January 30, 2010
So much has happened today. Woke up at 5:30, showered and ate an orange and a cracker to be able to take my morning pills. Met Annika and we left at 6 to get a tro-tro. Went to Cape Coast and grabbed some breakfast. Oh, it was good!! I got a boiled egg that they peel there and cut open and put some hot spices and onions in it for 30 pesewas. Oh, I loved it. And then for 20 pesewas for fried bread… it tasted like a donut. It was so good. Then went to a junction to take a taxi to Domama for one cedi. The roads were rough like usual. In Domama, we went to the information center and waited for someone to come. She told us the prices and what was available. We decided to have a tour guide to Rock Shrine for 6 cedis each and then a water tour for 5 cedis each. Then 2 cedi each for the paddler. And then she said that since the path from here to everywhere would be 8 kilometers, that we should take a taxi that would cost 15 cedi. But we couldn’t find one at a reasonable price so we walked. Wow… it was long. So we did some hiking today too and got in better shape. The Shrine was awesome. It was 2 huge boulders on the ground and then one rock on top that resembled the rock from Lion King. The story behind it is that before Christianity, people would come here and worship lesser gods. But now, you just see a lot of alcohol bottles inside. There were three chambers, and we went into each. Then he started to climb the rock by holding to a vine like thing from the trees. He said we should come and try. Annika tried first but she couldn’t. So I tried and it was pretty easy. We then were on the second level and climbed to the third. There were so many ants crawling on you that there was no point on fighting them until they got on your face. Then Annika tried again and she made it. We then went down. Oh, and on the way while we were walking (which may I mention was really long) he was telling us the names of trees. He picked a fruit and split it open. It looked so gross. There was something gooy around something else and he picked it up and sucked on it and spit it out. He said “Cocoa seeds.. they are very sweet. So I picked one up and it felt SOOO gross that I felt it was going to be gross but it tasted amazing. Chocolate is only one tasty side of the coco bean. It tasted citrusy, like Wonka weird candy or those citrus tic tacs. It was so good. Then we continued onto the river. There they stopped and poured some Palm Wine into a waterbottle and offered us some. I asked if there was an alcohol, and they said “a little but it is very good”. So Annika tried a little and the rest drank the rest, but I wasn’t interested. We then got to the water, and we were very hot. Just sweating and sweating. Hiking in Africa is so different from hiking in Idaho…. just the weather is so humid and hot. Getting to the river, they said that the people who usually take people were gone farming and that only locals were here, and they could not give us a ride so that we must walk. I said “No.. we understood it to be that we were going to have a water cruise” so he asked the elderly gentleman who was crossing the river in his canoe transporting people and plantains across the river if he would do it for 2 cedi each, 4 cedi total. He said he would put us on the water for a half an hour and then bring us back to the same spot. I said no, we want to travel to our next destination. Ben, our tour guide talked with the man again, and he said “Sure”. So it was like bargaining, and it was so worth it. Getting on the water was so beautiful. You hear the tropical birds, and the trees are so big. There were lots of rocks in the river and the river was shallow, and we only got stuck once. But since the canoe was just made of wood like you would build a house I guess, Annika was bailing water a lot of the time. Ben was afraid of water and had never done it before. He was so afraid. He was a 19 year old finishing his last year in High School. He wants to become a surgical doctor. He is very nice, and we had many pleasant conversations with him and the two other gentlemen that came with us. Getting off the river, we walked again. Walking back after the River tour, we walked through many small villages, like one or two families and the last one we stopped while Ben, our tour guide, talked fante to them for a little bit. When we were walking away, Ben told us what they were talking about.. “He said to ask you if you had a husband, especially you” as he pointed to me. My first thought was, is this your question or that man’s for himself, his children or friends or to ask if Ben had already asked us. I wasn’t sure but I laughed and said, “No, I am not married. I am too young and still have school.” So that made me laugh! I was becoming dehydrated, but Annika was worse. I found that I have another water bag and gave it to her. The walk was so long, may I mention, and I could feel my skin burning, but I had already tried putting some sun screen on but with all the sweat, it just couldn’t possibly work so I brought out my bandana and tied it around my arm that was facing the sun while I walked. The burn isn’t too bad but of course it burns. I was starting to get worried about Annika because she was no longer talking, a little aggitated and said she was getting a headache and a little dizzy. But we just had no water and to stop in the shade would just keep us longer from water. We then turned the Corner to Domama and there was the heavenly Fan Ice guy. So we bought Fan Yogo (frozen strawberry yogurt) for Annika, Ben, Walsin, and myself. It never tasted better, but we needed water. So we got to some water, and they bought us 4 water bags, 5 pesewas each, and some Sprite. I learned that you bring back the glass bottle from where you bought it to get some money back because they reuse all the glass bottles. We then paid Ben 13 cedi each because he also had to walk, so he got 26 cedi which is way good for an afternoon’s work. We then took a taxi to the junction, waited for a tro-tro. Went to Cape Coast and bought some more Fan Yogo. We got to Asebu around 5, and we both were just tired and burned. I took a shower to get off the sweat and all the dead or alive ants that might still be one me and eat dinner. I hadn’t eaten anything except those three things in the morning plus hiking and sweating made me really hungry. So I was excited for a good, big meal. But tonight they fed me smashed plantain. I am still not used to the whole one dish with a whole lot of something on it. So I was like “Aaa, smashed plantain. I had that once and it was okay.” So I sat down and I could tell they mashed fish into it. You know that I love fish. I always want fish sandwhiches, fish salad, Salmon anytime I can, but here, fish just doesn’t work. It makes me nauseous just to think about it. So I tried to eat as much as I could but when I would chew on fish bones I almost threw up. I just don’t think fish and fish bones should be mashed into fruit but that is just me! ^_^ So I decided to not finish and maybe I will eat at Elvis’s or just wait to late morning. I have told them that I just can’t eat fish, that I just can’t and won’t. But maybe I didn’t explain it correctly. That no matter how the fish is prepared it is the smell that gets me. But oh well. Today was just amazing. I got great pictures and video I hope. For the rest of the day, Annika invited me over to watch a movie, so I might go and do that and then go to sleep. I am excited for church tomorrow. Even though I will just sit there for 3 hours not understanding what much is being said, it is good people doing a good thing and I love it. Plus, I get to talk with the Saunders so that will be great. Well, I am going to go and try and get some food. Love you!!!
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