It was beautiful. Lovely even... I loved just sitting and taking it in... didn't get close to the railing though... I was terrified of the heights... I"m not a heights kind of a person. Then we got to walking some more... and some more.... we came up on a market, but decided we wanted more of a craft market than a market market. So we turned around, went right back where we came from.
As you already know from previous posts, I love coconuts... I made this known from the beginning of the trip that I would love one. So, we came up on a stand. The others were like 'no... i'm okay' but my friend turned and looked at me and asked if I wanted one... I paused. They looked an awful lot like super young coconuts, but I decided to sit and watch for a moment to decide. The vendor decided not to let me wait and handed me one. I was super parched by this point. We were in great need of finding some water, and this was perfect for the moment.. I looked at the coconut, and lo and behold- my favorite kind! 1/2 and 1/2 :) They just peel them differently in Ghana:) Honestly, they were a bit stronger and sweeter than the one in Sweet Salone, but I love them all the same:) So, we ended up all having one.
Then we found water. ICE COLD water... man.. I felt like I was in heaven. Drinking water here(as it is in all of West Africa) comes in a bag. You bite off the corner and sip away. I did that for a bit then dumped it into my water bottle. So great.
Then we made our way to the Cultural market. It was pretty fantastic. VERY touristy, which I've gotten tired of a bit, but really cool at the same time. At least a hundred little stalls that go back and back. I had a few people persue me pretty intensely. They all asked my name and where I'm from and tried and tried to get me to come to their shop. After a while, I got tired of saying no and told this one guy- Ishmael- yes. I got suckered into it, but was glad I did.
He took me to his brother's shop, where I bought many of the things I'm planning on selling at my silent auction. Pause there. For those of you who aren't aware- I'm holding a Silent Auction at my church on January 8 at 12:30 until we're done... comment for more information.... resume... Now, I picked out a ton of different necklaces, statues and bracelets I thought people would love. At first he gave me hard prices... like.. way too high. Then I reminded him he promised me a discount for walking all the way to the back of the market where his shop was... and then I asked him for another since I was buying so much from him. He agreed... what I didn't realize is that it was not his shop- it was his brother's...
They wound up in a VERY heated argument over pricing. I knew the price would go up after this, but he kept saying "don't worry... it's not you... I'm just trying to understand my brother"... hah. So.. I waited... then I started running late... and waited more... finally with an increase of about 2 dollars, I was ready to meet my friends, when Ishmael said "Wait- you should come to my shop where you can see my passion- my paintings!!" I couldn't deny him...
After a bit of looking I found things I liked, he gave me a good price quickly, then came my running around with my head cut off... I was looking for my friends... store owners kept saying "Over here Over here!!! they're here!!!" Really- they weren't... and they made me look foolish. Then one man looks at me with a serious face saying... "they left you... they're gone..." I was so upset with him... he placed a seed of doubt in my head, but my friends knew the day I'd been having and I knew they wouldn't just leave me... so.. I kept walking.
Finally I found them. That's when we met 'Colin Powell".... haha... he claimed that was his name... he was INCREDIBLY smart... told us to name a US state and he would tell us the capital... then countries- he knew someone in areas near where all of us live and it was just wild! So great... we told him he needs to be a professor because he's nice and smart and fun... and an amazing salesman.. by the end almosteveryone bought something... I didnt' want anything though.. I'd already gotten all I needed.
Then we headed out. 1/2 of the group still wanted to go see the castle and we all seriously debated for a minute- I was honest and told them I'm not sure how much longer I could keep walking and yet again was almost in tears. My body had been driven to its limit the previous week, and now it was 1000% in overdrive... I knew I wouldn't handle much more... not without an emotional breakdown.
We decided to head back... we got in a tro-tro at the 'station' and once we were full to the max, we left. The ride home was nice.... we went on the toll road and it was very fast and great. People trickled out of the car one by one, then we pulled into a station.... I dont think any of us were prepared to go to the station... we thought they'd take us to the port.... and a new adventure begins...
We got out, after being in traffic for a while, we got to the station. It was now dark... not a great sign, but we were all confident and just kept going. We were in search of the Melcom- basically a 3 story walmart.... not super walmart... just walmart... so we asked for directions... it was going pretty well until we got pretty far down a road and was asked a man where we needed to go... he pointed forward... then we asked someone else where to go after another 5 minutes or so(enough to go a ways down the road), when she says "oh.. back that way.. the way you came from..." haha... seems to be a trend... people thinking it's funny to tell you the wrong details....
Finally we made it, walked around, stood in awe of all of the merchandise, hailed a taxi back. Now, something about Africa.... well.. West Africa... they really love pointing it out when you're bigger... Now... by nature... I'm big... I'm pretty tall for a woman and naturally heavy set due to my German Ancestry.. No matter how hard I try, I will NEVER be 'thin' or fit what those stupid BMI charts say... not a shot... I've accepted this, mostly, but you know.. human fault often enters my mind.... so when a man says to me... "you..the big lady... get in the front of the taxi so the rest can fit..." Not the most confident moment of all.... kinda stinks... but... it is what it is.... great way to end a great day...not.. hah:)
Anyway...we got to the ship, ate some dinner(I'd hardly eaten all day) , I made popcorn, watched a movie and crasheed.....
What a day!!!!! Phew!
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