February 6, 2011

Finally, we are off the ship and into a new country!  9 days at see wasn’t too bad, but it’s nice to be on flat land again, even though it took a bit to adjust to the floor beneath me not swaying back and forth any more.  As soon as Jake and I left the ship, we walked to the end of the gate where locals were outside waiting to sell us their goods and offer us rides.  Luckily, we immediately found our personal driver, Eric, and his friend, Eric.  I know it’s confusing but with three Eric’s and one Jake in a car actually makes it easier to communicate.  After getting acquainted with these guys, we set off for a day full of sights and activities in Ghana.  The first place we headed to was the largest castle and slave dungeon off the Ghana coast.  After touring this significantly dreadful place, we headed off to a place to eat, where we not only ate some of the best food in my life, but we also petted a massive alligator, which was directly next to us where we were eating lunch.  Next, we headed off to a national park, where we climbed suspended rope canopies through a beautiful forest.  After the long hike, we started our long journey to Accra, which gave me a different perspective on traffic and the way people drive at home.  The roads here are basically “anything goes”, and I think we passed through more police barricades than I’ve ever even seen in a movie.  Once we reached Accra, we entered the house we are staying at for the next couple days.  The family is so comforting, and their two kids, Michael, 21 and Rachel, 22 and very welcoming and easy to talk to.  For dinner, we ate some of the spiciest food I’ve ever laid my buds on, but it was one of the best home cooked meals I’ve had in a while.  Once we were all done with dinner, and we had a delicious fresh mango desert, Jake, the two Eric’s and I headed off to a bar called Champs, to watch the Super bowl (which  by the way didn’t start until 11:30 here, thank you time change).  For the first time in Ghana, we saw more white people than just Jake and I.  The game was awesome, even though we didn’t stay the whole time, and now we’re headed to sleep… long day ahead of us tomorrow. 

I told some people that I should have Internet where I’m staying, well I don’t.  I’ve got limited access right now, and won’t be able to stay long. I doubt I’ll be able to get on skype to talk to some people, but I’m going to try and make it happen if possible.  Thanks everyone for everything, and until next time.