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Published: February 24th 2009
This past weekend most of the girls from my group and I went to the beach to celebrate our friend Margaret’s 21st birthday. We traveled about 6 hours west of Accra to the resort town of Busua and the more isolated Butre, and I must say I think those beaches are the most beautiful places that I have ever been! I will try to post pictures, because words won’t do enough to describe it. Picture the perfect postcard image of a white sand beach, sparkling blue water, palm trees, and hammocks. In Butre, there were fishing villages on either side of the hotel where we stayed - far away enough so that we didn’t bother/get bothered by the locals, but close enough to add to the charm and atmosphere of the beach. We could watch the fishermen push their boats (thing very large canoes) out into the ocean and then pull them back in at the end of the day. It was a wonderfully relaxing weekend compared to the hassles we’ve faced in the past trying to travel and get around town as a group of obrunis.
The only trouble we faced over the weekend was in Takoradi, the city where our bus dropped us off. Fortunately, there was a soldier on our bus that went out of his way to help us find a place to stay for the night. He was going home for the weekend to visit his family in Takoradi, so he knew a decent hotel where we could stay and he even helped bargain a lower price for us. We exchanged phone numbers with him in case we ran into any trouble on our way to the beach and he called to check up on us the next day to make sure we arrived safely. It was nice to have someone looking out for us, especially someone in uniform that other Ghanaians would respect. We actually saw him again at the bus station as we were waiting to go home. He was taking a military aircraft back to Accra and offered us a flight back with him, but by the time he got permission for us to join him, our bus had already left so we missed that opportunity.
At the hotel in Butre, we were spoiled. We spent 9 cedi each for two nights right on the beach. Anywhere else, people would have been paying hundreds per night, even just down the coast a few miles in the resort town Busua. I decided that people pay the extra money for the bathrooms because our sleeping accommodations were very decent. We got a dormitory, so we slept in bunk beds, but it was nice that everyone got their own bed for a change. Our bathrooms were in a separate building outside and they were shared by everyone at the hotel. Needless to say although they were cleaned in the mornings, they got pretty dirty by the end of the day. Aside from that, the hotel was incredible. They served great American, European, and Ghanaian food and one of our waiters, Enoch, quickly became our new best Ghanaian friend. He understood our sense of humor and sarcasm and was very friendly without being overbearing like a lot of Ghanaians can be. Maybe because he spends so much time with Westerners he’s learned what we appreciate. We liked Enoch so much that we invited him to come out with us when we spent the night in Busua, and he joined us and we all had a great time. He too was able to show us around and make sure we were taken care of. As much as I may complain about all the attention I receive as an obruni when I’m traveling, it really is nice when I meet the good hearted people who will go out of their way to help me.
In Busua I attempted surfing for the first time ever. Our friend rented a board for the day and offered to let us give it a try on his board. I couldn’t stand up on the board for my life. I tried a few times just in relatively still water and then again on three small waves, but I had no success. I think next time I will need some real lessons and a bit more patience. Overall, the whole trip was very relaxing and a bit more like a vacation than the rest of my time here has been.
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Aunt Pat
non-member comment
Nice to see you are relaxing
Nicole I'm glad that you are enjoying a few moments of leisure where you are spoiled. Please don't let the frustrations of this new place get you down. You need to continue to be yourself and take each moment as it comes. This is such a precious time in your life and will be something that is special for the rest of your life. Hang in there.