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The Little Bus that Could...
This was our bus for most of the trip. We started out on something larger, but it was easier to navigate the roads in the north with a smaller bus. It was not easier on my bum...I can’t tell you about the trip to Mole National Park without telling you about the bus, or was it the road...or maybe it was the bus and the road. Whatever it was...it made my butt completely numb! Let’s just talk about driving on what some people would call a road, but I call it rocks and red clay between two ditches. Seriously, it was a horrible ride. We went from semi-nice road to completely horrible road. That poor little bus...full of luggage and people, it was struggling. Three cheers for Nissan...they rock, because we would still be on the side of the road trying to get the transmission back in a Ford. The bottom line...the road to Mole is not paved. But it was worth it!!!!
It was raining when we arrived at Mole, and we had a long ride. So, needless to say there were some cranky folks on the little bus. To make everything better, it was the first place we stayed in without air conditioning (this was before our Kongo Mission visit). We later found out that some rooms had air while others did not...yeah, more crankiness. But, my mantra...I’m in Africa. So I was just
Green is the color of...
This is my roommate Meredith in our little green room. There was no water when we got up the next morning, so no shower. Such a great excuse to be lazy and not shower! happy to get my numb ass off the bus. Greg, who has been to Ghana about six times, was very familiar with Mole...he took us behind the lodge to the viewing deck. It was really dark outside, but with the flashes of lightening we were able to look below and see the outline of the watering hole. With just those few brief flashes, I knew the bus ride would be worth it!
Everything looked better the next day. I was super excited because we were going on our Jungle Walk! In West Africa you don’t see lions and tigers (and bears, oh my), but I knew it would be much better than the zoo. I have to admit, it was so cool to be able to walk behind the lodge and get to hang out with monkeys and warthogs. They were just kind of chillin’ behind the lodge, doing their monkey and warthog thing. It was early morning (and you know I’m not feeling the mornings like that), but I was ready to get going. I was optimistic, it was overcast and not too hot. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long...which made for a hot, sticky walk.
We met
Our Third Roommate
Actually this little guy was right outside the door. I would have been cool with him staying inside. "The more the merrier", that's what I always say. That, and "better out than in". our guide for the jungle walk, with his rusty gun in tow. I wasn’t too confident in his ability to stop a raging elephant with a pellet gun, but he was awesome and seemed excited about taking us on the jungle walk. Beginning to end was about two hours...down the hill, across to the watering hole, back up the hill (which by that time looked like a small mountain). Something about being away from home makes you think you are invincible. Or it made me think I wanted to try everything. I swear I could have walked right up to an elephant and touched it...kind of like the whole crocodile thing. No worries, I kept my distance, but the distance wasn’t too far. I was awestruck the entire time. I said a lot of “man, look at that...its just right there, chillin’”.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll stop here. Enjoy...I did!
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Brent
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Mole National Park
Hey, you have some great pictures. I plan to visit Mole this Jan. 2007, I can't wait. Is there air service to Mole? was the lodging OK?