And what I don't get is, it's not like they couldn't understand us because Joe was arguing in Twi and it's not like they forgot about me because we told them several times and its not like they had to spend much time making it.
Anyway, enough ranting. Back at Kumasi we went to the largest market in Ghana where I got a few nifty things for cheap.
Day Five:On our last day we got to see how Kente cloth is made. Ghana is perhaps best known for Kente cloth, which is hand-made interwoven fabric. Each cloth has either a pattern or a symbol that represents something. Symbols like 'back to your roots,' 'i'm not afraid,' 'strength in family,' etc. I bought a silk kente cloth which I think i did an impressive job bargaining for the price.
About 15 minutes from home we drove past a car accident. I didn't see it but others did and I guess there was a dead body lying on the ground. To be a pedestrian in Accra is quite scary. Here, there is no pedestrian's have the right away rule and car accidents are many.
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