Information from Biggleswade Chronicle correspondent Annette Glenn
Linda Garton, our bell ringer extraordinaire, is at the moment trucking across
a desert somewhere in West Africa and learning a few life skills she didn’t
realise she needed. Stay safe Linda and may you soon find another internet
café to send us more amusing emails. The bellringers of Campton (especially John)
look forward to your safe return in December.
9th Oct
Hi everyone
Having fun getting to grips with senegalese keyboard and have spent last 30
mins asking nice senegalese man on pc next to me very stupid questions so please
excuse complete lack of punctuation other than full stops which ive managed to
work out. You may get the odd arabic character thrown in. Have been intending to
send email for past few days but every time ive come to internet cafe theyve
been about to go to the mosque as its Ramadan here.
It certainly has been a culture shock ... even down to the keyboards
.. everything is just so so different.
Arrived in Dakar after midnight last Sunday. Unfortunately my luggage
didnt: Spent rest of first night in a dodgy hotel with lots of goats, ... just
found the comma...hurrah... , no water and a fellow guest who wanted to give
me a ring as a pressie but just needed to take my rings to check that it
would fit ... dont think so, sunshine. Locked myself in my room and
contemplated the next flight home.
Glad to say that things have improved. My luggage arrived. Im now in St
Louis, 5 hrs from Dakar, smaller and much less intimidating. Living
with lovely lady called Mme Bawa who, by senegalese standards has very
comfortable house built around sandy courtyard where all the preparing of food,
cooking; washing up take place. Bathroom is shared with a family of goats, but
there is a shower ... cold, but in this incredibly hot, humid climate its lovely
.. and loo flushed with a bucket of water.
Everyone incredibly friendly. Think that im a bit of a local
curiosity and lots of friends keep visiting to have a look at this strange woman
who has left her husband at home, speaks no Wolof ... the local language.. and
doesnt eat meat. Fortunately St L has a big fishing community, but it would
be a problem for proper veggies. Pace of life all very slow ... seem to
spend most evenings after dinner .... usually tieboudienne ... rice with fish
and vegs in spicy sauce ...lying around on mats in the courtyard with Mme Bawa
and a couple of female friends, or out in the street, also sandy and very dark
with no street lights, listening to talibes ... young boys from koranic school
.. reciting koran... and listening to the goats of course ... theyre everywhere.
At about 9pm a male friend, Oumar, arrives to come and make the
tea which is a fascinating ritual which all has some meaning, but havent worked
it out yet. We end up drinking 3 cups of ve! ry strong, sweet, minty green
tea. Often we end up dancing to senegalese music on the radio;
interspersed with prayers every now and again. Its fascinating and so very
different to life in England.
Must go ... going to meet the other volunteers in our little haven ...
a patisserie that sells lovely cakes, is airconditioned and has a flushing loo
... all unheard of anywhere else in St L. .... and then going to spend the
afternoon on the beach .... lifes ok.
I start work on Monday and also begin my intensive french course next week
.. though think that ive had a fairly intensive french course already .. noone
speaks English so getting lots of practice at pronouncing french with a
funny senegalese accent.
Will let you know how i get on at work next week... and remind me to tell
you about the taxis too ... exciting if nothing else.
Love to everyone
Linda
xxxx
16th October
Hi everyone!
Thank you to everyone who has sent me an email or text ... home seems a
long way away so it's lovely to hear all the news!
This week has flown by!
In the morning's I'm working at an Ecole Maternelle (Nursery School - 3-6
yrs) close to where I'm living. It's been really fun, though quite challenging!
I've been working this week with the 3 year olds, most of whom only speak Wolof,
and no French, so communication has been interesting! I've quickly learned to
recognise a few key Wolof phrases, such as " I need to go to the toilet"!
I'm known as Tata Linda (pronounced Leenda! Tata means teacher). The school is
built around a small sandy courtyard, with 4 classrooms, 1 for each year group.
