Touristy Me

It’s funny actually how untouristy Ghana is, EVEN the touristy part. Which, I guess in many ways makes it great “unexpected” touristy fun (sometimes that you can laugh about only afterwards though). Here are some of the last few months’ highlights from my touristy and/or untouristy escapades (you be the judge)…

From the depths of dungeons (I blogged about earlier here), I made my way up a jungle of mountain in order to enjoy the Kakum National Park canopy walk. 

True, I am a sucker for rollercoasters, paragliding, ziplining, speed, height, etc - anything that results in an adrenaline rush, but let me assure you, those ropes were adrenaline inducing in a baaaad way. I was halfway along between one tree and the next feeling very Mowgli-ish straight out of The Jungle Book when, er, I made the horrible mistake of…… looking down. Nooooo! The sight genuinely scared me! Not the sight of the plunging mountainous slope below, but what was literally under my feet! The suspended walkway on which I traversed the jungle high up in the air, well, was actually a few ladders just pieced together, with a plank of wood placed on top, all held together with some rope that was tearing apart in some places!!! Please refer to the picture below if you need proof to believe me. 

Ok, so maybe I’m exaggerating a little, because apparently it can “withstand the weight of an elephant” according to our guide (I sincerely hope no one got offended!) Oh it was all good fun at the end of the day - it IS better to be curious than cautious.

And in an effort to be more curious, Nix and I took out her “trusty” Lonely Planet guide one night. We noticed how Jamestown is heavily featured as the seaside historic district of the country’s capital, Accra. So how could we leave Ghana without having seen it, right? When we stepped out of our cab at this very destination with our cameras ready to go, we looked around us, a little… confused. Perplexed. Huh?!? Correct me if I’m wrong, but when you imagine a historic district, don’t you imagine a group of buildings or sites that have been designated as historically or architecturally significant? All we could see were shacks and wooden stalls and just plain old derelict rundown buildings (if you can even call them buildings, since it would require them to be actually built). Hence the confusion. And not only on our faces, but on every tourist’s face. Really? THIS is “it”?!?! We just CAME from a shanty-like village that was no different, 3 hours away! Anyway, we decided to make the most of Jamestown and climb up the lighthouse to enjoy the view of such a “historic district” from above. 

BUT I think we enjoyed an even better view from above, haha! 

(Notice my naughty smile?)

Now THAT was a truly historic moment!

Since we were at the beach, I just HAD to get my toes wet. Only this time, you do NOT want to know what I accidentally stepped in. I overestimated the length of my stride (see? I’m not thaaaat tall!) and assumed I could long jump my way over some running sewage. Boy was I wrong! 

And that is how I started my journey on a desperate search for soap. Not any kind of soap, but the medicated antiseptic kind surgeons use before operations! Ukh, talk about one hell of a cold bucket shower that night (in the privacy of my luxurious en-suite bathroom, thank you very much).

This thorough scrubdown brings to mind another day on which one was equally needed. On several occasions, I’d been asked “Have you seen The Falls?” “Have you been to the waterfalls?” So I knew that this must be at the top of my list of Things To Do in Ghana. After taking a taxi to Kasseh Junction, a trotro to Tema roundabout, then another to Tema Station, then waiting in line for another trotro, which took us (actually more like flew us)  to Koforidua, we hopped into another taxi that would finally drop us off at our much anticipated destination. We thought we’d see other tourists, or at least other people, but no, just 3 were in sight. “You here to see waterfalls? No water”. As I wondered how that could be possible since the very word “waterfall” means actual water that falls, he elaborated further… “It is dry season. Which doesn’t usually affect us this way, but you are unlucky there is no water this time. But you can hike to the umbrella rock and the three-headed palm tree”. So much for my packed bikini and towel, huh?  

