Gutten tag. Yeah, the German is really getting a hold of me. March has come and we sit on the precipice of Ghana's 50th anniversary. Preparations are being pushed into high gear in towns across the country, hotel rooms in Accra have been booked out for two months, and festivities will ensue. We booked a room in Kumasi, the 2nd largest city in the country, and plan on reveling on the streets all day and night.
It's been a while since my last post, mostly as a result of slow internet, interminable travel schedules, and general apathy. The photos are nice though. Many of you have been inquiring about my health: yes, I am fine. The typhoid, or whatever it was, was beaten back by a heavy course of cipro (a traveler-friendly antibiotic) and is in complete remission. Perhaps I'm jinxing myself, but I can't believe how well I've been throughout my time here (officially 92 days so far). Considering that we eat almost entirely from street vendors, many of whom serve you with their bare hands, and lived in only the cheapest hotels we could find, I am quite fortunate. This is why I chose to travel in Africa when I was YOUNG! But yes, I am fine.
Since Hohoe we have been traversing long distances regularly under hot and cramped conditions with little respite in between. The two day journey from Hohoe to Tamale via Bimbilla was 490km entirely on rough dirt roads where the average speed was about 6mph. The dirt track to Mole National Park was another five hours or so each way. Tamale to Bolga was three hours on tarred road (thankfully) but I had the dreaded collapsible middle tro-tro seat. Bolga to Wa took the cake however, taking eight hours over washed out dirt roads with non-existent legroom. Tomorrow's journey from Wa to Wenchi will be six hours of more of the same as we set out in search of hippopotomi.
Mole park was simply amazing and an absolute must for anyone traveling in Ghana. Three nights and two days of African safari (beer, soda, and restaurant food included) cost about $40. Lu did it with $25. It is undoubtedly the cheapest safari on the continent and quite rewarding (however, there are no rhinos or giraffes and one would be hard-pressed to see any lions, cheetahs or hyenas). When we weren't walking the trails (always led by an armed guard, naturally) we were sunbathing by the pool that overlooks elephants, crocs, monkeys, and antelope gallivanting by the watering hole.
Since we left Hohoe I have alternated between three distinct Andrews: the first, is the awe-struck Andrew, amazed by how different the north is from the south of Ghana and how much more amiable the folks are here; the second is the tired and cranky Andrew, plagued by the unremitting heat, dizzy, hungry, and thirsty, this Andrew doesn't eat or drink on long bus rides and is not fun to deal with; the third is the homesick Andrew and is actually a combination of the previous two personas, but rather than being a grouch like #2 he retreats into a melancholic stupor, cognizant of just how far from home he is. Since arriving in Wa, the second Andrew has predominated, but #1 was paramount in my travels before the isolated Northwestern capital (it takes 8+ on dirt road just to get to any other respectable city). #3 mostly just hangs out in the morning and at night when the other two are too tired to emerge.
The highlights of the North have undoubtedly been the fauna (definitely not the flora--or lack thereof) and this will most likely be true on the road to Kumasi as well. Most notably, Bui National Park and hippo sanctuary and Baobeng-Fiema monkey sanctuary--both in the near future. The other, less African highlight has been connecting with NMH alums and hearing from friends and family. I'm glad I chose to stay so long, but six months is quite a while.
Many adventures await and there is nothing to hold me back but myself. There is so much for us to see, if only we open our eyes. That is what I am learning.
|  | 
|