There are about 28 in the Petit Section (3 yr olds) but I'm with the 4 yr olds
next week ... 62 in that class! There's also a long verandah and often
lessons take place there as it's SO hot! Resources are minimal ... I haven't
seen a book in the school, what furniture there is is is in various states of
disrepair. I did threading pasta shapes the other day to make necklaces (having
scoured St Louis for string! Finding pasta, strangely, wasn't a problem!), using
a table with more holes than table, so most of the pasta ended up on the
floor! Having to be quite ingenious to think up activities with such
limited resources... so any ideas welcome!! The really difficult thing to cope
with is the very different philosophy here. Discipline is traditional ...
includes threatening to cut off their noses with scissors if they cry and
wielding large scary sticks! I'm certainly behaving myself! The children also
spend a lot of time sitting doing nothing ... when I'm doing activities with a
small group (only room for 5-6 around the table) the rest of class sit and
watch. Am waiting for an appropriate moment to suggest that the other
teachers (there are 2 Senegalese teachers with the class) do something with the
others ... singing, clapping ... anything!!
In the afternoons, 3 days a week, I have a French lesson at the French
Cultural Centre attached to the consulate. It's one to one with
a really good Senegalese teacher without Senegalese accent. I'm told that
I'm making good progress, though as no-one speaks English here, making good
progress has been rather essential!
I've also spent some time helping at the Talibe Centre. Talibes are
young boys, sometimes aged only 5, who are sent to Koranic School. Some are then
exploited by their Marabout (Religious Teacher) who, instead of
feeding/clothing/looking after them, sends them out on to the streets to
beg. The power of the Marabouts here is a cultural phenomenon that I
find it difficult to get my head round. The Talibe Centre exists to provide
support for the talibes, and sometimes a roof over their heads. We go
in the evenings (after they've finished fasting for Ramadan) and give them
bread with chocolate spread and coffee.
This weekend we've been on a boat trip in a pinasse, traditional wooden
fishing boat with the odd hole or two, along the Senegal river. We also had a
picnic in the desert, during which I received a declaration of undying love from
our driver, Bamba, who is desperate to find an English wife ... looks
like I'm the chosen candidate. The fact that I have a husband back home
didn't seem to be a deterrant! Have also spent the odd hour or two by the pool
of a hotel in the centre of town. Life's tough!
Things I miss ...
Decent coffee ... I'd kill for a cappuccino! Coffee is Nescafe with dried
milk. I'm told that you can get fresh milk ... cow, camel and goat (no surprise
there!)... but haven't found any yet!
Am about to run out of time, so must go. Do keep in touch!
Linda
x
26th October
Hi everyone!
Can't believe that I've been here for nearly a month and that I leave St
Louis in a couple of days! I go down to Dakar on Friday, then off to Mali (up to
Timbuktu), Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou ... what a brill name!) and Ghana. Back on
11 Dec. I've really enjoyed my last couple of weeks here ... although my tummy
hasn't!! Chep-bu-jen (tieboudienne) every night has taken its toll!
Looking forward to a possible change in diet and fewer dashes to the patisserie,
the only loo in town guaranteed to flush and with loo roll!
School has just been brilliant fun ..... I shall really miss the children
and the teachers. I spent last week with the Moyenne Section (4 year olds)
... lessons were much more focussed than the first week, with the children
involved in lots more activity, albeit lots of sitting in rows reciting French /
chanting the Koran etc, as well as lots of singing and dancing. I've done
lots of craft stuff with them and also taught them "Wind the Bobbin Up", which
they just loved! They sang it in Eengleesh ( ... well, sort of!) complete with
actions and huge grins on their faces ... Bless them! On my last day with that
class, they sang it with such gusto that all the little 3 year olds from the
classroom next door came to find out what was going on and joined in too! The
last few days I've been with the 5 year olds ... more of the same.
