Ghana Returns

Day 2: I woke up early after a good (long) night’s rest and packed up for my SAS trip. We were going headed to an amazing hotel that was more like a full-fledged resort and were treated to a supreme meal of Ghanaian food and lots and lots of Fanta. Turns out, most of the world enjoys bottled Fanta like we drink Hi-C (or is that just me who drinks that at Taco Bell mixed with some Baja Blast! Mountain Dew? Yeah maybe just me) and like Mexico drinks Tequila. We sat under an overhang with a pool and bar area to our left, our rooms to our right, and overlooking a sandy beach and ocean waves. So this is what paradise is! After our bellies were full, we loaded back onto the bus to head to Kakum National Park to walk amongst the canopies of the trees on a thin, rickety, wooden bridge. Oh you thought I meant thin like 3 feet wide! No, no, no, I’m sorry let me clarify. We walked on a series of really long planks of wood. So we’re talking 6 inches wide. Now mom, once again I am going to have to save you from a heart attack. On either side of this “bridge” (or sorry excuse for one) nets extended past the height of my waist which allowed me to have no fears about stepping out over the trees, some 40 meters high and…RUN! We walked across at least 7 of these bridges in the rain forest; get this, while it was RAINING. Now that’s a rain forest. Ghana just does not know how to disappoint. The view was breath taking--looking out AND looking down (and across and side to side and backwards and upwards…). Well it started raining the moment we stepped foot out of the bus, so naturally it stopped raining the moment we stepped foot back on the bus.

Yet another unbelievable native dish was served for dinner (I’m actually enjoying the food, look at me mommy, all grown up!) and a bon fire on the beach followed. The ambiance reminded me of a mix between Stanford Sierra Camp’s Wednesday night family camp fire and again, Survivor. We stripped our shoes and walked about ten feet into the ocean and climbed up on some rocks that revealed themselves during low tide. We stood, chatted some, but mostly just tried to absorb the pure and utter awesomeness of where our lives had brought us. You could see it in people’s faces, in their stance and in their voice: dream-like delight. After we climbed back ashore, dessert was served--some kind of amazing tasting ice cream with strawberries and watermelon at the bottom--while some Ghanaian dancers and musicians entertained us with African dance and music, AND fire breathing. The dancers wore hay skirts, much like the ones Hawaiian hula dancers wear, but let me tell you, they were still pure MAN. In the black of the night their bare chests camouflaged and their lean muscles glistened with sweat in the firelight. These guys were all strength. They jumped and shock and flipped and spun and NEVER stopped moving. Unbelievable! Honestly dumbfounded. Please scoop my jaw off the floor. These kids were talented.

Sadly, I need to wake up in 4 hours for my Safari in South Africa! And thus the third installment of this Ghana blog will be coming soon. But for now: To Be Continued :-P