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!
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