Homeward bound

Amazingly, getting home from Ghana turned out to be more difficult than coming in.  We started off in Anomabu and first needed to get back to Cape Coast.  First thing in the morning, after we enjoyed complimentary breakfast, of course, we walked to the road to flag down a Tro Tro (shared van) into the city.  After waiting 5 or so minutes a taxi stopped. I was anxious about time so we took it despite the inflated price.  We told the taxi man we needed to catch a bus to Kumasi and he took us straight to a parking lot that serves as a bus station.  The first bus was full and we had to wait in line to buy tickets to the next.  For whatever reason, they don’t sell tickets for the next bus until it arrives.  It’s almost as if they are afraid it may never show. The next hour or so is spent waiting in line. 

We get to Kumasi late afternoon, as soon as we drop our bags at a hotel we head towards the STC bus station to buy tickets for tomorrow.  First I call the PC bureau to get the green light to come home; with the recent civil unrest we were told not to come back without clearance.  Everything has settled down and we’re clear to come back, however we should avoid going through Po, the main boarder between Ghana and Burkina.  Once at STC we ask the lady about the bus that runs from Kumasi to Zabre, the bus we see in Zabre every week, the bus we wanted to take from Zabre to Kumasi when coming into Ghana.  Yes, there is a STC bus that goes from Kumasi to Zabre.  We’d like 2 tickets on that bus, please.  No, you can’t get on the bus here.  Apparently the route is from Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, to our little neighboring village Zabre, Burkina Faso, with a stop in Kumasi, Ghana.  You may get on at either end of the route and get off wherever you please, but you can’t get on the bus along the route.  Hhhhmmmm, well that throws a kink in our plans.  The best we can do, and still avoid Po, is to take the bus to Bolgatanga and get onward transport from there. 

At first she tells us the bus to Bolga is full, but then sells us tickets anyways.  We’re weary of our sold out tickets, but the next morning everything goes smoothly, except the bus is several hours late .  After everyone, or almost everyone, has boarded there is a well-dressed lady next to the bus who making a big fuss, yelling at the STC men.  It appears that her and a younger woman, maybe another person, were suppose to be on that bus and the ticket collectors wouldn’t let them on.  She was furious.  I pray we weren’t given her seats.  Meanwhile, Josh is miserable.  He started to come down with a stomach bug the night before and today has a fever and is shitting as much as the surroundings allow.  The STC bus is air conditioned, and they are so proud of that fact they keep it on full blast.  We were both freezing.  At the one food break along the way we went in search of a sweater or blanket for him, but all we could find was a cheap towel.  The rest of the ride Josh was curled up in his towel trying not to poop himself.     

We arrive in Bolga very late that night, and after Josh has an emergency poop in a field, we head to a cheap hotel.  After asking around, the bus for Bawku leaves at 6 am in the morning, so we only have a few hours to get some sleep.  As to be expected, we had a little bit of a late start the next morning, plus we only had a vague idea of where the bus station was, so I was happy when the only car on the road we were walking on was a cab.  He drove us to the parking lot where all the metro busses left and we immediately got on the bus to Bawku.  Any later and we would have missed it.  The bus is a metro bus, and it’s exactly what you’d think of as a metro bus, in a big city.  There are 2 seats on one side and one seat on the other, with poles and lots of standing room in the middle. Perfect for fitting in a lot of people to get across town.  But we were taking this bus 2 or more hours across the country.  We were the last on, so we were standing.  

