Thursday of flat tires

   Remember the story of the ingenious patch job that fixed the flat tire I had on the way to Cape Coast in December? Well good! I didn't... until last Thursday morning that is. So UN-GERMAN of me! But hey, it lasted a month. That's impressive, isn't it? :)

   Here are a few snaps of the whole procedure of getting it fixed this time. Not quite as exciting as the first time round since I had a spare tube this time but you get the general idea. The comical side of it, there were bikes with flats to be seen about everywhere that morning. Hence, the Thursday of flat tires!

   We had a new addition to the camp for exactly 2 days. A little homeless puppy that was taken in by one of the guys. Her name was 'Lucky' which seemed to be fitting. Not so much now as she sadly has disappeared and it is very unlikely that she is still alive :(

   Saturday may have possibly marked an early end to the Harmattan season with rain like I haven't experienced it before. A blessing and relieve from the dust that is everywhere. I have robbed a few pictures off my friend Rozahn (thank you!). Hope it gives you an idea.

   I'm in Accra now and will be heading to the Airport in a couple hours. Really looking forward to going home! Shneaky pints on Tuesday night anyone? :)

Tour de Library

After many weeks of tedious data entry, maintenance and similar work we've reached a milestone: The first ~300 books are in the shelves!
It may not look or sound impressive but to finally see this progress is giving me and my 2 permanent helpers Hayford and Seth new energy and motivation.

Left picture: View from entrance. Shelves will separate the room in fiction (left-hand) and non-fiction (right-hand). The left hand side of the room will be further divided to create a 'junior section' for children. 

View from the desk to the right-hand side of the room. This is the non-fiction area we are currently working on.

Fiction area of the library: Currently a mess... Once done with the books, all 3 areas will provide seating and study possibilities.

The month of many 1sts

After laying Suzi down (while driving of course) as well as running out of petrol (sort of) it looks like December has had at least one more first time experience in store for me and Suzi. Rory and I were headed for Cape Coast on Wednesday morning. We were really excited about this trip. Only 30 km into the journey I got a puncture in my front tire. Within minutes several locals stopped offering their help but none of them really could do anything. We were fine. That was until we figured, that it wasn't a classic puncture. The valve had completely ripped out of the tube. I have no clue how that could have happened. Stupidly I had left my spare tube at home - very smart! 
   Rory drove to the next village and got their mechanic to come out. He had a very clever way of fixing the tire by cutting the valve incl. a large base of rubber out of an old tube. He stuck that one into my tube and fixed it with a nut as tight as possible. No glue, no rubber or similar to seal it. Believe it or not, it worked! It's a patch job but it brought us all the way down to the coast and back. My heart was bleeding though when I saw him butchering my rims with a screwdriver. First order I put in online when we got back from our trip on Saturday: A decent set of levers :) It will hopefully arrive together with my GiantLoop Saddlebags in time so that I can take it all back with me at the beginning of February. 
   I'm actually delighted the misfortune with the flat tire happened as well as the other episodes of falling and running the bike dry. It's good experience and a boost in confidence. I wish I had taken pictures of the puncture getting fixed but I was too focused on the mechanic and worried he'd damage more than do good. I'm pretty sure though next time I'll be more relaxed about it. 
   Before I get more smart comments how I could possibly run out of petrol with a transparent tank... :)
    I hadn't actually run out of petrol. With the type of tank fitted to my bike there is around 3-4 liters of petrol you can't really use because it's lower than the carb and it doesn't have a vacuum. I knew that but since I was about 10 km away from home and although the level of petrol was very close to the carb line I thought I would make it. Turns out I didn't :) Within minutes of me trying to somehow get use of the fuel left in the tank a taxi packed to the roof with people stopped and squeezed me in as well. They took me to the next petrol station, dropped me back at my bike, helped me push the bike as she wouldn't start at first and then wouldn't take any money for their help. Silly episode perhaps, but great experience altogether.
   Back to our trip down to Cape Coast... It was a very enjoyable ride. Rory was leading the way most of the time. Following him was entertaining as I watched the reactions his KTM causes with the locals. Driving through villages he sent chicken flying (rare sight!) and sheep stunned like a rabbit in the headlight. 
   By the time we got to the coast - it took us about 8 hours - I was well ready for food and a ring cushion to rest my aching behind. We stayed in Elmina, a Portuguese colony built in 1482 about 12 km west of Cape Coast. We took a tour through St. Georges castle, the oldest European building in existence below the Sahara. It was used as a slave trade post in it's time. Pretty grim to imagine how slaves where stacked and treated in there.
   We went to an animal sanctuary in Kakum. The place is run by a Dutch couple who have been living there for about 8 years. They rescue various animals but primarily monkeys from ending up in someones cooking pan. It's a tough battle and I really admire they're efforts.
   It took us 5 hours to get back on Saturday, just in time for lunch and a nap to get ready for some NYE shenanigans Ghana style. Who would have thought I'd be spending new years in Africa only 6 months ago?! Let's see what 2012 has in store for us :)

 

Kilometers of dusty bumpy roads (left) and grave of someone who died at an impressive age (right)

No clue what they were celebrating...

Skinny cows and other dangerous encounters along the road :)

Hundreds of slaves were kept here sometimes for months until the next boat would stop at Elmina and take them to Europe or elsewhere 

As the skull and crossed bones let guess if you were to step into the "condemned cell" you would not leave it alive

Boatmakers at Elmina Bay and hustle and bustle at the fish market in the heart of the city (lovely scent of fish in the air too *yikes*)

Spin to the beach and welcome present in our bathroom back in New Abirem