Enjoy Accra you ask? Yes, because Accra might just as well be San Diego, remarkable not for what it is but where. Highways, neighborhood subdivisions, English, overpasses, functioning public transit, multinational corporations, ice cream – basically everything Cotonou isn’t. We took two days to just relax ahead of the test and keep stress to a minimum.
The test was held in the US Embassy, a massive complex of the type only the US government can build. This sitting was the only held in West Africa and only one of two on the continent. As such the room was a nice representative sample of Peace Corps volunteerism in the region, accompanied by a dozen or so Africans applying to JD or LLM programs in the US. We took the test, and then it was over.
The next day Steve’s folks arrived and after a brief mix up at the airport, we were off to the Cape Coast. Here is a sampling of photos from the Ghana portion of the trip, and we’ll pick up the narrative on the way back to Benin.
Barb and Bob on the beach of Elmina
Bob walking on the canopy walk in Kakum National Park
View of the ships in Elmina harbor
Good time all around in Ghana, but it was off to Benin for some French and a look at life in Africa in a way only a local could show. Our Ghanaian driver My Brother (yes, that was his name) dropped us at the Togo border and my folks got their first look at a West African border crossing (for two people used to Niagara Falls, this was a bit of a departure).
Bob and Barb with My Brother at the border
Much to Bob’s amusement, Jaren negotiated hard for a fair cab price -- maybe a little too hard as the guy decided to channel his shame into the gas pedal. We arrived in Cotonou from Lome close to an hour ahead of schedule, although it probably took that hour for our respective heart rates to come back to normal levels.
From here we were off to Tchaourou and a look into our everyday lives. We took the morning bus up, putting us in town by mid-afternoon. We settled in and took a brief tour of town to greet some people and do a bit of planning for the next night’s fete.
en route to Chez Schwartz in Tchaourou
That night was interesting, a first chance for Steve to see his parent so far outside of their comfort zone. Outdoor latrine, bucket baths, fetching water. Making matters worse, with the house having been shuttered for two weeks it had become extremely stuffy, and Steve slept poorly that night convinced that he was slowly roasting his parents. Mercifully, the house eventually cooled down and the folks slept fine.
Day too was a closer work of our day to day work starting at the local health clinic. Bob was a kid in a candy store, nose deep in all sorts of procedures and technologies he’d not seen used in 30 years (“he’s testing for TB with a Bunsen Burner!”). From there we went up to Tchalla to see the women’s savings and credit association and follow up on the groups activities. Not only had the ladies successfully reimbursed and redistributed their credit, but they also began to develop a financing scheme for a larger gari production operation. Anne and Clementine were happy to show off their product and how they were planning to market it, and Barb and Bob got a better sense of what we do.
Next up was the In’game Pile fete, with Eric and Valerie helping us put together a traditional Beninese meal of assaulted tubers and peanut sauce. Everyone took their turn pitching in, even the guests of honor.
The trip up north concluded with a quick tour through Parakou to show off the town including the pork and peron palace Akuna Matata, along with a visit to the local Tchuk stand.
Drinking Tchuk with fellow volunteers Tim (bearded guy) and Ben
From there we took a meandering taxi ride back down to Cotonou that included stops in Dassa and Abomey.
Finally, launching from Hotel du Lac we took a daytrip up to the Ganvie stilt village.
Bob bought a throne.
And with that, the month of travel was over and we were back to Tchaourou to keep fighting the good fight.
For more pictures of Barb and Bob's Excellent African Adventure click HERE
1 comment:
Ok your parents are just also too cute Steve! Hope they had a good time there. :)
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