First Impressions

waiting for the journey to begin at Washington Dulles airport

It was a long journey to Ghana.  It was a two and a half hour drive on Sunday just to get to Washington Dulles Airport.  Our journey began with a 7 hour red-eye flight to London Heathrow.  Of course not much sleep was to be had, but I did catch up on some of the movies I’d missed during the year!  After a short layover we boarded the plane to Accra, Ghana.  Six and a half hours later we arrived.  It was Monday night.

lots of luggage!

I definitely noticed the humidity.  It didn't help that it had been raining.  Everything was damp.  We waited a bit to get through customs, but the real wait came at the baggage claim.  Because of the rain – it was actually raining IN the baggage claim area – everything was delayed.  We waited and waited.  Some bags were there, most were not.  Everyone in the group had one bag of their own stuff and one bag of donations/supplies, with 18 people in the group that was 36 bags to collect! Baggage areas are always hectic, but the rain compounded the chaos.  It was a bit stressful waiting and hoping.  Fortunately, after a couple hours, we found all our bags.   Next stop, the hotel.

Life in the tro-tro

 If I thought the baggage claim was chaotic, getting from baggage claim to the vans (“tro-tro’s" in Ghanaian lingo) was even more so.  Everyone was tired; we were trying to maneuver all our luggage through the rain and across the parking lot.  People were coming up, offering to help, often just grabbing our carts and going without asking.  We had a group of people meeting us for the transport but we didn't know who was part of the group, who wasn't, if our bags were actually going to make it into the tro-tro…  But as usual, everything worked out, we were all packed into a tro-tro and off we went.   One thing I learned in Ghana is to just go with the chaos.  People there are much more laid back and things seem to work out ok.  Order and planning is overrated  J

We were about a twenty minute drive from our hotel.  It was dark so we didn't see much, but what I did see surprised me.  The modern architecture of some of the buildings was not what I was expecting.  There isn't a sky-line in Accra, there isn't really a “downtown” area, it is more a sprawling urban area, but the city is dotted with new construction among the older, more stereo-typically “3^rd World” buildings.  I was happy to find that the highway/roads to the hotel were paved and, as it was night, there was no traffic so it was an easy commute.

Modern architecture in Accra

Modern building in Accra

President's house in Accra

Our hotel in Accra

We finally arrived at our hotel, the Hotel President.  There was a lobby area that was like a living room: a desk for the receptionist and several old couches surrounding a small tv (perfect for watching the English Premiere League Championship game with the locals!). The rooms were very basic, but comfortable, with a bed, desk, small (semi-working) refrigerator, and (also semi-working) air-conditioning.  My room had a small balcony but it was covered by trees so there was not much natural light in the room (good for sleeping!).  The bathroom was also basic.  The toilet mostly worked, sometimes extra water needed to be added to the tank to generate force to flush.  As is common in many developing countries, the sewer system cannot handle toilet paper so there is a trash can next to the toilet to put the paper.  It sounds gross but you get used to it (now that I’m back in the States, I still sometimes look for the garbage can before I remember it’s ok to flush!)  The first two nights the shower worked great.  There was no hot water, but in the sticky heat of Ghana, cold showers felt wonderful.  After the second night, I lost water pressure so had “bucket baths” the rest of the trip.  To take a bucket bath you fill a big bucket with water, and then you stand in the tub and use a smaller bucket to scoop and pour water over you.  Again, it sounds terrible, but you get used it.  As long as I got cool and clean I didn't care how it happened!  

bathroom in hotel room

hotel room

 The hotel (and most places in Ghana) didn't have windows like we have, instead they have slats that can be opened and closed to let in fresh air.  In addition to fresh air, they also let in bugs.  I learned to peacefully coexist with the roaches and bugs that shared my room.  I did freak out a bit when I saw the 2-inch roach crawling around, but he crawled under the bed before I could do anything.  Fortunately I never saw him again.   Despite all this, I slept soundly most nights.  Between the heat and the hard work, I rarely had a problem falling asleep.

Next up: Accra by day….

Our ride for the trip

Lovely patio at our hotel