Akwaaba

"Akwaaba" means "Welcome" in the traditional Ashanti language in Ghana. 

So where did I leave off about Ghana?  Oh, before the water village, that’s right…

Well I got up really early on Friday to grab some breakfast (the only meal that is actually any good on this ship, haha) and I went down the gangway to get to the bus.  The ride was about 2 hours from Takoradi to Nzuezlo, where the water village was.  The last 30 minutes in the bus were VERY bumpy because we were driving on dirt roads that were very rutted out from the rainy season. 

We all got life jackets (even though the water wasn’t that deep…) and had to pay “camera fees” (tourist trap).  I got into a canoe with my roommate, Nathalie and our friend, Jacob and a LLL lady (life long learner- an older person on the ship who isn’t taking classes).  We had a local rowing us in the back and it took about an hour to get to the water village by canoe.  The canoe trip was awesome, but I wanted to row and they wouldn’t let me.  ☹ 

The water village was pretty cool.  All of the buildings were on stilts and they sat on top of a lake.  I have mixed feelings about this whole trip because walking around in the village felt really strange.  I think there were WAY too many people in our group (80 SASers) and I felt like we just came into the village like it was a zoo and bombarded them.  The walkway was very small with houses on both sides.  People were staring at us as we walked by and we were stepping over their laundry, which was laid out along the walkway.  We got to a room at the end of the village where we all sat down and met with the village elder.  He had a translator and he told us a little aobut the village.  It was built there for strategic purposes- protection from their enemies.  Now there are about 300 people living there and they get around 300 tourists a week! That is crazy!  Before we got up we were asked to donate to the school fund for the village, which made me very skeptical, but I donated as not to be rude… We were only at the village for 20 minutes before we got back into our canoes and rode back to land. 

Oh, side note:  in the little stand that was selling drinks and snacks in the water village where we first arrived, they were selling small, packaged cookies called “Obama Biscuits” with Obama’s face and the American flag on the packaging.  Just thought it was funny.  They love Obama in Ghana.  He and his family had come to visit in July of 2009 and they are very proud of that fact. 
Well all in all the water village was just an awkward experience.  The architecture of the place was neat, but I did feel like we were invading on their lives. 

We got back and I had dinner on the ship (for some reason food on the ship is better when we are in port than when we’re at sea).  I took a nap and went out to the duty store, where everyone was drinking.  I came back early and went to bed.  I’ve had a cold for a while and I was not feeling well and I was tired. 

On my last day in Ghana I got up and looked around the ship for the friends I was going to go out with for the day.  I knocked on their doors and no one answered, so I edited pictures for a while and I was angry because I thought they had left without me.  Turns out that they were all still sleeping so when they got ready we headed out to the market that was just outside of the ship. 

There were lots of beautiful things for sale like jewelry, fabric, dresses, jerseys, woodcarvings, drums… I got a hand carved wooden giraffe for my collection, a Ghana soccer jersey, and a small painting.  Everything was pretty cheap and, between Morocco and Ghana, I’m getting pretty good at bartering.  Too bad you can’t do that anywhere in the US.

I got back on the ship early to avoid dock time (if you are late for on-ship time you are docked 3 hours for every 15 minutes you are late, essentially you can’t get off until 3 hours after everyone else does at the next port), to relax, and to catch up on schoolwork.  School is picking up and I actually have assignments due now.  I still wasn’t feeling great so I bought a smoothie and sat on the 7th deck and read in the sun.  ☺

So I would recommend Ghana to everyone! It was such a warm (literally and figuratively), welcoming country and it was really beautiful- from the canopy walkway over the rainforest to the kids playing soccer barefoot in the mud.  Everyone should experience something like that in his or her lifetime.

M