Weekend in Ghana-- the beaches of Ada Foah.. and chicken poop

The camera had basically died before we got to Ada Foah, but we managed one picture of the Maranatha Beach Camp out of Lisbeth's camera before it finally went kaputz:


Late afternoon, after our morning in Accra, we boarded another van-bus and headed out to the Maranatha Beach Camp. When we got to the bus depot in Ada Foah, we were greeted by villagers who told us that the only way to get to the beach camp was to take a boat— one of those fishing boats carved out of wood that looks as if it’ll sink at any moment— and that took us a good 45 minutes to paddle down the river to where the beach camp was. Night was falling as we paddled along, so we got to see the sun go down while we were floating along the river. It was only about 7PM, but it was completely pitch black by the time we arrived. We were so excited when we got to the beach camp: finally, open air, sand in your toes, smell of ocean water— what could be better than that. We sat down at some wooden beach chairs to some drinks, and though it took over an hour to get, ate some really good food off their menu. I mean, not five stars or anything, but when you offer me chicken sandwiches and fried rice in the middle of nowhere? Deliciousness.The camp owners started a bonfire at 9 PM, and later that night we lay down on the sand in front of the ocean to look at the stars. I have never seen stars that bright before, ever, in my life, or so many at the same time. I’ve had my share of doubts over the years, but staring at those stars… you just can’t help being convinced that something, somewhere is watching.

Johan said he was going to sleep on the beach, but I didn’t want to be bitten by mosquitoes so I went to my hut for some shuteye. The huts were built of strong leaves and had no floors—a single mattress was inside, encased by a mosquito net. “Bathrooms” were just holes in the ground covered with hut walls located behind all the room huts. It rained a little in the morning (which woke poor Johan up); I actually felt cold in the morning. I heard the voice of my mother: "Pack your sweater!", and I remember thinking to myself: How ironic, that even in the middle of Africa, my mother is still somehow manages to always be right. The rest of the morning was amazingly sunny though, and we spent the day eating breakfast food and lounging by the water. When it was time to go, we managed to arrange for a boat with a motor this time, which took us on the most peaceful, serene half-hour ride further down the river, to where we could (hopefully) catch another bus to take us to the border.

That “bus” ride has to be the craziest ride I’ve had so far in my 22 years of living. First of all, it wasn’t even a legit bus, just a jeep that passes through the town every so often, but for just 1 cedi each, we climbed in. Secondly, when we got into the jeep it was just us, but as we went along, more and more people got crammed in, to the tune of twenty (count, TWENTY) people in a vehicle made for at most, maybe nine. We had four people in the front (including a baby, that I didn't even notice until our ride was over), four + luggage in the second row, eight people in the trunk, and four people hanging off the side and back of the jeep. We asked the driver why so many people had to be carried in one go, and apparently the road that leads into town had been damaged by water erosion, so the other cars that tried to make their way into the village kept getting stuck in the sand. The jeep was the only vehicle to successfully get into and out of the village, so whenever villagers saw the jeep, they crammed in because it was their only chance in getting out for quite some time. Oh, did I mention the chicken poop yet? Yep, mid-journey, six giant, heavy garbage bags full of dried CHICKEN POOP were loaded onto the top of the jeep. And the windows were open. I now know that dried chicken poop is quite dusty, and much dust gets out when people are heaving it onto the roof of your car. And when all your windows are down, guess where that chicken poop dust goes? Yes, fun times.

It was an amazing weekend in Ghana, but needless to say, we were all pretty happy to be back. The border crossing this time went really quickly due to laxer Togolese security—zip, zip, zip, and we were in Togo once more. I was thankful before, but after spending a weekend away, I am that much more thankful for the existence of this ship. Especially ship showers… and ship toilets. (And especially the fact that there is no chicken poop to be found anywhere on the ship.)