The first part of the adventure began with three which became four then to become 2 at the second part of the adventure began. People say the best way to test a relationship is to move in together, I’d say go on holiday together beforehand, oh, and add a family member to mix, that should sort out the bad from the good.
Anyway, enough of the philosophical stuff back to the glam-packing. As I stepped foot in Accra and smelled the air I knew that I had arrived home. Egypt had been amazing, as I said previously I could have gone home without going to Ghana and looked at the holiday as the best, even with the other drama. We were picked up by our father, who was doing what he does best, reminding the people of Accra whose boss, and driven to our home away from home. The first couple of weeks were spent getting reacquainted with Accra, we had visited for the first time the previous year, but only had a week, much of which was spent seated in the back of a ‘chauffer driven car’; seeing Ghana through the eyes of a tourist. This time we were to get around by tro-tro; travelling like the locals. Tro-tro’s definitely have their advantages, the price for 1, less that 20p for a ride into town, I call that a bargain. Then there’s the jokes to be caught, like when the driver gets into an argument with another tro-tro driver who is angry at the fact that his customers have been stolen. So funny and not in anyway intimidating, because if you know Ghanaians you know they don’t fight, just bluff and shout, really loudly. We spent most of the time in Accra, visiting the beach, dining out, clubbing, (a non-event) and seeing the sights. We then ventured out of Accra, Thank God! Not that I have anything against Accra, I love it, but I was just desperate to see more of the country, it annoys me that one can feel they’ve visited a country when they haven’t stepped outside of the tourist hubs. We didn’t get to see all the sites I had planned or wanted to but we did get to Kumasi and Mole National Park, and that makes up for it. The trip to Mole was a hellish couple of days. We had to begin by taking a 12+ hour coach ride to Tamale, which would have been fine if I hadn’t been for the fact that I had vomited before boarding the coach, then realised I had been joined by monthly friend without any prior knowledge. Once in Tamale we were met by Prestige, who was later to be deemed the most foolish man to grace this planet and taken to one of the worst hostels, worst than the Luxor one with the seedy owner. At the hostel we wiped ourselves down with baby wipes and prepared for the next part of the adventure. We had been told that we were to board a metro mass bus; the worst public transport EVER , to Larabanga, site of Ghana’s oldest mosque and the closet any public transport could get to Mole National Park. When we arrived at the bus terminal there was mass confusion. We were asked to pay bribe to the driver so that we could stand on the over crowded bus. The whole point of being escorted by a local was to avoid paying bribes, but what can you do when your escort is just as money hungry as the rest. So anyways we paid way too much to get on the bus just for me to hyperventilate as it took off. Everyone panicked, but our chaperone that was inept to say the least, and was offered the seat of a pregnant woman and prayed on by someone who assumed that I was having some mini heart attack or something. I felt so guilty taking the seat but at the same time didn’t want to be seem like some kind of fraudster or hypochondriac so just sat down and let it happen. As I felt better I offered the seat back, but the woman didn’t refused to take it back. Once in Larabanga we were approached by a man who is infamous in the Ghana guide book, one that I only bothered to read after I had travelled, offering us a bed for the night. He had claimed that my Aunty had phoned up ahead to arrange for us to sleep in the village, but whether it was true or not I was not staying in the village. We wanted to keep moving and get to Mole. The guy then offered to get someone to drive us to Mole on their motorcycles, we refused, one I was scared of riding one, and secondly I didn’t want to pay someone I didn’t trust to allow me to sit on their motorcycle. I knew the walk to Mole was doable, even if Prestige claimed it wasn’t, so we walked in the heat of the day to the park. It was long, but so worth it when we reached the park. Going to Mole National Park was a highlight of the trip, I only wish we had longer there and some more clothes. We opted for a walking Safari, simply because it was the cheapest, but to be honest we would have been disappointed if we had paid the money to sit in a truck. We were so close to the animals, it was amazing. The park is such an asset to Ghana, but it’s just such a nightmare to get there. With some development, mainly of a form of tourist transport to the park then it would start becoming the attraction it has the potential to be.
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