Hotel Belle-vue Lome

... things you are supposed to do in a foreign country—but the water looked and tasted clean and none of us seem to have gotten sick up to this point so I think it was a good decision to stop. The man told us the next town was Tchakpa Dedekpoe…so that’s where we headed. Tchakpa was the closest town to our new intended distance of 25k, so we thought that perhaps we would find a church and ask to stay the night there once we reached it.

Our stamp for our visas that we got when entering Ghana expires this weekend, so everyone in our group either had to A) renew their visa, send off their passport, go to the embassy and pay a lot of money or B) Cross the border out of Ghana and get a new stamp upon re-entry to have the visa renewed for 60 more days.


so Kayleigh, Matt, Leslie, and I (among others, but the others didn't end up coming along in the end) all planned to make a trip ...

... I ended up buying traditional drums (kagan, kidi, sogo, and 2 kpanlogos). On Wednesday afternoon, Ledzi helped me prepare these for packing, and, as I went to put them in my bag, I realized that only 1 fit inside. And so the search for bags began. I was lucky that Wednesday was market day in Akatsi, however, I was unlucky that we got to the market as it was closing. After running through the market, trying to find the biggest size bags (that nobody stocks), we were able to find ...

... a branch, but then it landed on the ground and started slithering around the drum circle. A few of the drum assistants (also very talented musicians), imediately jumped up and started throwing drums at the snake. After the snake had been killed and taken away, I found out that the snakes here are extremely poisonous, and bites are usually fatal. On Friday, we went to the Keta slave fort. Even though half of this fort has been washed away by the ocean ...

... of Van Damme. Sometimes I wonder if it would not be easier to go along with the corruption.

We arrived in Accra and went to the same hotel that we used last time the Salmarise Hotel where we got a 5% discount off the posted rates. Needing to get some Cedis we stopped at an ATM and decide to have supper at an American Style Fast Food Place; Pizza Inn, Chicken Inn and a small food store. Dave ordered Pizza and the others got nine pieces of chicken with two large fries. We all shared.

... bother to count it before giving everything back to Erica.

Oh I have not been so mad for a very long time! Firstly, why exactly does this man I’ve never spoken to think he can buy his way into my heart/bed/country? Secondly, why does he think he can do so WITH MEAT FLAVOURED CHEESE??? MEAT FLAVOURED CHEESE is NOT a romantic gift in any way, shape or form.

And as for the money! Pssh! Does he think I am for sale?! It’s actually DOUBLY ...

... word for that is in English there!!). Firstly, they debated for about fifteen minutes whether or not the HIV virus could be transmitted by (unused, I clarified that's what they were talking about) condoms. Conspiracy theory of the century?! A social centre working with HIV sufferers should REALLY know these things!! And then, also during the discussion, le President decided it was appropriate to ask me.. well... whether I like the lights on or ...

... me, but that’s life. Egbor came, and he brought some cloth with him.  The cloth was gorgeous, but I couldn’t afford it. He said that the place he thought would make the kente for me closed down, and he didn’t know where else I could get it made. Aunty Beatrice said that she knew a place, and that Aunty Mercy could take me there. My friends came back while Egbor was still around. Pam and Debbie ended up buying a couple of pieces of kente from him ...

... yevu yevu gaebo, shay shay gaebo.” It means “white person with black hair.” Well, thank god for Anthony, who came here about 10 years ago. He came up with a response that goes “amaebo amaebo gaye,” which means “black person with white hair.” The kids seemed to love it. They followed us through Anyako until some lady screamed at them and told them to leave us alone, lol. We went to meet Seshie’s mother and his family ...

Togo, one of the smaller countries in Africa. Its all hustle and bustle in the central market area but layed back and relaxed in the rural areas. Our entry to the country was via a little used border crossing near the Ghana waterfall area of Wli. Ghana bureaucracy was at its best but Togo didn't seem to care about much, only wanting to process our passports as quick as possible so they could go back to sleep.



Our first night in Togo was spent camping at one of ...