Buzzing

What an eventful weekend. I'm still on a buzz :) On arrival in Accra on Saturday, we had organized to meet with James from Raincoat Roofing Systems, who had helped me to get Suzi through customs. I can not say how thankful I am for this. It saved me a lot of hassle and money as I would have had to stay in Accra for at least a week or more to get this sorted. No bad surprises with the custom fees either. It was around the mark I had roughly estimated *sigh* 
   James told us how people kept asking him what was in the box. With that in mind you can imagine the curiosity and excitement around the place when finally someone came to open it. People were so eager to help. Hands everywhere and eventually my tools where all over the place too. Had to make sure nothing got lost. I loved it though. Don't think it would have been an easy task had I been on my own. Putting the bike back together however was a task I wanted to do myself as much as possible for that sense of achievement. I would only ask for help to raise Suzi so that I could fit the front wheel. It wasn't easy to make that clear to all my little helpers. I wasn't allowed to pour petrol into the tank for example. Clearly a man's task ;-)

   Although there wasn't really a reason why she wouldn't, I was delighted when she started at first attempt. Happy days! After a short moment of doubt whether I should really ride on a bike I had just put together myself we were ready to leave Raincoat Roofings and head to our accommodation - a 40 minute journey across the city. Driving over here seems so messy and not to follow any rules. Traffic in Accra is especially brutal. Forget about everything you've learned at driving school. Also, whoever told me football is number one in Ghana stands corrected. Overtaking is the bigger national sport closely followed by frequently using the horn for no apparent reason. Naturally I was a bit nervous about entering the madness but to my surprise all nervousness left me once we were on the road. Instead I got such a kick out of it, I couldn't get rid of that big smile in my face for the remainder of the day. Driving my bike in Africa - a dream come true. 

  Rory and I made the most of our time in the capital. We went for some lovely meals. I've had the best steak ever (!) at Rhapsody's at the shopping mall and tasty Sushi at Monsoon in Osu. We also managed to buy some essentials at the mall such as WD-40. Awesomeness! There is a couple of Tortoise living on the grounds of the Lycopodium guesthouse. They are enormous! Rory fed one of them Pringles which he clearly liked. He kept going for more. His mouth was covered with crumbs, so funny. Good times! 

   Then, there was still the dreaded task of registering both Rory's and my bike at the DVLA on Monday. I spent a full day in the blistering sun experiencing an abnormal level of bureaucracy (even for a German) and sadly also greediness. Nobody will just do their job. Dashing (as bribing is called over here) is common and expected. In fact dashing is so much part of the culture that it would probably be acceptable if people had a dash price list openly displayed at their desks. Being an Obruni in the middle of it all didn't help matters. The sharks could smell money which I wasn't willing to give. I'm repulsed by this mentality to be honest. It was a great insight into why there are so many problems in this country. Ghana being one of the most developed and better off African countries, lets me only imagine how bad it must be in other countries on the continent. I left the DVLA sunburned and a small bit disheartened. At least my mission was accomplished. 

   One thing went really wrong though. The Irish crew had made a mistake with the export documents resulting in Suzi now being registered in Lycopodiums name instead of mine. Managed to organize the paperwork and forms that are required to get this changed. Hopefully it will get sorted without problems. 

   We had an early start on Tuesday morning, leaving Accra on our bikes at 5 am. It took us about an hour to get out of the city. By the time we hit the open road we were greeted by an amazing sunrise (see picture). It was a very enjoyable ride for the both of us up until Nkawkaw. Rory started having trouble with the clutch and gears on his KTM. The clutch was leaking and he couldn't change gears properly. Another hour to go but we managed to get home ok. Rory mightn't be able to ride the KTM until we get a replacement seal. Let's see.

   We're off to Accra again this Friday and then flying out to Morocco on Monday for a 2 week break. This is the first time neither one of us has made any concrete plans as to where to go and stay. No accommodation booked, only a rough idea of the route we would like to take. This could be the perfect recipe for a disaster or a brilliant holiday. Stay tuned :)

   

One month down

Cloudmanjaro!?

Ghana's sky has to offer the most beautiful shades of red in the evenings, cloud formations as well as impressive lightning and thunder. 

   Some time last week I asked 2 of my library helpers, Daniel and Hephod whether I could join them on their lunch break. I usually bring my own nibbles but that day I felt brave. They were quite excited actually. We walked through Akoasi village to the food 'joint' of their choice. A small wooden hut, that looks like it has seen better days. But then, so do most establishments over here. Looking closer, it even has 'fast food' written on the front. 

