Much needed getaway!

Holidaying is tough...


The past couple weeks have been mostly pretty good, with the exception of a few minor meltdowns. My fuse is a bit short, which is a signal I'm ready to be done! I'm very much looking forward to having a real friend here for a while! (Lame, I know-but it's hard to make friends when you have to be inside by 6pm and are always working!)

There was some interesting guests at the guesthouse last week, particularly one lady who had lived here for 30 years and is moving back to England to retire. She was lovely, and made Ama's day (or possibly month) by giving me a tiny bottle/bubble wand combo. I think we've probably spent at least 4 hours blowing bubbles since. I blow, Ama chases. Repeat. She also gave me an assortment of goodies such as insect repellent wipes, a mat for the beach, tea and who knows what else in a big box. Very nice.

It has rained twice in the past week, which is very nice as it cools down slightly. By cool, I mean 28 degrees, but heat is relative I guess! The highlight of last week, next to the bubbles, was the giant frog that came out after the rain to feast on flying ants whose wings had fallen off. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't really do it justice, but it was pretty cool. Ama was VERY impressed!



On Friday we skipped work and headed back to KoSa, or paradise as I prefer to call it. I accidentally told Ama on Thursday morning that we were going to the beach the next day, and the resulting fit will remind me to never do that again. She did not want to go to school, and began packing her beach toys and looking for her bathing suit. It was a bit sad...

The trip there was fantastic. We took the STC bus to Cape Coast, and then took a 20 minute taxi to KoSa. The bus was air conditioned and comfortable, and the trip went smoothly. My expectations were totally surpassed, a rare occurrence in Ghana...
The only drawback was the very loud music. At first, we had loud talk radio, which might just be the most annoying thing ever, then it was what sounded like church hymns, and then out of the blue was very twangy country music. It was very bizarre. I was like "where am I?" Did I get teleported back to Alberta? Oh well, better than talk radio or church music...

This time we stayed in the cheap accommodation, which was basic and simple, but good enough for us! It's also significantly cheaper. The downside is that you have to share a bathroom/shower. But check out the view!




At KoSa we had lots of fun and relaxed. Ama played bubbles with a little girl her age, and even ordered her around a bit. It was pretty cute. The little girl was more than a bit excited about the bubbles, I'm pretty sure they might have been the greatest thing she had ever seen.





We had lots of fun at the beach, but one day we had to go a bit earlier than planned because we got mobbed by kids! They just surrounded us, with total disregard for personal space! They meant well I'm sure, but it became a bit much. At one point they were all wanting to touch Ama, who had a freak out, which just encouraged the not so gentle grabbing! Leaving was ok, since it was nearly lunch time and probably a good idea to get out of the sun! Below are some pictures of pre-freak out.





The next couple week and a half will be filled with lots and lots of work. I hope to finish everything so that I can pack up all my stuff, put it in storage, and spend 6 nights at KoSa again and unwind. Then I'll head back to stinky Accra to get Pam! I have a lot of work to do, but I'm highly motivated by the prospect of getting out of town again.

I know it probably seems boring that I'm going to the same place over and over again, but it's so perfect for Ama! The surf here can be pretty big, and there can be some pretty strong currents/under-tow's. This beach is just great for Ama, minus the very interested children! Pam and I will hopefully visit one other place, but I'll keep you posted on that later.

Encouraging emails or funny stories welcome...haha. Hope everyone is doing great and enjoying the nice weather!

On Holiday Again!

From Lorrie: This is my last weekend here so we decided a beach experience was in order. We got a great recommendation from a German family that we met at the guesthouse so we made reservations and booked our trusty driver George to get us there. In order to have less traffic, we departed at 6:00 AM. Still at that hour the city was bustling. We arrived at the Ko-Sa beach resort, just outside of Elmina at 9:00 and after a quick coffee we were on the beach.

The beach was terrific – there are some big rocks that break the surf which otherwise would be too big for us let alone Ama. In the morning when the tide is out, the water is pretty quiet and she could play till lunch. Our accommodation was a small bungalow with its own bathroom and 2 double beds. Lovely. Just outside our door is a gazebo and a stones throw from the outdoor restaurant. The food was consistently tasty and fresh, and fairly reasonable. The hotel consists of hut style buildings, and offers a range of different accommodation types.









Below are pictures of our room and the restaurant area



After Ama’s nap (we need to get her out of the mid-day sun), we take her back to the beach but by this time the tide is coming in and the waves are big. She loves being held by us as they crash into us and splash. She squeals with delight and can hardly wait for the next big wave. “Watch out! It’s coming!” She has learned to say.

One of the best parts of the holiday was meeting the other guests. We met some volunteers from Holland who were working in Tamale in a hospital there. We also met a UN worker who works in Nepal relocating refugees. She was preparing for her wedding here in Ghana. Our next door neighbours were a German couple – she is a kindergarten teacher in a school held in the forest (outdoors all year long) and he is an undercover policeman.

We were joined one morning by some small African boys who wanted their picture taken and also to play with Ama’s soccer ball. Innocent enough and since they were small we were happy to oblige. However, the soccer ball disappeared and despite a good effort by our hosts to retrieve it, the ball apparently met with a “needle” and deflated. That’s the story anyway. Lesson learned-don’t let the toys go out of sight!

One day while reading outside our room, some 12-14 yr old boys were harvesting coconuts. They scale the 30 to 40 ft trees with no effort and no safety anything and knock the coconuts out of the trees. Later they try to sell them to us at 1GHC a piece, not bad!

We had planned on the canopy walk but the 2 hr drive and questionable safety of the bridge was a big deterrent for grandma so we declined in favour of another beach day. Monday was our departure day and we stopped to see the Cape Coast Castle which was one of the famous spots where slaves were held and then shipped around the world. It is a shocking place – it is estimated that over 2M Africans were rounded up and shipped. Many did not even survive the castle let alone the voyage to whatever country was receiving them. It was a sobering tour.

We are now back in Accra and tomorrow Karen is off to work and I am off to nursery school with Ama. My big job will be to take the laundry down for the staff to wash – I must admit that handing it over to someone and getting it back folded and mostly clean is a pretty good service for less than $5 per week for the 3 of us. Also on tap for this week is some shopping and preparing for my Saturday departure – cannot believe my month is nearly over but of course there is no place like home so I am also looking forward to my return.








The pictures above are of the Cape Coast Castle. The "door of no return" is where the slaves were brought out to the ship. There is now a sign on the other side of the door that says "door of return." This was put on after descendants from the slave trade came back to visit the castle where their ancestors were shipped.

Just outside this door is a bustling area with tons of fishing boats. Very interesting.