Daddy Vic.

Saturday.
This trip is taking a long time for me to get out.

We had to get up at 3:30 in the morning to catch the bus back towards Kumasi. The stop was right across the street from where we were staying, and it was a little bit creepy at that hour of the morning. I actually now refer to the time between 3:00 - 4:00 as creep hour.  There were goats sleeping all over the road, there was a call to prayer happening, and two lonely street lights were shining.

When the bus came it was pretty empty, and we had no problem getting a seat. We went towards the back, trying to get maximum leg room.  This was not a direct bus, so every half hour or so we would stop to pick up more people. It finally got to the point where every seat was full, and we started filling with people who had to stand.....the same people that we almost had to be just 24 hours before.  Now, I can tolerate many things, but having people in my personal space at 4:30 in the morning is not one of them. I thought I was going to have a panic attack, or snap someone in half. Too many people in such a small space is a nightmare! The man behind me kept moving my chair, causing my body to jerk around, and someone kept touching my toes. To add to my early morning joy, it was the same bumpy road that we had to go back on, and I literally felt like I was on a roller-coaster.  I have a video of some of the ride. It is ridiculous.

There was one funny part of that bus ride though. At one point we were stopped, and there were a few stands outside the window. At one of the stands there was a goat just standing outside the door, and he looked like he was waiting for it to open. Jessica and I had just about lost our minds at this point, so we decided to narrate what that goat must be thinking. We did this for way too long, and then at one point I finally said, "I'm her mom" **Side note, you should go to youtube and search "Kittens inspired by Kittens" and you will fully understand that statement!** So, when I said this, all of the other girls responded with "Noooooo she's not!"  We all started laughing about it, but there were three women in the back who just started cracking up, and they kept repeating "noooo she;s not!" It was so funny, because they had no idea what it was from, but were still laughing about it.

A miserable 4 of 5 hours later we were finally off the bus, and in search of our next one. We had a bit of time to kill before the next bus, so we stopped to get some coffee and eggs. After our bus stop brunch we decided that it would be smart to use the bathroom.....sorry mom, but i just have to tell another bathroom story :-)

At bus stops and taxi stations you normally have to pay to use the bathroom. Well, when five girls go into the bathroom, and there are only three spots to use it is going to take a little longer than normal. So, we came out of the bathroom and the man looked at me and said, "What is the problem" and I looked at him like, what are you talking about, and he said "Why so long?" I laughed and told him that we were having lady problems. Then he looked at me like I was speaking Spanish, and asked what lady problems. I then gave him a look that was along the lines of...."do you really want me to say it?" So, I simply said to him...."PERIOD!" There were a few other men around the bathroom listening to our conversation, and they all let out a WOAAAAHHHHHH when I finally responded. Thats what you get for asking a lady what took so long in the bathroom.

The second bus ride was not as bad as the first, and I ended up finishing another book.....in total I read 2.5 books during driving time on this trip. When we got to Kumasi we were going to stay at a "backpackers lodge" It was a short distance from the bus station, so we walked there. We had originally booked a room for the next night, but when we decided to come back early we called and asked if we could switch it to the night before. The man said that it shouldn't be a problem, and said that they would have a room for us. We walk into the "lodge" and we tell the woman that we booked a room, and she tells us that there were no open rooms, and there were two beds open in one room, but there were people praying in it. We tell her about our call the day before, and how we were told that there would be a room for us. She tells us that she has never talked to us, so we call the number back that we had used the day before. Well.....it ends up that it is the cell phone of the owner. How we ended up with his direct number....we still are not entirely sure. So, we tell him that there is no room for us, and he asks if we would be willing to pay 10 cedi for a room at a different spot. At this point we didn;t mind the two extra cedi, and agreed. Basically we just needed to know that we had somewhere to sleep.

We were confused as to where exactly we were going to be sleeping, but the owner said that he would come pick us up and take us there. We were sitting out in the court yard waiting for him to come, and saying how we were a little sad that there were no rooms, because it looked like a really cool place. About twenty minutes later the owner came and asked if we were ready to leave. We walked outside to find a really nice SUV ready to take us to our hotel. Ok, I know that right now some of you are thinking that I am an idiot for getting into a random car and agreeing to let it take me to a hotel. This thought did cross my mind, but I didn't have a bad feeling, and there were five of us, and cell phones, and it was still daylight. So, have no fear, I am not a total idiot.

We open up the door to the car, and it starts talking...."Please watch your step" Of course we all had to start laughing about it. We drove about 5 minutes away into the "suburbs" of Kumasi. It is a really interesting city, because it has all levels of living. There is extreme poverty, and just a drive away it looks like you are in beverly hills. We pull into a nice neighborhood, and come to the hotel. It was so modern and cool looking, so we were instantly excited about the fact that we had to change locations. Clearly we were getting the better deal. He asked if we would be ok sharing a room, and we said yes, and just figured we would have two in one bed and three in the other. A woman showed us to our room, and we literally squealed with joy! Really, it was a little embarrassing. We acted like it was the first time we were in a hotel. The room was HUGE. There was a kitchen area, a living area, a huge king size bed, and a queen and full mattress pulled in for the rest of us! PLUS, there was a tv, air conditioning and a bathroom WITH a tub AND hot water. Really, it was a dream!

