I had a LONG week... it was COMPLETELY fantastic and wonderful(I got to direct every day for hours and hours), but EXHAUSTINGG... By Saturday morning I just wanted to lay there and not move. However, since I have such a short time in Ghana, I decided to push myself and push forward.
I had a nice and calm day planned- I was going to go to the mall with a family I'm good friends with to celebrate Kylie's 11th birthday... she's pretty much my adopted niece(as is their 8 year old Savannah). We were going to go have lunch at the mall, followed by a movie and come back. All was good, until we got separated...
We all walked to the gate, where there are a ton of taxis waiting. Each family(3 in total) had 2 kids and 2 parents- fit perfectly in a taxi, then there were 5 of us... at this point I almost said 'I'll just go back' and just be sad all day, and part of me wishes I had, and the other part is glad I didn't. We told the taxi to take us to Community 1, where we'd then grab a tro-tro(a small bus) to the mall. The driver tells us to get out and of course tries to charge us almost twice the amount we were willing to pay, but I told him no, we told him where we were going, and that's all... he didn't argue;)
We're told to grab a tro-tro to Accra... I actually knew 0 of these things before we started, which had me on edge, but you know.. I went with it... thought it'd all pan out for me in the end..... We wound up in the car for over an hour and 1/2 when we were told the mall was only about 45 minutes from the port, and on back roads with crazy traffic- not quite as bad as Salone, but close... I wasn't too happy but was looking forward to the fun day at a mall...
The driver was taking a turn in what was very clearly Accra, and suddenly we heard a sound, felt a bump then heard a crazy grounding sound, the tro-tro leaned to 1 side, and I thought I knew what had happened- a flat... that makes sense, right? No. The driver gets out, and everyone files out- they know the drill. We got out and I was in shock.... our tire wasn't flat... it fell off... with the axle attached... and the car made a huge scratch in the pavement... it was impressive.... truly.
We got out and asked someone if they could tell us where the mall is. They laughed at us. My heart just sank. He said we were over 30 minutes past the mall and it'd be a long way to get back to it. Then the people I"m with explain how they were planning on dropping by the mall for a bit, but planned to go to town to see a castle, light house, cultural fair, fort and palace. I'll admit... I was very upset. Not so much angry as just sad and disappointed. I was greatly looking forward to relaxing and just hanging out with some great kids and families I enjoy, but I knew that on this track, I'd have to walk miles and would be miserable...thankfully the day had some redeeming factors. I was worried that I'd disappoint Kylie and her family more than anything... it felt like I'd abandoned Jordan on a promise I had... JUST like that... and I was almost in tears most of the day... it was something I so looked forward to.... but... just like that ... it was impossible.
We talked about the day, and I knew no matter what I ACTUALLY wanted, it wouldn't happen... and I wasn't about to go off alone and get terribly lost in a place I didn't know at all yet. So, we set off. Almost immediately, we found fanice... now... in Benin, I discovered fanice. It's a lot like putting ice cream in a sealed bag and freezing it... To get to the ice cream, you bite the corner off and just sweeze it. I'd compare the flavor to that of a yahoo(for the chocolate version), and they also have vanilla, plain yogurt and strawberry yogurt. I love them. Really... its NICE and cold and wonderful. It cheered me up for a few minutes... kept me from busting into tears like a fool. The closer I get to having my vacation and going home, the more and more emotional I"m finding myself... it freaks me out a little bit....
We got to walking and got there pretty fast. The kids loved us... swarmed us really... they got my attention by hitting me though, which I totally do not dig. We came up on the lighthouse. We took a 'tour of the palace', which honestly was a vacant house that the king of the village lived in and has weird rules that contradicted themselves and was overall very unimpressive... Then the light house...Longs story short, we made a deal to go up for a good price, had some lunch(which a friend provided for me, since I had planned on eating at the mall) and came back down with great caution. The staircase was fine- a little narrow for my huge feet, but the ladder... well... it was very... African.... huge pieces missing, uneven, very easy to lose your footing and fall down to the stairs to a certain death, and then it got uncomfortably narrow at the end... fine for thin african Men.. not so much American women... just sayin...
To be continued...
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