Well, due to some computer issues and a wicked busy schedule, it's been a while... so I have lots to catch up on! For today? The story of a few weekends ago...
Justice and his 2 fantastic assistants, Mavis and Eugenia, took the 9 of us Obrunis on a wild (and bumpy) journey to the Northern Region. We left bright and early Friday morning, driving most of the day and stopping only for food and 'wee wee's. We arrived at our first Hostel in Kintampo on Friday night and were offered 3 options for dinner: Plain Rice, Fried Rice or Jollof Rice. Little did we know, this would soon be the motto of our weekend.
Early the next morning we departed for Mole National Park, a destination which I had heard mentioned in documentaries and travel guides before I left home. Turns out, getting to and from the Park is more of an adventure than actually being in it. The road that connects the main highway to the park is only about 80km long, yet it took us a whopping 2.5 hours to travel it in each direction!! The packed dirt was so bumpy that our whole bus rattled until it sounded like it was going to fall apart. To make the drive even more fun, the already wildly bu
mpy dirt was sprinkled with massive potholes, which our driver attempted to dodge, sometimes successfully and sometimes not. When he was not successful, we braced ourselves for the huge thump., and the lucky ones at the back of the bus did their best not to hit their heads off the roof. The highlight of our drive out to the park was our pee stop in a tiny village where news of the bus full of Obrunis traveled quick. Before we knew it, our bus was surrounded by giggling little Ghanaians, all eager to have their pictures taken with us and to look at the instant replay on the screen!
Once we finally arrived at the park, we stopped for lunch at the hotel restaurant and were offered three options: Plain rice, fried rice and jollof rice. After finishing our lunch, we found out that we had just missed the elephants who were apparently taking a bath just behind the hotel when we arrived. Boo. Now, because it was mid-day, we were told the elephants were somewhere off in the bush and that it would be difficult to find them. But, after braving the bumpy road to get here, we were determined to set off on safari and find ourselves some elephants. Well, what we did find was a bagillion varieties of antelope, a few families of bush pigs (think Pumba) and finally, with the skillful eye of our armed guide, an elephant!!!
Justice and his 2 fantastic assistants, Mavis and Eugenia, took the 9 of us Obrunis on a wild (and bumpy) journey to the Northern Region. We left bright and early Friday morning, driving most of the day and stopping only for food and 'wee wee's. We arrived at our first Hostel in Kintampo on Friday night and were offered 3 options for dinner: Plain Rice, Fried Rice or Jollof Rice. Little did we know, this would soon be the motto of our weekend.
Early the next morning we departed for Mole National Park, a destination which I had heard mentioned in documentaries and travel guides before I left home. Turns out, getting to and from the Park is more of an adventure than actually being in it. The road that connects the main highway to the park is only about 80km long, yet it took us a whopping 2.5 hours to travel it in each direction!! The packed dirt was so bumpy that our whole bus rattled until it sounded like it was going to fall apart. To make the drive even more fun, the already wildly bu
mpy dirt was sprinkled with massive potholes, which our driver attempted to dodge, sometimes successfully and sometimes not. When he was not successful, we braced ourselves for the huge thump., and the lucky ones at the back of the bus did their best not to hit their heads off the roof. The highlight of our drive out to the park was our pee stop in a tiny village where news of the bus full of Obrunis traveled quick. Before we knew it, our bus was surrounded by giggling little Ghanaians, all eager to have their pictures taken with us and to look at the instant replay on the screen!Once we finally arrived at the park, we stopped for lunch at the hotel restaurant and were offered three options: Plain rice, fried rice and jollof rice. After finishing our lunch, we found out that we had just missed the elephants who were apparently taking a bath just behind the hotel when we arrived. Boo. Now, because it was mid-day, we were told the elephants were somewhere off in the bush and that it would be difficult to find them. But, after braving the bumpy road to get here, we were determined to set off on safari and find ourselves some elephants. Well, what we did find was a bagillion varieties of antelope, a few families of bush pigs (think Pumba) and finally, with the skillful eye of our armed guide, an elephant!!!
After traveling back on the bumpy road, we arrived late at night in Tamale. For dinner, our options were.... You guessed it! Plain rice, fried rice or jollof rice. After our delightful dinner, we headed to bed, while thoughts of elephants danced in our heads!... yessss, good one right?! :)
The next morning we drove another 2.5 hours north, and just before the border of Burkina Faso, we turned into the small village of Paga. Here, we paid 5 Ghana cedis each for our admission fee, and an additional few cedis each in order to purchase 4 live chickens... for what you ask
? Well to bribe the local crocodiles out of the pond of course! Our hosts crouched down by the water, splashed their hands for a few seconds and before we knew it, we were graced with the presence of about 5 crocodiles. A few of the smaller ones were thrown little chickens and sent back into the pond. The biggest one, however, stayed resting lazily outside the water and then proceeded to pose with each of us for a picture! One by one we sat on the crocodile's back, picked up his tail, and posed for pictures, while the croc sat patiently, sometimes even smiling for the camera. It was ridiculously scary and also unbelievably amazing! Our only instructions were to not walk past his mouth. Why? Well, he can't see very well when he's outside the water and he might accidentally bite us.... Right. We also asked whether there are ever any croc attacks, because the villagers live quite closely with them. They responded that as long as they take care of the crocs, the crocs will respect them in return. As we were told this, we looked out at the pond, which is home to 200 crocodiles, only to see a group of kids getting ready for a swim and another few older boys wading through the water with their fishing lines. Amazing.
? Well to bribe the local crocodiles out of the pond of course! Our hosts crouched down by the water, splashed their hands for a few seconds and before we knew it, we were graced with the presence of about 5 crocodiles. A few of the smaller ones were thrown little chickens and sent back into the pond. The biggest one, however, stayed resting lazily outside the water and then proceeded to pose with each of us for a picture! One by one we sat on the crocodile's back, picked up his tail, and posed for pictures, while the croc sat patiently, sometimes even smiling for the camera. It was ridiculously scary and also unbelievably amazing! Our only instructions were to not walk past his mouth. Why? Well, he can't see very well when he's outside the water and he might accidentally bite us.... Right. We also asked whether there are ever any croc attacks, because the villagers live quite closely with them. They responded that as long as they take care of the crocs, the crocs will respect them in return. As we were told this, we looked out at the pond, which is home to 200 crocodiles, only to see a group of kids getting ready for a swim and another few older boys wading through the water with their fishing lines. Amazing.Later that day, we arrived back in Tamale just in time for the Ghana vs. Serbia soccer match! Of course, Ghana played their way to a 1-0 victory and the parties in the streets errupted! We're talking a parade of drumming, dancing and singing; popping wheelies on motorbikes; and trucks full of screaming, flag-bearing Ghanaians. Imagine if they had wone the cup...
Oh before I forget, that night an addition was added to our menu: Plain rice, fried rice, jollof rice, or fries!!! I've never been so excited for fries...
The next day we headed back to Accra, making a stop in Kumasi to take in the tourist sites and do a bit of shopping. That night, we were SO glad to be back at our hostel in Legon.... I actually cherished and prolonged my cold, trickling shower. Then it was off to bed to catch some 's before my first day of work... That story to follow soon!!
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