We told the owner that we wanted to go to the restaurant that he owned for dinner, and he told us that he would hang around and drive us back. We washed up and then were on our way. When we pulled up, we asked him for directions on how to get a taxi back to the hotel after dinner. He looked at his watch, and asked if two hours would be long enough for dinner, and then told us that he would come back and take us home. I still feel like some of you are judging me right now, and thinking that I am an idiot, but he was not creepy. I think he thought....these girls are traveling alone, and I need to make sure that they are safe. Really, I was thinking this through the entire time. The restaurant was all Indian food (as he is Indian) and it was SO good. Plus, they had American tv channels, and we got to watch E! for a little bit after we finished eating.

On the way home we asked about how he got into the "travel" business, and he was so excited to tell us the story. The restaurant was originally a gift store, then a grocery store, then a grocery store with cold snacks, then a grocery store with small meals, then a small restaurant with a few grocery items, and then a full blown grocery. It was only within the last five years that they have ventured into the hotel business.

The next morning we got up and packed our things and set out to find the market. We heard that it was one of the largest markets in Ghana and West Africa in general, so we decided that we just had to check it out. We had to walk a little ways to get to the main road to find a taxi, and on the way a kind woman stopped us and decided that she would find us a taxi. We got dropped off at market, and we entered in. It was intense. We were in the used clothing section and it was a zoo. People were grabbing at us, and hissing and it was one of the most uncomfortable moments of this entire trip. Plus it didn't help that we all had our backpacks on, so we were bumping into everyone. After about five minutes of the madness we got back out onto the main road. We debated for a while if it was worth going back in, and decided that we would walk the outside first to see if we could see anything good. Once we had been full circle around the market we stopped to ask if someone knew where we could get Kente cloth. This traditional African cloth is made in Kumasi, so we had to get some!

The man we asked told us that yes, it was in the market, but we would not find it without someone. We told him that we would be fine, and we just needed directions. We basically just say this to all men, because we don't want them to follow us. He gave us the directions, and off we went. Well....after the first left turn we were already completely clueless. However, not 60 seconds later he came running behind us laughing and said " I thought you could find it on your own." We laughed it off, and once again we had found an extremely kind person who was more than willing to help us out. He took us to the bead section, then showed us his store, and a few other locations around the market. Then he took us to the Kente man. It was Sunday, so all of the vendors were not open. But for the one man who was open, it was his lucky day. We went a little cloth crazy and bought a ton of cloth from him. He was so excited that he ended up giving me some for "commission" and he gave the guy who took us some money. He told him that without his help, he would have never made that much money. We were happy to help him out.

After the market, we decided that we were too tired to explore any more, and our kind market guide put us on a trotro to the taxi station. We got a trotro back to Cape Coast, and it was another minor nightmare. It was one of the tros that can fit 24 people, and there is zero leg room. I have never been so uncomfortable in my life. To add to the ride, there were frozen fish strapped to the top of the tro. Every time we turned, or swerved, melted fish water would fly off of the roof and come into the windows. IT smelled like death! It was so disgusting that we once again couldn't help but laugh at it. As if the fish, and the anti leg room was not enough for one afternoon we broke down. I knew that this day would be coming soon, so I was not really that surprised when it happened. We pulled over, and the opened the hood. After about five minutes we decided that it would be a while and we got out.

First we stretched out legs, then we walked up to the front to see what was happening. They were breaking sticks off of some trees, and we asked what the problem was. They told us that there was a hole that should not be there. One of the girls looked at the drive and said...."so you are filling it with sticks?" Yep, that was the plan. We decided to leave them to their plugging and we went in search of a bathroom. After we used the woods, we decided to do some road side yoga to calm our nerves and stretch our legs. One of the woman thought that we were so funny, and said to the other passengers that we were enjoying the sun. About a half hour and 10 yoga positions later we were back on the tro.

We got back to Cape Coast and for some reason the door was open. A taxi driver decided to hop on for the ride and started asking "WHERE GOING", we all just glared at him and said no. He then told us that he would take us anywhere we needed to go, right now. We just ignored him, and he continued to tell us. Finally the woman next to me said to him, "Where is your taxi? On the roof? How will you take them?" The entire tro started cracking up, and you could tell that she was rather pleased with her quick come back to the man. Eventually we made it back to Elmina and practically passed out from all the driving.

To quickly recap my past two days:
work FanIce work rock cakes work coffee, and i was interviewed for french radio. Yeah.....Im so international.

If I think of any other really good details I will be sure to post them.

peace. love. Radio.