I live in Sor, the mainland, about a 30 min walk from the centre of town -
the island, once the old colonial capital of Senegal. The island is a
UNESCO world heritage site and they're suppposed to be restoring some of the
historic buildings, but not much sign of it yet! There's also the Langue de
Barbarie, a long spit running up to Mauritania, only a few kms away,
also joined to the island by a bridge, at the end of which are some plastic palm
trees which light up a lurid shade of red at night and flash ... bizarre! I
often walk into town after school (to the swimming pool!!), as I'm halfway
there anyway. It's a really interesting walk through a bustling African market
selling everything from melons, fish (very smelly) and groundnuts to
plastic flip flops and dodgy watches, with everyone carrying big baskets on
their head. I usually get a taxi home ... only 35p to go anywhere in St
Louis.
Although the market's not far from home, Ndioloffene, the quartier where I
live, has it's own shops ... tiny little shacks on almost every street corner,
selling everyday provisions. People just buy what they need in small quantities
(eg a tiny plastic bag containing a teaspoon of coffee!) as they need
it ... kitchens have no space for storage. (Usually a fridge, though the
door falls off Mme Bawas when you open it!). The boulangerie delivers bread to
certain women in each street every morning and you go and buy your bread off
them (I was asked to go and buy half a baguette one morning and went gaily off
in search of the bakers, only to discover ... some time later .. that I just
needed to pop next door!). The economy here all works on a very
simple, but practical, level!
Going back to taxis ...!!! The taxis here all resemble survivors of stock
car races! ... broken windscreens, dashboards held together with sellotape,
doors that don't open etc etc. Every journey is an adventure, not least because,
in my experience, all the taxi drivers here want to marry you. As well as
the "ordinary" taxis, there are "Cars Rapides", brightly painted (probably
to disguise the rust!) minibuses, heaving with people. Getting on seems
to involve throwing yourself towards the open back door as it pulls away
and the conductor, who rides on the back step, pulls you on. I've only
ventured to use a Car Rapide once, back from the beach. After a couple of
minutes we stop.... all the blokes get out, taking with them various tools
and breeze blocks from under the seats.... Anna (another volunteer) and I just
look bemused! ... lots of hammering and Senegalese men standing around
giving instructions ... car lurches forwards (off the b! reeze blocks onto
which they'd jacked it!) ... Anna and I end up on floor! ... men all get in
again, one brandishing an exhaust pipe ... off we go again!
Not particularly relishing the thought of the return journey to Dakar....
about 5 hours in a "Sept Places" (7 seater Peugeot 507 estate ... in
similar state of disrepair to ordinary taxis). Sept Places run to African time,
ie they go when they're full! The journey here from Dakar was eventful! It
was incredibly hot and sticky, with loads of dust/exhaust fumes blowing in
through window. We paid for 3 seats for 2 of us, to give us more room ...
costs only about 3 pounds per person. There were 3 large ladies and 2 children
in the back seat! Before we'd reached the outskirts of Dakar, we had a
prang with another taxi ... lots of handshaking ... driver gets string from
under his seat, repairs car and off we go!!
Enough of taxis ... though lots of tales to tell! What else have I
been up to?
Weekend:
Saturday ... quiet day by the pool with a book. Very relaxing!
Sunday ... trip to the Parc du Djoudj (in a Sept Places!) about 70km from
St Louis with the other volunteers ... according to my Rough Guide it's
the 3rd most important bird reserve in the world. It was fantastic! Went on
a boat trip with very knowledgable English speaking guide who really knew his
birds. The highlight was seeing the nesting grounds of White Pelicans ...
thousands of them ... amazing!
It was also interesting to drive through the surrounding countryside ...
some agriculture (rice, cherry tomatoes - in greenhouses, which was surprising -
and onions), lots of cattle, lots of uncultivated semi-desert and villages where
life was obviously very different from St Louis.
Monday evening ... dinner with my French teacher and his family, which was
fun. We spent most of the evening watching a DVD of Youssou N'Dour in concert
... and dancing around/drumming on the furniture which you just have to do with
Youssou N'Dour ... he's a fantastic singer. DVD's players here are
very rare, though most families do have a TV.
Tuesday ... went to pick up my 2 skirts/tops made by tailor just round the
corner in a day. Fabric (very African ... but cotton...cool!) off the market.
Total cost less than 10 pounds total! Mme Bawa was trying to persuade me
to get my hair braided/beaded for Korite (Eid ... end of Ramadan next week) ...
but might give that one a miss! Braids do come in my colour I'm told
(What, out of a bottle!!)
