Busua Inn

... there's pool and ping pong, you might see an american football, there's a joke about religion painted on a board (happy hour sign, with jesus giving a thumbs up)....among many other things non-ghanaian you might find here that have just slipped my mind for now. But, if youre missing having personal time, personal space, western-style food and way of life then this place is amazing. and even if you aren't missing that stuff- you can go for the night hike to spot sea ...

... work the lodge does make this a wonderful get away. The lodge is owned by a young British couple and from what I can tell employs at least 30 local staff to run the lodge and lead tours. They have beach front bungalows made of local materials, self composting toilets, solar panels provide evening electricity and they engage in a wide range of conservation work including community education about turtle conservation. Beginning in August turtles arrive on the beach front ...

... family. While I did not understand all that was being said I could tell what an honor it was to be in this setting with pictures of the Chief all around the room meeting various dignitaries and officials. His aid also gave us a wonderful history of the Ashanti people and their traditions and how this system is now intertwined with the more modern democracy now ruling Ghana. Tribal Chiefs still play a major role in the governing of the country. There is a council ...

... was to eat really nice cheap Ghanean food ("Red red" a lovely bean/tomato stew), sleep in hammocks, go for walks along the beach and generally relax in the shade. We were really happy that none of the locals seemed to be going to the toilet on the beach, as we had seen in Cape Coast and Elmina, so we decided it was safe to swim in the ...

... right on a beautiful white sand palm fringed beach. One slight problem though.... no big waves! Oliver's first words were pretty much to that effect except for the addition of faaaaark at the beginning. Thankfully on closer inspection there were okay waves... enough for a good body bash session anyway, which we did for the rest of the afternoon. So good to be in the ocean especially when it was warm. Over the debated ...

... of waiting before dessert arrives. And of course everything tasted perfect (that was normal though). We managed to wait until almost 8pm before asking Kobe to light our bonfire. The boys did a great job and it was huge. Kobe joined us on the beach for a bit before I left on my last turtle walk - again no turtles or hatchlings. I was pretty tired afterward so I said my goodbyes to Emmanuel, the only friend I had still there, and headed to bed.

... I noticed too that I seem to sweat less (though I am still sweating a lot) and I don't find the heat so uncomfortable. In fact at night when it cools down I'm not cold but yet feel uncomfortable because I'm not hot. It is really weird. Today is another hot day and I am sitting in the shade of a beach umbrella looking out at the gorgeous beach surrounding me. I didn't see the nest in the beams of the umbrella until I almost put my hand on it. Now I am ...

... I had a nice chat with Emmanuel about teaching and turtles. He told me that "in the old times ..." (and I instantly got excited to here the local legend he was about to dish out) "... five or six years ago " the beach was covered in nesting green turtles. Now they are a rare sight on this beach. However, they have been actively nesting this week. The night watch spotted on last night and we saw one the previous night. On our morning walk today ...

... or get in our rooms and give us a cheeky look when we see them sneaking in. Living on the beach has its disadvantages. I have only been here for two days and already I can't get the grime off my body. Sand gets everywhere - in every crack and crevice, my clothes, my bed. Even my flip flops already look filthy even though they get a shower every time I do. But it is all worth it for the scenery. I catch myself zoning out, gazing at ...

... fishermen, or rowers, were probably the most muscular and least body fat people we have ever seen. It was a little disturbing at first seeing the young boys (8-10 yrs old) with as much muscle definition as a body builder from all the work, but fortunately they did get to squeeze in a game of soccer later on during the day. Later we ordered some juice from "Juice Man", and it was fantastic, with fresh pineapple, mango, and ...