100% Ghana

My dear friend, Colleen, arrived here on Thursday night.  We are showing her Ghana - 100%.  We woke her up early Friday morning to drive about 5 hours to Axim Beach on the western coast, near Cote d'Ivoire. The kids, pups, Colleen and I had a good (albeit not very relaxing - kids and dogs on a trip are fun, but NOT relaxing) time playing on the beach in between rain storms and watching World Cup matches.  We got an early start back to Accra on Monday.  The police seemed to be out in force for both directions of the drive - there were roadblocks frequently and I was pulled over a total of 6 times - mostly, it was harmless and I even had some fun bantering with the cops, but one stop took about half an hour of negotiating with a Commander on a power trip before he gave me back my license and let me go!  Less than 45 miles outside of Accra, we found that the overpass had been flooded and the road was closed.  I assessed the situation:  2 kids, 2 dogs, fairly remote location, 1 liter of water, a handful of nuts, about 4 hours until dark and cars rapidly parking every which way, with ours soon to be blocked in on the highway.  We got back in the car, turned around and drove another hour back to a resort I knew of and decided to wait out the road closure there - in the safety of a beach front room, good food and an abundance of drinking water.  After much mixed information the following morning, we finally got on the road to Accra and had a long, hot, traffic-filled drive back.  I must say that all 6 of us (dogs included) did a great job - no barking (me or the dogs), no biting (the kids or the dogs) and general making the best of the situation all the way around.  Colleen didn't even ask to be taken straight to the airport for the next flight home - that's a true friend :)

MoTeCH is in full swing right now, launching our pilot project in the Upper East and everyone working double time.  The kids, Colleen and I are flying up there tomorrow for a durbar (community entry celebration) and for me to monitor the work and generally trouble shoot as the inevitable "launch issues" arise.  The kids are hoping to show Colleen that the crocodiles really are friendly and I hope to get her out to a few rural health clinics (Colleen is a Physician's Assistant in the US) to get a slice of the "real" Africa.  Then, the kids are back in Accra a few days before saying goodbye and heading back to the US with Colleen as chaperone.  They will no doubt be totally worn out (as will I) by the time they board that flight. 

Tonight is a big Ghana World Cup Game - they are the last real chance of an African team making it to the next round.  Everyone here is rooting for them and it is sure to be an exciting evening all over Ghana!  Another 100% Ghanaian experience for us all!