Tonight ... dinner with a teacher from school.
Have also been spending time at the Talibe centre and have now
completed my 40 hour French course ... my French is now "formidable"!
Time to go! Not sure how contactable I'll be once we leave Dakar ... I know
that it's a week or so to Bamako, in Mali, the next big centre of
population after Dakar and we cross some fairly remote areas in between.
Should be really interesting ...looking forward to it! Do please keep in touch
... it's lovely to hear all the news from home, and I'll certainly reply and
send more news as and when I find internet cafes.
Love to everyone,
Linda
x
Hi everyone
Found an internet cafe so thought I,d send a quick update before
disappearing off into the desert!
Have just spent 2 nights in hotel in Dakar ...ensuite, hot shower, air cond
and BBC World...it was SO exciting! However probably last night in a proper
bed for 5 weeks. Set off in truck later today. Lots of bush camping or campsites
with facilities but ...quote ... you may prefer not to use them! ...but I
do have the worlds biggest supply of wet wipes and loo roll in my bag! Have met
my fellow passengers ...Aussies, Americans and Brits ages early 20s to lively
60s ... seem areally fun group. They all though I was in my 30s ....
definitely all my best friends now!
Spent yesterday on Ile de Goree, small island 20 min boat ride from Dakar.
Very peaceful ... no cars, lots of lovely old buildings and fascinating , but
really sad, history. Goree was the collection point for slaves from all over W
Africa who were "stored" here before being shipped out. Had a really interesting
tour of the House of Slaves, one of the buildings where they were kept shackled
for several months, men, women and children, until the ships arrived. The young
women slaves often deliberately allowed themslves to become pregnant by their
colonial captors because then they were freed, and their daughters became
quite powerful in what was very much a matriarchal society as they had european
blood ...interesting. That,s your history lesson for today!!
...and finally ... this made me laugh ... there,s brand of hair extensions
called " Linda" and advertised as "Le secret des belles femmes" ...think I,ll
just have to get some!
Anyway ... off into the desert. May be incommunicado for a while, but
love to all,
Linda
x
6 Nov 2005
Hi everyone!
Thank you for all the emails.
Won,t reply individually as otherwise will spend my 1 day in Bamako
seeing only the inside of a cybercafe, but loved hearing all your news,
so do keep in touch!
This week has been such an adventure, travelling
from Dakar to Bamako, the capital of Mali. After a picnic in Dakar
airport car park, complete with camping stove, chairs and tables
...!!!... we left Dakar and spent a couple of nights at campsites in
Senegal, one ... with swimming pool!..hurrah! ...by Lac Rose, though
not very pink when we were there. Bacteria at bottom not doing their
stuff! People come from all over W Africa to collect salt from the lake,
which is exported or used in W Africa for roads, salting fish and
cooking. Really interesting. The second site was in an area called the
Sine Saloum delta, close to the border with Gambia in area of mangroves.
The others went on a boat trip, but I had a fairly iffy tummy so I had a
relaxing afternoon on the beach with my book, close to the lovely
....???!! .... toilet!
We then set off towards Mali ... 4 nights of bush
camping ... more of that later!! Roads between Dakar and Bamako
much better than I expected, though a remote rural area with only 3 or 4
towns of any size en route. There has been a lot of road building ...EU
funded, though several 100 kms still unpaved ...and very bumpy! The
journey has been SO interesting. Passed villages ... mud brick houses
with straw or corrugated iron roofs, women with buckets on their heads
carrying water from wells or to irrigate fields, boys collecting
firewood, lots of herders with cattle and goats, donkey carts, piles of
mud bricks drying in the sun, some pockets of cultivation ... mainly
maize, and some vegetables around villages. Has been really fascinating
seeing rural life, having experienced living in a Senegalese town ...
very different and much tougher, particularly in Mali which is visibly
poorer than Senegal.
