Going, Going, Ghana!

So far, we've gone through Guinea, Sierra Leone, Guinea again, Cote D'Ivoire, and now we've reached GHANA, the land of plenty-- of tourists. Despite feeling way less badass, we are loving all that Ghana has to offer. Highlights so far include:

1. Not getting asked for a bribe at the border! First time in the entire trip! They checked EVERYONE"S papers, not just the whites' and it was the most organized crossing we've ever had!
2. Green Turtle Lodge in Dixcove. Backpacker paradise on the ebach, complete with a giant boat-bar, happy hour when it rains, ping pong, pool table, lots of other games, young people, and a fun camp feel. Although, as excited as I was at first to see other white poeple, it got kind of old.
3. Dixcove's crazy riptide. I was trying to converse with a fellow expat while out in the water. He dove neatly under each wave and continued easily wherever he'd left off. I however, was trying to look as cool as possible while recovering from some washing machine tumbles, coming up spluttering and readjusting my ill-fitted bathing suit.
4. Cape Coast-- got in just in time to see the Ghana vs. Aussie match. They DOMINATED, but it still unfortunately ended only in a tie. (We are about to watch the Ghana vs. Germany match in a bus station. I have a sweet patriotic hat and SNAP BRACELET and Booboo has a headband/sash.)
5. Ice cream venders on bicylces. What a wonderful world.
6. English language bookstores! Almost better than food!
7. Street food: red-red, fried chicken, fufu, fish, octopus, popcorn... the best street food yet!
8. Kakum Park: the canopy walkways are quite cool. The views are absolutely gorgeous and it's an incredibly enjoyable experience being up so high but still completely safe. I have to admit I had a bit of a superiority complex come in when the other people on our tour were freaking out a little. I personally felt disappointed by how completely unscary it was-- couldn't even raise my pulse! So I was rolling my eyes at the other peoples' squeals and at the "I survived the Walkway" tee-shirts. Come on! There's a huge sturdy safety net encompassing every bridge, sturdy fenced-in railings, and the walkway is so secure, they say it could take the weight of an elephant! These people should try carrying their bikes over the bridge to Ingli! (Which, it should be noted, I myself was too scared to do-- thanks, Matt and Jordan!) So, very immaturely, I danced across the bridges and boycotted the railings. (Mother, I can hear your gasping protests from here... Sorrrry!)


9. We were going to camp in the "platforms among the trees" but it ended up being kind of a rip-off to camp a foot off the ground in a closed-up park. The flight crew from our tour somehow rejected our charming plea for a ride out, but karma may have had its way with them later. Their and our destination, Accra, was unreachable. The two bridges were washed out completely by the floods. It was crazy. So far, I've heard 35 people died from it all. But when our tro-tro hit the traffic jam at the river, we didn't know any of that. The car emptied out and the other passengers walked about a mile through stopped-up taffic to cross the rushing waters by foot. We hung around for a while, hoping for a refund for the other half of the trip. When it was clear our driver was nowhere around, we hoisted our bags (I HATE MY BAKCPACK) and set out after the others. Most people stayed in their cars and gaped as we passed them. If they were in a high-engine car, some could brave it eventually, but the others had to turn back. As we finally got to the water ourselves, the offers of, "I carry your bags across just two ceedis!" increased exponentially. I pulled up my pant legs and we took off our flip flops to wade through. Booboo was a bit nervous about the dirty water, but I already have schisto. I've also waded through many many many dirty waters in Senegal, sometimes up to my chin with my backpack on my head or my bike on my shoulder, so this didn't really phase me. It was more fun, if anything. With the miles of stuck cars and fellow barefoot waders, there was a great feeling of community. We laughed and waved and shook our heads as we passed each other. Everyone had their arms around each other and helds held to steady one another in the current. I had Billy Joel's "And we will all go down together" song in my head, though of course I was trying to change it from "go down" to "cross over safetly". It was sweet, really.

Booboo was a bit nervous at the second and deeper section. We paused and while a group of guys and I tried to give her a pep-talk, a truck with a long empty flatbed splashed through. We all cheered and clambored on (I was completely ungraceful scrambling from the tire and over the ledge with my huge backpack pulling me like a magnet back towards the ground). It was a great ride with 10 other grinning guys. The wind pipi longstocking-ed my hair, but it was still a great way to see the place.

10. The best part of the ride came from a guy who was creepily filming us with his camera phone. Usually I try to step away from these, but since I couldn't on the truck, he got a film of me boringly sitting there. Booboo, however, was completely oblivious of his camera work and he got a FANTASTIC one of her shoving plantain chips very unattractively into her mouth. I'm laughing just writing it. She was truly and gruesomely Stuffing Her Face, and joke's on him if he wanted some hot video of the white chicks he rode with! He showed us these videos on the tro-tro we shared to get to the same neighborhood in Accra. We cracked up until I had tears streaming down my face. One time Booboo took MB and me to an Angels game and we watched this lady i front of us more than the game. She was sucking all the salt off her unshelled peanuts at a frantic pace with a specific process to it. We and about 6 other people stared fascinated at her as she did this and dropped the whole unshelled peanuts on the ground. This strange behavior in addition to her ridiculously 45 degree angle penciled-in eyebrows inspired all of us to snap photos and videos of her while the less interesting game continued in the background. I share this warm memory with all of you because my theory is that, in Ghana, at least, BOOBOO IS THE PEANUT LADY! This video is the greatest part of my trip so far.
11. Accra: we are staying at "The Beverly Hills Hotel." Except that this Beverly hills has a boatload of cockroaches and replaced the shower in the middle of our stay so we couldn't use it. I'd still recommend it though-- just don't buy the 3 ceedi nescafe!
12. Touristy things: markets, art gallery, Cape Coast Castle (complete with Obama plaque), Sunday church services, lighthouse...
13. Sign advertising "Emergency Ambulence/ Hearse Services!" I'd count on them for the second thing only!

Well with that, we've still got half of Ghana to go! Stay tuned! (By the way is anyone reading this? I feel kind of stupid if I'm writing to next to no one.. Could you comment if you're reading?)