I sit in the back of the bus, sweat dripping from every poor, waiting for it to fill. Platters of bread, bagged h2o, biscuts, candy, fake jewelry, toothbrushes and past, blinking lights, sweat towels, fan Ice and shower scrubbies float past my face. The only 3 white people around, Shane, Lolo, and I, wait and watch. I speak in Twi to the venders who laugh and smile. A ragged man knockes on the window and beggs "please" making a motion to his mouth. An hour or so after we boarded, the engin begins to roar and shake...we're off to Kumasi.
Ohh, the cool touch of moving air dries the sweat as city exhaust fills my lungs. A man begins to prech and sing in Twi in the front of the bus. Ahhhhh, Africa!
After 4 hours of Saline Dion on repeat we arived in the heart of the Ashanti Kingdome. Jameal, the boy Shane befriended on the bus, took us to his home and set us up with a devine matress and celing fan. 1am- sleep!
Thurs: 4am- loud banging on window and speaking in a strange language...back to sleep. 6am- Knocking on door. Jameal walks in, smiles,and hands Shane a box of tea and can of cream. walks out.We arise and wonder out to find our selves in a sweet family compound, bathe and brush our teeth with a bucket, and lay back down. Jameal walks back in, smiles, takes the tea and cream and walks back out. Looks are exchanged and giggles had as we follow him into the house. Inside there is an empty room except for a small table, chairs and a TV set. Fried egg sandwiches, tea, and BBC. Liberian elections are going fairly well, Nigeria wants to import more oil into Ghana, and Pakistan suffers from a huge earthquake.
The whole family is Muslim and Jameal wants nothing more than to study in Saudi Arabia. He tells a story of when they went to Libia, were captured, thrown in jail for 1 month, and deported simply because they're black.
After breakfast we were introduced to the WHOLE neighborhood! Every time we thought we were finally leaving Jameal would lead us down another passageway. After visiting every class room at the Muslim school where his uncle teaches, our day of traval began.
As the bus was out of our budget, we ended up taking a trotro. It became apearant that Jameal was planning on comming with us. As he obviously didn't have the funds (and was hence expecting us to pay his way) we had to adress the uncomfortable issue of Money. He understood and we all gifted him some money in a good bye handshake. He then gifted us with 2 pinapples, which we later lost.
6.5 hours, 20+ people and their bagage in a hot, wrickety minivan. Squished from all sides, in and out of sleep, the same prehistoric trees and straw thached roofs roll by like a strip of film on repeat...Tamale.
6pm- no trotros, or vhicles for that matter, head twords Mole national park at this hour. Tired, grumpy, hungry, dirty, 500,000 cedis later we were in a taxi. This is apx. $55 and way more than I spend in a month here. 4 more hours of speeding down a bumpy dirt road into the bush. The car took a few good shots to the belly but Muhammud, out champian driver, delivered us safely to the park. As the mud melted off of my body and pooled in the bottemofthe tub I fantasized about lying down.
Fri: 6am- alarm. 6:30- alarm. 7am- a group of us gathered outside the rception for a guided safari. PK, an older Ghanaian man dressed in light brown jump suit, green hat, black rubber boots, and equiped with a riffle, walked right out of an old movie and into our lives. He assured us that the weapon was not for us but rather to scare away agressive animals. GREAT.
Mole national park covers 4, 840 KM of relativly flat savana land, making up the largest game reserve in Ghana. It houses over 300 bird species and 90 mammal species some of which include elephants, warthog, many species of antelope, baboons, and other monkeys (all of which we saw)buffalo, hippo, lepord and lions (which we did not).Due to inexcessability, about 95% of the park lacks both tourist and ranger presance, sadly opening it up to subsistance poachers.
As Lolo and I were voicing our regrets regarding the lack of baboons a whole family surrounded the two of us. One larger one descided he didn't like the look of us and began walking straight at us. Lolo hid behind me and I shook my towl at him. He didn't like that one bit and jumped at me agressivly. Where was PK then?! Right then, and just on time, a women came out of a room and shook her broom at him. He listened. When we arived safely back at the room our bread had become a sworming red mass. We must have looked like 3 hungry monkeys fully intent on our tuna and tomatoe sandwhiches because another monkey ran up, stole our bread, and sat eating right beside us. Lolo got scared and ran inside! When he had taken what he desired the smaller, and very cute, monkeys came and ate the crusts. Then the warthogs arived making up our own National Geographic on the back poarch.
After swimming, sun, and lunch we passed out. Waking up at 5:15 it was cool enough for a bike ride to the neighboring village. Despite numerous warnings to the contrary, we rode off into dusk.
To be continued....
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