The highlight was my own little personal tour of a
village in Senegal. We,d stopped for lunch by the side of the road and
attracted ...as always... a little crowd of onlookers. I started talking
to one of the onlookers ... so
glad I can speak French ... called Marie,
who offered to show me her village enclosed by a straw fence just across
the road, so I snuck off while the others finished lunch. She introduced
me to her large family .. not sure exactly who was who ... it seemed to
be most of the village! ...and proudly showed me her bedroom which was
in a breeze block building, rather than the mud/straw huts where the
rest of the family lived. The family were Christians ...about 10% of
Senegalese are ... so they weren,t fasting and I was offered lunch which
was being cooked over an open fire .. rice, vegetables and chicken, but
I had to get back to truck, which was a
shame. Village did have
electricity and a communal tap, both of which I,ve certainly not seen
evidence of in Mali, and a school for up to 4 yr olds. Population of
about 100.It has become increasingly hot and dry as we,ve travelled
inland. Savannah vegetation .. baobabs, acacia trees and thorny shrubs.
Monkeys, lots of fantastic birds ... and vultures!
Bush camping
has been such fun and we,ve stayed at some fantastic sites, driving off
road for several miles until
we find somewhere suitable in the middle of
nowhere ... literally! The truck can,t carry enough water for washing
but, hey, who cares! We,ve had some top competitions amongst the girlies
...Who has the dirtiest Wet Wipe? Who,s got the Hairiest Armpits? Then
there is the ritual burning of the toilet paper after the communal
girlie wee behind the only bush at the side of the road ... a truly
bonding experience! I promise that normal standards of personal hygiene
and propriety will be resumed when I get back to the UK!
Did have
the best shower ever when we got to Bamako and some of us have upgraded
to a hotel room and have a bed to sleep in tonight ... hurrah! We,ve
cooked for ourselves so far and stop at local markets to buy food. My
day as head chef hit a snag when the market at the first town in Mali,
Kayes, was closed. It was the day after Korite, the end of Ramadan. I
was told that the stall holders were all tired after the partying the
night before! I managed to rustle up a veggie chilli for 25 with stores
from the truck, followed by a feast of water melon which is available
everywhere by the side of the road; with chicken luncheon meat fritters
for the male Aussie carnivores who, despite my protests, insisted that I
bought 3 cans of this delicious looking meat from the only shop open in
Kayes.At one site there were bush fires a few kms away so we took it in
turns to keep an all night watch. Suzanne, a lawyer from LA and my
tent-mate, and I got the 2-3am stint. It was a surreal experience,
sitting on top of a truck in the middle of the night in the middle of
the savannah in the middle of nowhere listening to snoring from the
tents, drumming from a nearby village ... it was the end of Ramadan
...donkeys, who sounded as though they were joining in the party judging
by the noise they were making! and jackals. The stars were amazing! ...
and fortunately the fires died down.
Time running out so must go. Next
internet stop probably in Timbuktu!
Until then lots of love to
everyone!
Linda
xxxxx
20th Nov
I,m in Timbuktu ....hurrah!!! ...and there are internet cafes
here! The connection is really slow so may be here all day ... but not a lot
else to do in Timbuktu it has to be said!
After leaving Bamako had a really long drive to next town. There was
lots of stopping at police road blocks, where they want to fine you for
anything they can think of, at which point we play the truck load of stupid
foreigners who don,t speak a word of French and therefore
don,t understand why they wanted to fine us (which means they can,t!).
However, this charade all takes time so despite good roads (all EU, Japanese,
American funded) we didn,t reach our destination so had to bush camp in bandit
country ... a bit scary. Sure enough the bandits arrived at sunrise the
next morning, armed with machetes and other weapons disguised as agricultural
implements and helped us to take o! ur tents down!
On to Dogon country where we spent 3 days trekking between villages built
into the side of a spectacular escarpment. The Dogon still retain a
traditional way of life ... though to what extent tourism, although still very
low key, is changing this gave rise to interesting discussions over a pint or 2
of millet beer. Millet is the staple crop, along with onions, grown as a cash
crop. We tried millet porridge, with baobab leaf sauce, which is green in colour
with a consistency resembling something more associated with runny noses ...
yummy!
