A Getaway Weekend

The three of us took off on a little getaway this weekend to a beach resort about 2 1/2 hours away from Accra called Sisimbo. I've been hearing wonderful things about this place and so despite our worries about the increased risk of Malaria once you leave the city limits, we decided to take the risk (of course taking all the precautions too) and venture out. I was actually quite desperate to leave the city because aside from a few day trips, we've been in Accra since January 1 and that means we're pushing 5 months straight without a change of scenery.

The drive there was actually quite pretty once we got through the trafficy parts. Lots of green, plenty of fresh fruit stands along the side of the roads, and big blue skies.  We always get nervous on rides like this though not just because Ghanaian drivers can often be reckless but because there is the threat of being stopped, for no reason, by police who simply want to hassle you until you feel forced to give them a bribe to leave you alone. This always causes us stress, as we don't ever give them money and you never know how long you'll be stuck along side the road dealing with the inconvenience.  Alan did a wonderful job of avoiding this by carefully placing our car right behind another whenever we saw police in the area so that by the time the police could see we were obruni (white people), we were too far past them to pull us over. 

Once we turned off the main road and onto a dirt road for the last 20 minutes of the drive, we got an up close view into village life, as we drive right through a village called Kuntu. Really off the beaten path, this village was very simple consisting of mostly thatched roofed homes with a few cement ones scattered throughout. Goats ran across the road, children played and danced on the side of the road trying to get us to give them something, and mothers cooked over hot coals with babies on their backs. It definitely seemed world aways from our lives in Accra.  

The beach resort was really idyllic.  It is a simply constructed resort of 12 little cottages in a semi-circle around a big sandy play and eating area complete with a ping pong table, tables for eating, a hammock and a playground.  

All of this leads you to a beautiful expanse of coast line with relatively calm waves, white sand, and lined with palm trees...a true getaway if you ask me! 

The food was delicious and we loaded up on as much fresh fish as we could get. Eli, although not a big fan of the ocean, couldn't get enough of the sand, and these bowling pins scattered around!

We really felt relaxed even when a big storm blew in out of no where and kept us inside for a few hours in the afternoon.

  The only unfortunate part of the trip was Eli's insomnia throughout the night probably just due to a change in environment.  This kept us up most of the night and left us feeling like zombies the next morning. But, once we saw the white sandy beach and sun pouring through the palm trees early that morning, we forgot what a long night it was. 

So mosquito bite free and relaxed, we headed back to the hustle and bustle of Accra and we continue our countdown to departure!

Last Days with Friends

Now that it appears we will be relocating back to the US at the end of June, Alan and I are really trying to treasure our last few weeks with our good friends we've made in Ghana. Even though we're always complaining about how there is very little to do for fun on the weekends here, one thing we can always count on is good times with our close friends. We've kept our circle of friends fairly small but these friendships will definitely last way beyond our parting of paths.  Alan's boss, Rob, and his wife Julie have been amazing friends and really like family to us. We braai (South African BBQ) with them almost 2 times a month and every Friday we go out to dinner with them. They are headed to Kenya sometime in July and took off on their "look-see" visit to Nairobi this week to see what life will be like there. So we had a farewell sushi dinner with them last Friday night and I gave them the quilt I had posted about in a previous entry. They loved it!

Then on Sunday, we joined our very good Colombian friends, Uxoa and Carlos, and some of their Italian friends for a delicious BBQ. Alan has generally been an observer at our braai's and BBQ's since we've been here. If you ask him, he's just been mentally preparing for the task. So this time, he was determined to marinate and make the meat himself. So he got Rob, his boss, to give him his secret South African marinade recipe. It was delicious (well, partly because I added a few things when Alan wasn't looking and partly because we shelled out the big bucks for South African meat imported fresh, not frozen, weekly to a shop here in Accra).

 Carlos bought Alan this shirt, not made in Ghana but somehow a typical Ghanaian shirt, so they decided to sport matching looks for the BBQ.

As the days draw near to departing and saying goodbye, we're busy trying to fit in as many social gatherings as we can because ultimately, all of our friends will be scattered around the world and as much as we would like to see them often, the chances are slim that we can make that happen. 

Eli In Action

I've been meaning to get these videos uploaded to the blog but it just takes so long to get them on so finally I've made the time.

Eli's obsession with wheels...he's such a boy!

The neighborhood girls' obsession with Eli!

Papi and Eli's play time! 

Passing Time

Alan and I are not so patiently waiting to learn where we'll spend the next few years and what his job may or may not be. So many options have come through the pipeline and still nothing is set yet so as we wait, and start to count down the days we have left in Ghana, we're trying to stay busy and upbeat. However, this is not always easy, but playing with Eli provides a nice distraction from the worry and anxiety we've experience for the last several months. He is so much fun to play with and it doesn't take much to have him in stitches.

He loves exploring but unfortunately his exploring is mostly limited to the cement sidewalks surrounding our compound. But, he doesn't mind and finds the parking space numbers and the shiny big cars fascinating.

This red bike caught his eye the other day but he mostly just wanted to make the wheels go round and round.

We're spending our last days collecting African crafts because who knows if we'll ever be back in this part of the world again. We've recently purchased statues from Mozambique and Mali, wooden elephant tables made locally here, and lots and lots of Kente, which is the local style of weaving. We know two producers in Accra who make beautiful placemats and table runners so we've decided to buy loads of it and make a go of selling it once we get to our next destination.

Last weekend we also bought some more beautiful drums!

I'm busy collecting Ghanaian fabric in all kinds of colors and prints but have no idea what I'll do with it all.

Here is Alan sporting a bold Ghanaian shirt that he had to wear for a conference last week. Imagine 60 people in this bold shirt all in one room!