The long journey home

Well, I promised to finish the stories of my adventures in Ghana, so I'll pick up where I left off the last time...

After Jen and I said our goodbyes to our friends in Accra, we jumped into a bus at the bus station and then sat....for two hours! Here in Africa, the public transportation is slightly different than America (ok, maybe that's a bit of an understatement)! There are no set times that the buses leave. You just show up, find the bus that's going to the city where you're headed and then wait for the bus to fill up. These 'buses' are more like large vans...not the nice big buses with air conditioning in the states with lots of walking room in the aisle...the buses where they pack you in like sardines! So, after two and a half hours had passed, the last person finally climbed onboard and we started off on our journey to Ho Hoe.

Jen and I didn't really know much about our trip up north, except that we wanted to see the waterfall and have fun in the meantime. We didn't have any idea where we'd be staying when we got there, we just decided we'd see what happened and figure things out as we went along....and that's exactly what we did....we made a friend on the bus ride who was from Ho Hoe and was able to give us a list of recommendations for places to stay. We agreed on 'The Grand Hotel'...sounded pretty promising and turned out to be a decent place...aside from the spider in the bathroom...I took care of that problem quickly and Jen thanked me for killing the scary little critter.

Ho Hoe turned out to be a cute little town pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Jen and I ventured out to find some snacks for dinner (you have to be a little creative when you're traveling in Africa!) and met a few friendly people. The man who worked at the front desk at the hotel was a friendly guy. When we asked him his name, he said 'God's Will' and I looked at Jen and said 'Wow, I finally know God's will!'...we both had a laugh over my corny humor. I think it's really interesting how so many names and titles of stores are so religious in Ghana. It was noticeable even in the first few minutes we entered Ghana. Many of the cars and stores have references to God and the Bible. It kind of reminded me of Texas :)

So, Jen and I had a nice stay at the Grand Hotel and headed to Wli Falls the following day. We had to take a taxi up the road to the waterfall, which turned out to be a very bumpy ride down a dirt road. The waterfalls were located in another small town north of Ho Hoe. We got to the hiking office, met our 'mandatory guide' and started off on the hike. We opted to take the road less traveled and hike to the lower AND upper falls...which turned out to be a very dramatic incline...I don't know if it was the heat, the altitude, or just not enough fluid intake, but as we were hiking, I suddenly started to feel like I was spinning...apparently my color was changing too, because Jen took one look at me and encouraged me to sit down, which I willingly did and was grateful for. It was a strange feeling being so dizzy. I've never passed out before, but I really felt like I was going to. It was nice to have a nurse with me. Jen gave me some gatorade and a lollipop and I was back on my feet in no time. The rest of the hike was peaceful and uneventful. The waterfalls were beautiful and for awhile, we were the only ones in sight. It was a nice change in pace from the busy life of the ship!

 Our incredible view on the hike

 

The upper falls

Jen & I after our hike to the upper falls

Enjoying the showers of the lower falls

After awhile, some other tourists showed up and we met some nice people from Pennsylvania who were working with their church group in Ghana. Later, we were befriended by two people from Togo who had come across the border to enjoy the waterfall. When I told them (in my broken French) that we lived in Togo and were heading back that day, they offered to escort us across the border and show us the road to Kpalime since we hadn't crossed the border up north before. So, we started the long journey home...

The border crossing itself was quite amusing. The "official" border was a small, run-down blue building. We walked inside and saw one official with her feet propped up on the table and the other official with his radio stationed to the latest soccer match. The woman didn't like the letters we presented (our official letters from Mercy Ships stating that the government of Togo has granted us free visas) since she knew we wouldn't have to pay and kept saying "This is not good." The guy was a little less worried about it and asked about what he had to do to come visit the ship.

After getting through all the paperwork, we started back on the narrow dirt road. There was a stretch of road that seemed to go through 'no-man's land' between the borders of Ghana and Togo. After a few minutes of walking, we approached another blue building that said 'Police'...It was apparently immigration services for Togo. The only problem was that there were no officials to be found. 'Where are the police?' I asked our friend. "They must be sleeping," he answered nonchalantly. He continued walking and we followed along, slightly bewildered by the fact that we had just crossed back into the country without talking to any officials...I looked at Jen and we both just shrugged..."Well,  TIA" (This is Africa), we said and went on...some things just don't surprise you anymore after awhile.

One thing that I've learned being here is that you have to just go with the flow. Another thing I've learned is that you can never take people literally when they give you a time estimate. We passed through a small village at the border and then came upon a paved road with no taxis in sight. I asked how far the next village was "Thirty minutes," he answered. About two hours later, Jen and I realized we'd run out of water. I was starting to get a headache. My feet hurt from all the hiking and walking we had done in flip flops. No taxis in sight. It was one of those moments that I couldn't see the end in sight. Jen and I were both tired and ready to be off our feet....Not to mention, the long road we'd been walking on was uphill...we even hit some switchbacks at one point. I tried to stay distracted by working on my French with our Togolese friend. I could tell Jen was enjoying herself even less than I was. "Just think, we're gonna laugh about this later," I told her. That didn't make her feel any better. In fact, I think I may have even gotten a dirty look for that comment. Every time we asked how much farther the next village was, our 'guide' told us "Thirty minutes"...Of course it was thirty minutes...that response didn't give either one of us very much hope.