The Dogon are animists, making sacrifices to the Gods which must be either
red (blood of animals) or white (cream of millet). Did wonder whether
preoccupation with red and white meant that they were Kettering Town supporters,
but forgot to ask.
Villages are made from mud bricks, with distinctive granaries with thatched
roofs, all built high into! the face of the escarpment and reached by cambering
up piles of stones which act as steps. The women, who do all the work
(naturally!) climb up and down these steps many times a day carrying huge
buckets of water from the well/pump on the valley floor, or huge baskets of
millet to pound.
We slept on mattresses on the roofs of the village houses, underneath the
stars ... the skies are so clear here ... listening to the cocks crowing (Dogon
cocks crow from approx 1.30am onwards!) and donkeys braying. Loved
it!
2 highlights of our visit to the Dogons, all of which was fascinating, was
watching the men of the village perform their mask dance, and best of all, one
evening the girlies joined in with the girlies of the village with their
dancing ... not a performance, but what they do every evening for entertainment.
Beats Eastenders! Don,t think we quite got the hang of Dogon dancing but it was
brilliant fun!
We then spent a day in Djenne, wandering round one of the biggest markets
in W Africa ... incredibly colourful, held beneath the world,s biggest mud
mosque. Lots of photo opportunities!
Last 3 days spent travelling up the River Niger on a a traditional wooden
boat, the name of which was pronounced in a very amusing way by our Malian
guide!! ... " Now we go on a big pinasse" ... he couldn,t quite work out
why we were rolling around with mirth!
Passed numerous fishing and nomadic villages and, with the help of the
other girlies, have continued my quest to teach every child in W Africa "Wind
the Bobbin Up". We have discovered that if we burst into song and actions as
soon as we land, the crowd of children who always run to the bank to meet us are
too bemused to ask for "cadeaux, bics, bonbons, bouteilles, the shirt off your
back" etc etc.
4th Dec
We bush ! camped amongst the sand dunes by the side of the river ...
spectacular sunsets, full moons and, best of all, hippo noises! We did
eventaully see a couple of hippos too ... so brill!
...and finally reached Timbuktu ... so exciting, even if there is nothing
here!
Off to find lunch, shade and a cold drink ... its really hot, probably
about 40 C... and then a camel ride this afternoon, which will be fun ( and
probably quite uncomfortable and smelly, but has to be done.)
Next stop ...Bobo Diolasso and Ouagadougou ...top names!!
Bye for now
Linda
x
Hello from Accra ... after 5 weeks on the truck and over 5000kms we've made it!! Arrived in Ghana a week ago, and have found it very different to the other countries that we've visited. The
first, and most obvious change is that 'English' (sort of!) is spoken.
Did have a problem remembering this for a while, having been attempting
to speak French for 2 months. Breezed into several shops saying a
cheery 'Bonjour! Ca va?' and wondering why I got a blank look, and then
trying ' Hello! How are you?' which was met with equally bemused looks!
