Stephanie's here!!

After a two day journey from Morocco complete with two overnight flights and a 10 hour layover in Casablanca, I finally arrived in Accra, Ghana. For whatever reason it was cheaper for me to fly from Marrakech to Madrid and then fly round trip from Madrid to Accra, then to just fly from Morocco to Ghana, despite the layover in Casablanca. Gotta love efficiency.

My sister got in the next day and it's been really nice having company. We're staying at the Crystal Hostel, which is less of a hostel and more just a family's house that they've turned into a hostel. So there's the main house with a living room, kitchen and all their bedrooms. And we have our own little room just off the main house with it's own bathroom.

Today, the plan was to explore the city. I had a hard time convincing Steph to put down her book and leave the hostel. She said she was determined to finish her book and couldn't be bothered with site seeing, but I was finally able to convince her otherwise. (j/k)

The place that we're staying is a bit outside the main city center, so figuring out public transportation to get there can be a bit tricky. The main way of getting around are tro-tros, which are basically like the big vans you'd use for high school sports. There's a guy who leans out the window of the door and yells out the destinations the van is going to. The tro-tro stops are also not easy to figure out. My method of finding a stop is to just look for people congregating on the side of the road. Also, it seems that they all have different routes of getting to the same place. For instance the route we took today, was completely different then the route I took to get to the same place yesterday. And, if you think you're making a good choice by getting in a tro-tro that isn't packed full, well you're wrong because the tro-tro won't leave until it's full, or at least close to full.

Our goal was to make it down to Jamestown, where there is a lighthouse supposedly with a view of the entire city, then to walk up through Accra and stop off at the Osu Castle. We did make it to the lighthouse, but only because we happened to see it through the window of the bus as we were driving by. However it didn't really appear that you could go up the lighthouse, and the so called "beach resort," that the sign by the lighthouse proclaimed, was less of a beach resort and seemed to be where everyone dumped their trash. So, we kept walking, and stopped off at the National Cultural Center, where there was an art gallery and other shops. I was instantly reminded of Morocco as the shop owners came out trying to convince us to come see their store. We did take up one guy's invitation to see his drum store, where he and about 3 other guys gave us a demonstration on their drums. They also showed us the different "keys" on the drum, which are the three different ways of hitting the drum.

I have to admit I was a little reluctant to go to the shop in the first place, and the instance they started playing their drums, I had a feeling we weren't going to be able to leave without paying for something, but the guys turned out to be very genuine and friendly and said it was Ghanaian tradition that when you first make a new friend it is your responsibility to entertain them. After that we finally made our way to Osu Castle, but it turns out that you need an invitation to actually go inside and see it and also are not allowed to take photos.

So far Ghana has been a relief after the harassment in Morocco. My interactions with the people here have been much more pleasant and the harassment has been scaled down a ton. Although I have already received one marriage proposal. It cracks me up how people will just ask you right then and there to marry them. I wonder what would happen if someone actually said yes to their request. Would they be prepared to follow through or would it turn out to be just a bluff? Unfortunately, I think that is a question that will have to remain a mystery.