http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Ghana en-us Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:56:30 +0000 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:56:30 +0000 I feel like I really dropped the ball concerning this blog the past few months. Last I wrote early November we were headed to Florida to sing in the sunshine visit church family and friends. While there we tossed in a quick visit with Shamoo and Mickey Mouse. Early December we headed back to North Dakota for Christmas and our final shopping and packing to return to Ghana. We left our wint http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Greater-Accra/Accra/blog-464159.html 23 days until I leave for Kumasi Ghana...My host campus starting January 11th httpwww.knust.edu.gh Other people's YouTube videos of my new digs Campus httpwww.youtube.comwatchvOhox4wp4T20 The city httpwww.youtube.comwatchvWzmr8jkKn6M My research site httpwww.youtube.comwatchvaSqo8YoqT2g http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Ashanti/Kumasi/blog-461415.html On a typical slowpaced afternoon I sit under the shade of a tree waiting for a friend observing the other women beside me taking a rest from the sun. They are peddlers wearing mismatched clothing with scraps of batik cloth wrapped around their heads. They seem tired but at peace in no rush to get up or do anything but stare into space. Periodically a passerby stops to purchase their goods http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/blog-460873.html Bonjour allWell finals have officially ended for me the last was on Saturday. As I have mentioned the school system is very different here including how they do finals. Basically the examination period is three weeks long and the exams consist of around 35 essay questions about the subject. You are given 2 12 or 3 hours to write the exam which comprises your grade for the entire semeste http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Greater-Accra/blog-460377.html Accra Ghana is a country with traditional towns and villages worth exploring. The rich and distinct heritage history and culture of our people is evident in all ten regions of Ghana. The sandy beaches along the coastline are lined with coconut trees and resorts for the comfort of leisure tourists. Communitybased ecotourism sites can be found across the country. several international airlines i http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Greater-Accra/Accra/blog-458204.html Accra ghana a mix sophisticated resorts and fascinating towns with warm clear waters that lap the beaches and secluded coves. Let cheap flights to ghana whisk you away to the most romantic city on earth and the most popular tourist destination in the world. Ghana became the first black nation in subSaharan Africa to achieve independence from colonial rule.The country is named after the ancient http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Greater-Accra/Accra/blog-458202.html All good things must come to an end . I have had the best 9 weeks of my life. When visiting Ghana you must be very opened minded and embrace the new culture as much as possible .Places you must visit.1 Cape coast castle A historical building thats holds tons of history on the slave trade worth journey .Also visited by Obama and his wife . 2 Canopy walk You are 400 feet above the ground bu http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/blog-454138.html i didn't have a camera for a month or so so the pictures from togo and kumasi are from anouk and taylor explaining why i have a lot more from green turtle and ada foah.. the past few trips have been really good for pictures. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/blog-454088.html Last wednesday my indigenous religion class visited a traditional shrine. field trips here aren't as easy as in the states there are probably 400 people in this class so the whole thing took four hours longer than it was supposed to. still it was really interesting. the shrine wasn't what i had imagined at all. it was pretty much a designated building where the appointed traditional priests wor http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/blog-452601.html Transit 12km for a total of 907km 8 full cycling days and 55 hours of riding timeWith only a day left we headed back to Accra to prepare for our flight tomorrow not a minute too soon for Shauna. The bus ride was long and hot. We crossed the border again with our bikes and then caught a bus from the Ghanaian border town of Aflao. There were lots of police blockades to stop at on our ride ba http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Greater-Accra/Accra/blog-451812.html Riding Day 7 125km total 800kmAfter an interesting stop in the historical town of Cape Coast we started on our longest ride of the trip Accra. The ride started off well enough but the big difference is that we didn't have a good enough shoulder to ride on through out the whole ride so we had to be defensive and ride on the road when we could and move over to the shoulder when we had vehi http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Volta/Aflao/blog-451810.html Riding Day 5 132km total 525kmSince we decided to cycle to Cape Coast in two days we had to decide where to stop for the night. This was the one stop on our tour where I wasn't confident that we would find accommodations or even good food. There were four major towns along the 230km route but we didn't have much more than that. For a change we got off to a quick start. I guess part of the pr http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Central/Cape-Coast/blog-451809.html Riding Day 3 105km total 298kmAfter an unexpected day off we were back on the road again. This time to a small town called Nkawkaw which lay inbetween Accra and Kumasi. The restaurant we had lunch at in Koff Town had a another restaurant at the junction to the main AccraKumasi highway. Since we had a good meal and Linda Dor in Koff Town there other restaurant would be good enough option http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Ashanti/Kumasi/blog-451807.html Riding Day 1 96km total 104km Wednesday was quite a day on a couple of fronts. For starters it was nice to get out of Accra. Oxford Street in the Osu District of Accra where we were staying was starting to wear on us. It had all the creature comforts we could want but without the Ghanaian friendliness and spirit we had heard so much about. As well after being in bed for a day I was feeli http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Eastern/Koforidua/blog-451804.html We arrived on Saturday night after a loooong flight. The flight over the Sahara was so cool though. I never really realized how large of a desert it really is. We flew for hours with nothing but sand beneath. It didn't look very hospitable down there. Upon arrival getting through immigration and customs was easy enough but after that... well that is another story. We quickly learned that peopl http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Greater-Accra/Accra/blog-451382.html I leave today on my adventure to Ghana. Cant wait to get there http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Greater-Accra/Accra/blog-451322.html This is an angry note with lots of cursing just to let you know in advance.Oh you know today was your typical Ghanaian day. The world shat upon our faces. My room was broken into and all of malinarsquos money for the REST OF THE TRIP which she got out of the bank LAST NIGHT was stolen. She had to get out the rest of her money because her bank is switching from visa to mastercard and they don http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/blog-449242.html A lazy day here is different from one at home. Because you have the sense that whatever you did or didnrsquot do it was enough. It was enough to just live to feel the sweat sticking the clothes to your body and feel the heat of the sun envelope you like a fire does burning embers. It was enough to step outside and leisurely make your way down the dirt road to greet the neighbors to buy a yam http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Greater-Accra/blog-448665.html Alright I know Irsquove been slacking lately. But in my defense the electricity has been going out a lot so I havenrsquot even gone near my computer lately. Irsquoll backtrack a bit.Last weekend the entire ISEP group went to Kumasi. Kumasi is the second largest city in Ghana located in the ashanti region about a five hour drive north of accra. Traveling as a big group of obrunirsquos i http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/blog-448318.html heyasooooo my whole thing of being a medic was rather entertaining. I didnt have too much to work with but i had some anticeptic concentrate gentian violet bandages and heat spray. The first match was a bunch of kids they were pretty funny to watch since most of them are so gangly that theres no real muscle behind their charges etc. At the end though ALL of the kids came up to me once they http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/blog-448316.html