   A woman was preparing food in front of the hut. On walking in to sit at a table I spotted a pile of raw chicken lying there in the sun, surrounded by flies and waiting to be cooked. I made a mental note, not to go for the chicken. The guys ordered food and after a while we got a big bowl with layers of plain boiled rice, rice mixed with beans (similar to baked beans), pasta, bits of salad, 2 small fishes cut in halves and the usual red, spicy sauce. Luckily we were given a spoon each. It's quite common to eat with your hands otherwise. I ate around the salad and didn't taste the fish but had a few spoon full of everything else and it was actually quite tasty. 

   What an experience to be sitting and eating there. Moments like these make me truly realise and appreciate the fact I'm in Africa. It feels surreal at times. I'm still shy to take pictures in the village, hence I didn't bring the camera. I want people to get more used to me before I walk about with a lens in their faces. I'll make sure to take snaps of that place when I do.

   I'm getting to know my temporary new home village - New Abirem. Did a bit of a cycle around the place on Tuesday. It's nowhere as charming as Akoasi, which is something like 150 years old as I've been told. New Abirem is developing and growing at fast speed. People that come to New Abirem are hoping for big money and jobs because of the presence of the Obruni and the Gold Mine in construction. Every village has market days on Tuesdays and Fridays. Stalls more or less sell the same stuff. If you look closely, you might find some of your old, donated clothes being sold here. Could of sworn I've seen that pair of adidas runners before ;) Bought myself a tasty looking pineapple after a day of baking in the sun near the pool. Life ain't that bad.

   Until Tuesday that was. I've not been right since. Got a cold and I seem very attached to the facilities these days. Not unexpected, though a bit surprised it took my body 3 weeks to give out. Would have expected this on my first week. 

   Hoping to be fighting fit again before the weekend as we're finally heading down to Accra this Saturday where I'm hoping to be reunited with Suzi. Hopefully I'll remember how to reinstall that front wheel. Daniel and Robert, you better have your phones handy :) Only kidding. What I am actually more worried about is, whether all the screws and bits and bobs are still there. The guys in Shannon who built the crate were the ones who took the front wheel off. I wasn't there when it happened. I guess, when I left her behind that day I had to accept it's out of my hands and trust that all will be good. Sure, I will find out soon, won't I. 

   This reminds me of a book I have been reading. 'Going Postal' by Nathan Millward. It's about this English guy who decides to ride an Australian Post bike from Sydney to London - with 2 days of preparation for the trip. The guy didn't seem to know much more about bikes than I do. An inspiring read for me in a way. This is the link to the blog he kept during his journey: http://www.thepostman.org.uk/

   Can't believe it's been a month since I've touched down on Ghanaian soil. On this note...To Gudi: Happy 11.11.2011 :)

School time!

Today has not only been a school day for the kids around the library but also for myself - I have a headache. 
  Let me just say the last few days I've come to experience in what strange ways the Ghanaian mind works - or not. The latter may be the issue actually. One example: Sammy and Seth painted the shelves assuring me this was an easy task. So I bit my tongue and left them to it. Oh boy... Not only did they paint the shelves but also managed to cover everything around them in paint. I even spotted a handprint on the ceiling where one of them obviously was leaning for support while painting the top shelve. That not enough, they figured rubbing the paint stained walls and floors with rough sandpaper would be a great way of undoing the damage. Of course, since the wall paint has now come off too, leaving ugly grey patches of concrete, we've hopefully learned that covering the area around you before painting and using soft sandpaper would have been a much better idea. The guys have managed to turn a previously not so bad looking place into a mess. Unreal! Anyway... We're getting there (or so I hope) :)
  I dared to stand outside the library for an instant too long and was spotted and surrounded by a shouting overly excited bunch in no time. Everytime the kids see me they keep shouting the Obruni chorus. It's almost as if they shout themselves into a trance-like state. A bit draining after a while and according to Sammy it won't change either, not even in a years time. I try not to think about that. Since I was the focus of their attention I thought I'll turn it around and took out the camera. It was incredible to see their reactions when showing them the snap on the camera display afterwards. They get so excited over little things. Amazing.
  Update on Suzi: She made it out of customs yesterday. Planning my trip down to Accra to collect her shortly. Whoop :)
  A few snaps from today - this is literally just outside the door from the library.

this is the bunch in order - thanks to creative 

teaching methods such as using a cane stick :0

school buildings left and right and spot
for preparing meals at the tree to the left

 thanks goodness these doors were there
they would have eaten me alive (probably...)