Certainly in the North of Ghana, although English is theoretically the
official language it isn't universally spoken, and if it is spoken,
it certainly isn't what the Ghanaians refer to as 'General
British'. Sometimes communication has been just as difficult as in the
French speaking countries. As we've
travelled from N to S, Islam has given way to Christianity. Our first
clue to this (apart from there being loads of churches and fewer
mosques, which admittedly was a bit of a giveaway!) was the shop signs
... How about these!!!!!??? ...'Jesus Lives Internet Cafe', 'Surrender
All To Jesus Fashion Centre', 'King Jesus Beauty Salon' and my
favourite ... 'Psalm 121 Spray Shop' (Must check my bible to find out
what Psalm 121 has to say about spraying vehicles! ) Another
change has been the vegetation ... dry savannah giving way to lush
tropical rainforest. It's wonderful to see green again ... and once or
twice, this funny, unfamiliar wet stuff has fallen from the sky! In
rural areas, mud brick villages have given way to fairly solid looking
breeze block and plaster, sometimes brightly painted, and with more
evidence of infrastructure ... electricity supply, running water etc,
lots of schools, clinics (including the Tuna Health Centre! .... in a
little town called Tuna, but an amusing photo stop nevertheless!),
hospitals etc. ... and lots of sit down toilets that flush ... and sometimes there's even the risk of toilet paper! We
spent a couple of nights in the Mole National Park, staying at a motel
(with swimming pool ... hurrah!) spectacularly situated on top of an
escarpment, with Warthogs and Cheese and Onion Flavour Pringle
Eating Baboons roaming around the motel grounds, and an elephant at the
watering hole below. Went on a couple of bush walks, saw lots more
baboons, loads of different sorts of antelopy type animals and got
really close to the elephant, which was brilliant! A few of us also
hired a jeep with driver and armed ranger to go round other parts of
the park. Bit of an adventure ... possibly not to be repeated! Our only
additional wildlife sighting ... other than seeing holes allegedly made
by aardvarks looking for ants ... was a swarm of tsetse fly who decided
that it was time for dinner. Trying to swat these horrible things
whilst driving along a very bumpy mud track and trying not to fall off
the back of the jeep was not my best experience so far! Fortunately
haven't spotted any lumpy bites since so don't think I've got sleeping
....zzzz ....sickness....zzzzz.....yet....zzzz! Then
drove down to Kumasi, Ghana's 2nd city (I think) and centre of the
Ashanti culture. Spent a really fun morning wandering round the
absolutely huge, crazy market ... incredibly busy, noisy, crowded and
really friendly. Everyone wanted to talk to you (rather than hassle you
to buy, which has been the case everywhere else). At one point I ended
up being given a quick African Dance Masterclass by one fish-stall
owner. Only asked her if I could take a photo!
Then
on to probably the best couple of days so far and a fantastic end to
the trip. Just picture a white sandy tropical beach stretching for
miles, lined with palm trees, eating fresh lobster and grilled red
snapper just caught from a colourful little fishing village just along
the beach ... Idyllic! One evening we had an amazing tropical storm.
All the power went off and we sat under the palm thatched restaurant in
pitch blackness watching the lightening over the ocean ...spectacular! Then
on to Accra, via Elmina and Cape Coast with trips round the slave forts
there with really interesting, and thought provoking, guided tours at
both. Two of our party are African Americans, and they were
particularly moved. At one point we were taken down to the dungeons,
and the lights switched off for a minute or so. What it must have been
like for the slaves held down there, crowded, shackled, with no light
and minimum food/water is unimaginable. Last night we
had our end of tour meal at a restaurant right on the beach in a suburb
of Accra, with a live reggae band so lots of dancing and partying.
Waved the truck off this morning. Some of the group are continuing on
the next part of the trip to Douala (Cameroon). The rest are either
staying in Ghana for for a bit longer or flying out in the next day or
so. It was really funny waving the truck off this morning ... it's been
home and a way of life for a month, and all of a sudden I'm on my own
and have to make decisions about what time to get up, what to do, where
to go ... help!!! I've really enjoyed it. Although it's been a tough
trip, with long drives, often very basic (or no!) facilities and some
entertaining group dynamics at times, we've seen some amazing things
and had some great fun. There were a lot of tears as we all said
goodbye this morning! Have already made plans to meet up with a couple
of the group in January ... we were christened the Linpatsu tribe ...
Linda, Pat and Suzanne ... but we probably won't recognise each other
when we're clean, are not having a permanent bad hair day, have our
lipstick on and are wearing clothes that are not all dust coloured. I've
booked myself into a little guest house right on the beach just outside
Accra, and am going to chill out with a book for a day or two, and then
decide what to do for the rest of the week. Probably base myself there
(feel as if I've done enough travelling!) and do some day trips out.
Haven't really looked around Accra yet, and also have Akosombo Dam/Lake
Volta, a drumming course and a monkey sanctuary in mind ... I shall see
how I feel. May just stay on the beach with my book!! Arrive
back in the UK next Sunday ... the freezing temps will be
a bit of a shock ... and can't believe it's nearly Christmas! Looking forward to seeing you all soon. Over and out! Linda xxx
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