Finally, we were met by a little boy who told us he lived in the next village and it was only a few more minutes up ahead. We got to the village and found....no taxis, no water. So, we kept going. Not far from there, we came to another little village. There was a marker on the road that said we were 10 kilometers from the border (I think that's about 6 1/2 miles)...So by this point, we had cumulatively walked close to 9 or 10 miles. I was ready to drink some water, but the village only had water from the tap (and we all know that kind of water doesn't get along with our stomachs)....So, we just kept walking. Before we got out of that village, our friend saw a friend on a motorcycle. We only had a little bit of cepha (the Togolese currency) since there had been no place to change over our Ghanian money at the border. So, we had to pay partly in cedi (the Ghanian currency) and partly in cepha. We were just happy that we finally had a ride! We thanked our friend and rode away.

After passing a few more small villages, we arrived in a slightly larger village where our motorcycle driver decided to stop. We stopped right in the middle of a bunch of other motorcycles and drivers. Everyone was speaking French and pointing. The driver told Jen she needed to get off and get on one of the other motorcycles and I told him "No, she is my sister, she's going with me" (Yes, I can actually say that in French and yes I know she's not actually my sister, but she's my sister-in-Christ and multiple people have told me we're like twins, so it was close enough!)...But the driver wouldn't budge. He kept telling her to get off and I kept insisting that he stop trying to move her off and get back on the road. Pretty soon, we became the entertainment of the town. People were coming out to watch what was going on and  most of them were laughing. "I really do love Africa, but this is one of those moments that I'm really just trying not to hate it," Jen moaned. We were both on the verge of giving up. Si vous plait, I whined to the driver. Finally, he started up the motorcycle and began to move! Wow, it worked! I said proudly. But, we had only gone about five feet when he made a circle and turned around back to where all the other motorcycle drivers remained, laughing at us. "Ok, maybe not," I said defeatedly. Jen and I sat for another few minutes, as the drivers carried on back and forth. I wasn't even trying to understand what they were saying anymore.

But, finally, a woman stepped in. She was an older lady and had a gentle face, which automatically won our trust. "The law only lets you have two people on a motorcyle," she explained. "Oh, well, in that case, I'll get on the other motorcycle and we can be on our way," Jen agreed. So, both of us went from a state of being stubborn and frustrated to agreeable and obedient in one minute simply because the kind woman stepped in. I hope the men of the town learned a lesson from that one :)

As Jen and I rode away down the mountain, I breathed a big sigh of relief and regained hope that we might actually make it home that night. We had a short ride to Adeta, where we were finally able to buy drinking water. We sucked down a few bags of water and hopped on another two motor taxis to take us to Kpalime. This time, getting on the road was much less complicated. We were thankful for that because to be honest, neither one of us had the energy or patience for any more African antics.

The ride from Adeta to Kpalime was exactly what I needed. The sun was getting low, the breeze felt amazing, and the scenery was beautiful. I watched the sun set over the mountains as we rode through a small village. Every time we rode past a child, I would wave and their black little faces immediately turned white with a big smile that went from one ear to the other. Occasionally the little ones would giggle and point to the "yovo" riding on the motor taxi. I sat there taking in the sights of the children smiling and waving, men walking home from work with their machetes and tools in hand, the women taking a stroll with their friends, and the kids playing in their school uniforms, and I was reminded of why I love living in Africa. It may have it's share of frustrating moments, but it is a beautiful place filled with beautiful people.

Jen and I reached the bus station in Kpalime right as it was getting dark. We bought our bus tickets and were happy to see that we were the last couple people to pile into the van....which meant we didn't really have to wait at all! We loaded up and headed back to Lome. It was a tight squeeze with all the people they had managed to fit inside, but we were happy as long as we were moving! The little boy beside me fell asleep in his mamma's arms and occasionally his little hand would fall on my arm. It was precious. I was getting a little bit sleepy myself....it had been one long day!

We made it back to Lome at last and bartered one last taxi to get us to the port. As we walked into the port, we were greeted by a friend from our group in Ghana who was out jogging. "We were so worried about you girls," he said with a big hug. Apparently they expected us back sooner and had wondered what had become of us.

Finally, we reached the dock. As we rounded the corner, we took in the sight of our big white piece of steel floating on the water. The lights were shining bright, reflecting off the water, the dock was quiet, and the ship looked more inviting than ever before. We both breathed a sigh of relief. The never-ending journey had finally come to an end. "I never thought I'd be so excited to be back at the ship," Jen exclaimed. I couldn't have agreed more. It had been a very, very long journey, but we had finally made it home.