Friday July 1st republic day in Ghana. It is a holiday and there are just as many vendors on the street as any other day. Señora called Samuel the cab driver and he was off. She mistakenly called him again and said "I can not drive you today".
We ate breakfast at the Afia and packed our bags. We took a cab to the bus station and the bus was an hour late. Kristen and Bridget had to go to the bathroom. They were supposed to pay but didn't realize it until señora and amy went and said that they paid to use the bathroom. Thank goodness we brought in our own toilet paper is all we have to say.
Finally we departed around two o'clock when we were suppose to leave at 1230. The driver announced in English before we left that we should all say an amen for a safe journey and then repeated the same thing in tre. It was like taking a greyhound bus but it made some unexpected stops and deliveries along the way. We noticed that as deliveries were made men would jump off the bus and relieve themselves. It took us awhile to get out of Accra. It is so congested and busy. We passed the kaneshie market an incredibly busy market that was on the amazing race. Vendors dodged in and out of traffic selling their wares. Yam sellers were especially prevalent and at one point we saw lots of young men selling yams in all three lanes of traffic. It was equivalent to carrying about 12 two liter bottles of soda. Once out in the countryside, we saw such poverty. Village after village with tin shacks, dilapidated homes that words can't even describe. At times, we saw shacks across from breathtaking oceanside.
As we neared Cape Coast, we began to see long wooden boats beached on the shore. Only for a brief moment, we saw dozens of men sliding a new boat down a launch. It was about 20 feet long and 1 man wide. It looked to have been carved from a single tree. We didn't arrive to Coconut Grove until after dark but were impressed with our new lodging.
Before dinner we walked the beach, which was much cleaner than in Accra. Dinner was one of the most delicious yet. We are confident that our stay here will be enjoyable as our busy days are yet to come.
High Life Saturday
Today we were awoken by Nana Ghana yelling at us "If you want to have breakfast you better get up!" and so we got up for our breakfast of eggs, toast, croissants and espresso. And some even dared to have fresh pineapple juice. Bridget is still holding out on the juice! We spent the day relaxing and rejuvenating by the pool for our adventures ahead. We planned our days here in Cape Coast and Shopped with an excellent jeweler named Kojo who sprang up from the beach. Tilley and Señora ventured down the road to Theresa's shop filled with Ghanian crafts. The highlight of our day was dancing to high life music with Ghanian hotel guests amid even received dance lessons from a Ghanian woman. Tilley is a natural high life dancer. She definitely has the moves when it comes to high life and even received a compliment from our dance tutor. It is a beautiful night here on the beach in Cape Coast. We are looking to our adventure at Kakum National Park tomorrow!
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