While still on the metro bus we start asking people about where to go to get a car to Zabre, so as soon as the bus is parked in Bawku a gentleman offers to take us to find a car.  Thank God for nice people all across the world! He takes us to a small little waiting area along the main road, really just a wooden bench and a bunch of people hanging around.  I hear a woman talking in Bissa and Moore and know we’re almost home.  Right away a man says “How are you, my friend?” and gives Josh a big hand shake.  It’s the driver who brought us into Ghana 2 weeks before.  His car is full, but he tells us to wait here and his brother, also a driver, is coming shortly.  The next vehicle that pulls up is a Camion, what the La Rousse dictionary translates as a lorry or a truck; think an open back semi that is mostly used to transport lumber.  Josh and I look at each other, then pile in with everyone else before there is no more room.  However, in Africa, there is always more room.  The bottom of the truck is filled, unevenly,with full rice sacks going  into Burkina, and on top is all the women, children and baggage, literally sitting on top of each other.  For a while I had a women sitting on my feet, supporting her back with my legs.  At another point a small girl was snuggled into me, as if I had my arm around her, all her weight being held up by my arm.  All the men sat along the sides, clinging to the bars that make up the open walls of the camion.  At one point I tried to count how many people were crammed in, about 40 men, 40 women, and 12 children/ babies.  Uncomfortable, to say the least.  We briefly stopped at a police checkpoint, probably on the Ghana side since the man spoke to us in English.  He asked where we were going, but didn’t care to see our papers.  I think he was just amused to see 2 white people traveling on a back road in such a manor.  We unloaded a few rice sacks for the officer, and then continued on.

This route into Burkina first stops in our closest neighbor PCV’s village, and we actually drove right past her house.  I was really hoping she’d be outside and see us, but she wasn’t.  I thought about yelling to her as we drove past her house, but decided that might be too weird for our fellow travelers.  The camion stopped in the marche and we all piled off.  That marche is pretty big and there is a lot of commerce between Ghana and Burkina there; that would be the final destination for most of the people until evening when they would return to Ghana.  From there we would take a normal bush taxi to Zabre, where our bikes were, and then bike home.  We had to wait for the car to fill before we could leave.  It was almost noon, and the marche was just heating up, so not many people ready to leave.  It felt ridiculous to be stuck in a village less then 10K from our house, waiting on a car for several hours, but at least we were in Burkina.  At least we were home.                           

Highlights from Ghana

I’ve come to the realization that if I continue to play catch-up on my blog I’ll be blogging about my time in the Peace Corps for the next five years.  Still, I feel I can’t just leave you in the middle of our vacation to Ghana.  So I’ll attempt to stray away from my over-detailed story writing and just summarize some highlights. 

Busha:

Right out of the car we found Frank the Juice Man.  He roams the streets, restaurants, and beach offering to make you whatever homemade juice is in season.  Luckily he showed up just as we were ordering breakfast at Daniel the Pancake Man’s, and made us some fresh orange juice.  The real stuff, just oranges in a bottle, none of this orange sugar water crap they have in Burkina.  Daniel the Pancake Man was also a find- It’s a little restaurant setup at Daniel’s house, and he only makes pancakes.  The menu has quite the selection too.  (Tip for Americans: order the American style or you’ll get crêpes).  However, my pick for breakfast foods is the lady working out of window of the Black Star Surf Shop- get the surfers breakfast, seriously the best breakfast I’ve had in Africa (They had strawberry jam and real toast!).  I suppose while I’m on the topic of food, I should mention Nana’s Place.  Nana’s is a must if you’re in Busua, however I highly suggest you order your food hours, if not days, in advance because he is literally homecooking a meal just for you.  Also, he’ll tell you he can make anything on the menu, even if it’s not in season, and then sort of sneakily get you to agree to something you didn’t order.  We went for dinner and ordered lobster and shark; he said it’d be ready in an hour.  When we came back he had just returned from the market- there is no fridge so you pay him and he goes and buys all the ingredients fresh.  We sat outside at a little table and watched him cook along the side of the street- finally eating 2 hours later.  He couldn’t buy the shark, so made extra lobsters, at a slightly extra cost, but promised if we came back for lunch the next day he’d have it.  We wanted to take a surf lesson at high tide at 2, so we told him lunch had to be ready at noon.  When we got there he was just returning from the fishing boats, no shark today, but he had purchased giant prawns and more lobsters.  Can’t argued with giant prawns, but the lobsters put us over the price limit we had set for lunch, so we told him we just wanted the prawns.  Needless to say, we missed the surf lesson and he served us the lobster as well, however we were able to negotiate their price.  Despite the annoyances, the food is amazing and the experience is worth it.  And don’t forget to sign Nana’s wall! 