Well, since we were the only uneducated tourists to FINALLY find ourselves at the waterless Boti Waterfalls, of course we had to see something, anything, that would make our trip, well, less unsuccessful shall we say? Now I’ve handled a coupla challenging hikes in my day (I still have some elbow scars from the last one at Balou3 Bal3a, right before I left Lebanon), but never have I seriously attempted such hiking activity lugging a backpack, wearing flip flops AND taking anti-malaria meds. I have been strongly advised against taking Lariam due to the severe side-effects everyone seems to experience. But my body has handled it really well, relatively speaking, and I'm happy to inform you I have not experienced any suicidal tendencies (yet). The only real difference I noticed personally was with my several repeated requests of “come again?” and with the odd collisions I’ve experienced with people walking well out of my path. But I had never really put my ears to the test before this truly unfortunate day. Which was truly unfortunate! Because my balance was totally off. I was crazy dizzy and all I could see were leaves and rocks, bees and bright red ants, all just coming at me from all directions and angles. I couldn't help but whimper with every unsteady step I took (in my flippityflipflops, remember). Even things that usually come naturally to me, like breathing for example, were difficult. I was holding my breath and forgetting to breathe out of pure fear. Looking back, I probably shouldn’t have pushed myself so hard. Was it worth it? Umm, at least I got to see a freak of nature...

...and the Umbrella Rock

(brings to mind the Pride Rock, no?)

But you know what? The series of unfortunate events was not yet over. My flip flops came apart just as we were leaving and arriving at the market, which I guess is more fortunate than unfortunate. Hakuna matata, right? So bare-foot I roamed until we found our trotro line. Our never-ending trotro line. Many local shoppers in Koforidua enjoyed a good laugh at my expense! They were pointing at me and pointing out the fact that I needed slippers. Yes, thank you very much, it has "slipped" my attention, but what I really need is to be pointed in the direction of where I could buy such slippers! The search was on as I weaved my way through the crowd and dodged every puddle of, er, unknown liquid, I could manage to jump over. It looked like Africa was wearing off on me literally. My feet were genuinely black. Black I tell you! Ukh once again, talk about one hell of a cold bucket shower that night (yes, again, in the privacy of my luxurious en-suite bathroom, thank you very much).

On another day, a Sunday, Nix & I decided to hit the museum, despite Godwin’s advice not to. “You want to go to the museum today? I don’t think you’ll be lucky”. But hey, every guide book said it’d be open. And besides, YOU try naming a single museum worldwide that is NOT open on a Sunday! However, truth is, as I looked out my side window once we made it to the capital, I could barely recognize the city because there were no cars on usually traffic-ridden roads! Uh-oh, it looked deserted which sure wasn’t an encouraging sign. Hey, we risked it and came this far, we were GONNA go to this museum, closed doors or not! And guess what? Our sheer determination paid off. We marched through the corridors of the national museum in triumphant solitary satisfaction, with a wide grin on our faces. Sure, we were the only ones in the building excluding the ticket lady and security guard, but it felt like we hit the jackpot. Imagine, a whole museum just to ourselves! I really enjoyed the intricate woodwork, ritual dolls, and extremely interesting jewelry. Seriously, check out this necklace! (Enlarge the picture if you need to)

What I was truly fortunate with was my trip to Kumasi, the relatively far-off second major city in Ghana. It’s not so geographically far, but is oh so very difficult to get to. Usually, it would take around 7 hours by treacherous road, if not more, should you happen to have a relatively sane bus driver. I was very lucky however, to land in Kumasi after 45 minutes of leaving Accra via the smallest aircraft I have ever boarded. Take a look at the size of a passenger vs. the cabin! 

I’m very thankful to the Kumasi Lebanese crowd (especially Avedis, Adonis & Haidab) I had the pleasure to meet and converse with in Arabic. They really took me in. Literally. Check out this feast at Avedis’ home (kafta w batata was on the menu, yum). 

He even gave me a private VIP  tour of his LLL company factory, 

the region’s leading timber exporter. 

Some boy toys were downright dangerous.

You do NOT wanna clip your nails on this bad boy!

Ooo, I got take-away bacon flavored wood on the way out!

mm, mm, mm!

I felt jealous of wood, believe it or not!!! 

Aw, it was going to Beirut without me :(

HOWEVER, Avedis assured me that another batch of wood 

was going back to Sega with me!!! :) Yeeey!

Which brings to mind the winning monologue from Madame Nix's class Godwin and I had the pleasure to judge.

So for this Avedis, many many thanks the kids and their chairs send your way!

No but really, it has been great to witness how successful the Lebanese are at whatever they put their minds to.

I, like, totally hope from the bottom of the bottom of my heart, we can put our great minds and hearts together. To, to, like, er, change the world? So let’s just, um, SHARE THE WORLD! Oh, and yes, I vote for world peace. Thank you [with a side-ways wave to the crowds, and a batting of the eyelashes]