Fort Metal Cross is in the bustling fishing village next door, Dixcove, and is a pleasant walk from Busua.  The fort is owned by a European family who also live there, and while it’s slightly awkward to be touring a historic site and walk in on a family eating breakfast, it’s worth a look; if only to instill the dream of one day buying an exotic Fort.  Since it’s privately owned you must pay a tour guide get in, but they are local and seem to know a lot (as far as we could tell…)

Butre

Butre is a small, remote fishing village that offers The Hideout, a literal hideout that comes highly recommended from Ghana PCVs.  It’s difficult to get there by taxi, so Lonely Planet suggests an easy 2 km hike from the Busua beach, which is the option we went for.  We headed off along the beach, and when we found a path near the end of the beach we took it.  An hour into the jungle, we still had not seen another person, yet we trudged on.  The path was just a foot path, not large enough for a donkey cart or even a bike really, and curved around large hills deeper and deeper into the wilderness.  Finally I dropped my pack and decided to climb up a mountain to get a better view, surly if we couldn’t see the village or the ocean we needed to turn back.  To my surprise, at the top was a woman and her children working the crops they had planted into the side of the mountain.  We told her where we were headed and she told us we took the wrong path.  She called to the lady working the hilltop next door and that lady told us to come over and she’d take us to the path.  She led us out of the wilderness and we discovered the right path was labeled “To Butre,” 50 feet from the path we had taken.  Climb up a steep path and you can clearly see the village below, it’s breath taking. 

The Hideout is perfect if you want to be perfectly secluded.  There seemed to be only 2 other groups staying there, and nothing much nearby.  However, the beach is a bit step for ideal sunbathing.  The Hideout also offers “tree house” lodging, which is pretty much a small room on stilts with a small tree growing underneath it, but they still have a small fan and electricity rigged to them.  Worth it just because it’s different. 

Cape Coast

Despite being on the coast, Cape Coast does not offer much in the way of beaches, which is a shame.  However, Cape Coast Castle is well worth a visit.  If it’s good enough for Obama to visit, it’s good enough for me (yes, his visit is commemorated with a plaque).  The true gem of Cape Coast, in my opinion, is Baobab.  Baobab is a restaurant that serves hip vegetarian fare that is all organic, and supports Moringa (PC LOVES Moringa!), as well as a great little shop, and now a small guesthouse.  Baobab runs/is a children’s foundation which teaches children how to grow organic produce, cook, and trade skills, so all that’s in the shop was made from the students and all proceeds, form everything Baobab, go back into the children.  I give the whole set-up a five star rating (Dream job to work with an organization like that?  I think so). 

From Cape Coast, it’s well worth a day trip to Elmina.  Take a shared car though, not a taxi, or you’ll pay 10x more!  In Elmina is St. George’s Castle, both Josh and I’s favorite.  It’s huge, beautiful, full of history, and has a really put together museum.  After the tour, go exploring on your own!  Across the street from St George’s is Fort St. Jago.  The climb up the hill to the fort is steep but worth it.  It’s comparatively small and the upkeep is lacking, but you get to explore the fort on your own; we had fun imaging what we’d do with the place if we bought it (Josh’s new dream is to buy a fort).           

Side note: Han’s Cottage Botel sounds really cool, suppose to be suspended over a crocodile swamp, but not worth going out of your way for.  Only the restaurant is over the swamp, and while there are real crocs in it, they are not that exciting.  Plus, they have poor service (they messed up our order and then over charged, but it wasn’t worth dealing with them to fix it…).      

Since Cape Coast is lacking a beach, we decided to go elsewhere for our last day on the coast.  The best Lonely Planet could suggest to us was Anomabu Beach Resort, in Anomabu 45 minutes up the coast.  As soon as we walked into the place we realized we were way out of our league, and social class.  It’s by far the nicest resort I’ve been too, full of foreigners and rich Africans on spring break; with pretty reasonable prices, I’d suggest it to anyone going to Ghana.  They do pity the backpacker and offer a tenting option on the beach, literally next to the shore, truly beautiful (one downfall- the bathroom facilities are the changing rooms set up for day users).  Word for the wise, as we checked out we discovered the prices are slightly more expensive then Lonely Planet reports, and for the price of a rented tent for two, you might as well get the cheapest room for a couple dollars more.