See Ya Mole, Water Shortage, and Heading West

The only bus out of Mole National Park leaves at 4am.  Not thrilled about it but it is what it is.  Five of us walked in the dark to the pick up spot with sleep still in our eyes.  So the story is that the bus leaves at 4am if the driver wakes up at 4am.  We did get lucky and he woke up by 4:15 and we were off. 

It was dark out, raining and cool.  Actually managed to get a wee bit of sleep.  The ride back to town was uneventful and we were lucky to be the first stop.  The bus to Tamale was full and standing room only by the second stop. 

Chill day in Tamale.  We were back in town about 10am; I bought my ticket back to Kumasi for the next day and headed back to our hotel.  It was a catch up on writing and photos kind of day for me.  Sorry no baboon attacks or crazy Swedes to mention.

Did dinner at a chop bar a block from the hotel and our ‘hotel cat’ was there waiting for us.  Met a Ghanaian woman who had been living in DC suburbs for past 11 years.  She was there to introduce her children to the rest of the family.  It was apparent that her 7 and 10 year old were American (well at least Westerners).  They were freaked by the fact they had to jump over a drain ditch to get to the chop bar and they were sick of chicken and rice.  The woman on the other hand was desperate to move back to Ghana after her two-week visit.  She shad that for the past nine years she has been on high blood pressure medicine and within 10 days in Ghana she was off it.  Us Westerners tend to think those in the third world and developing world want to move our way…. not true.

Chicken and Rice at that joint were only 3Cedi and wicked good.

NEXT DAY

Got up early to get my 7 am bus to Kumasi.  STC buses are always nice; ac, big seats and safe.  We did have a blow out but the bus made it to a rest area so everyone could eat and pee while it was getting fixed. 

Got to Kumasi only an hour late and checked back in to Treasureland for one more night before heading back to The Coast. 

The ride back was on a STC again so very comfortable and uneventful.  I check back into The Prospect to find out that the whole of Cape Coast was out of water and had been for days.  No rain so the river was empty and there is no back up plane for things like that in Ghana.  Turns out that the edges of Cape Coast had been out of water for weeks and it had finally hit the city center.

Daily water supply

Thankfully The Prospect brings a bucket and a huge container of water each day, which is enough to bath and flush the toilet once maybe twice a day.  Someone on the staff has to gather all these huge containers and go somewhere for hours each day to get us water.  I have no clue how far or how much they pay to get the water but they are gone a good half day.

I was back in room 116 with the bed bugs again and yes, I was eaten alive again.   This time I spoke up and they sprayed my room and Obehi’s room as they were next door to each other.  I spent the next couple days in comfort without a single bed bug bite…. Nice.

So, Obehi and I took bets on when the last time people had showered.  We based this not only on odor but on the level of scratching people were doing.  Oh, what becomes entertainment when the water drys up in Ghana. 

I am heading further west tomorrow…Far West. 

Mole here we come, Metro Mass Scam, Celine Dion and Kenny G Wanna Kill Me, and Dreams of dancing Wart Hogs

Time to get my safari on!  Leaving Tamale this afternoon for the 3 ½ - 4 ½ hours bus ride to Mole National Park via Mass Metro.  Mass Metro is the cheaper bus that has no ac but are quite efficient (but not this time to be sure). 

We mistakenly got out of the taxi at the STC bus station.   I asked the STC lady who was mean as a snake (bizarre in Ghana) where to get the Metro Mass buses and she pointed us to a teenager running towards us.  “He can help you,” she said with a glare.  I knew instantly this was some sort of a scam but decided to see it play out a bit.  This kid said the bus leaves at 2:30 but was already sold out but of course he knows the driver and can get us on.  Yeah, right.  I knew the bus leaves at 1:30 but looking at the clock realized we would end up missing it anyway.  In my head I figured we get our wonderful hotel room back, eat delicious food and take the 5 am bus the next morning to Mole.

So the scam watch begins.  We went to eat Banku at a bus station chop bar and wait for this kid to return to take us to Metro Mass to get these ‘Golden Tickets’ to Mole.  After a bit I get bored and decided to take off and go to Metro Mass to get a ticket for the morning bus out.  The kid of course sees us leaving and wants to help up with a bus.  We blow him off and go to Mass Metro on our own. 

As it turns out the bus was to leave at 1:30 but it is running very late and we still get tickets and wait with the rest of the hordes in the extra hot Tamale sun.  In the end waiting to see how this scam worked saved us two hours sitting at the hot, cramped Metro Mass station.  My theory is that the kid (who by the way is the brother of the STC attendant who said he would help us) would get us to the station after the bus left and try to get us to pay a big sum to take a ‘friends’ taxi out to Mole.  Just a guess but…if anyone knows the Tamale-Mole Bus Scam please let me know as would love to know what the outcome would have been.

Anywho, we go to a covered area with tons of people waiting under a shaded concrete area for the bus to Mole and areas on the way.  I little girl of about four named Ester befriends us as she cares for her baby brother.  She is a little spitfire and we have a grand time waiting for our very late bus.  To my horror I see a vendor selling Kenny G and Celine Dion Cd's.  Please make them stop!  Seriously. 

After playing with Ester and helping her care for her little brother for close to two hours our bus finally arrives around 4:30 pm.  This will for sure put us in after dark and the road to Mole is known for armed bandits.  For part of our journey, I assume the dodgy part; an armed policeman rides with us.  

 

Our spot on the bus were at the very back of the bus on those crappy elevated back-breaking, ass-beating seats.  The road to Mole is wicked crap and we were bounced around with whiplash force for most of the ride.  Good Fun and yes I do mean it. 

The Road to Mole took about 5-6 hours a year or so ago but major road works have slashed a good hour or two from that.  Like most of Ghana the road construction is at the hands of the Chinese. 

At one point there was a buzz on the bus about the armed bandits that strike buses coming down the road.  Nothing ever came of these whispers and we arrived at the gate to Mole National Park well after 8 pm.  The next step was to get off the bus and pay your park entrance fees (20 Cedi) then re-board the bus and drive another 10 minutes to the Mole Motel in the heart of the park.

The last 30 minutes of the journey the bus is filled with only travelers heading for the park and we met several people that we would spend the next couple days with.  Didn’t make a reservation so we were amongst the last to get a room.  Went all out on our room and got the double with ac that overlooks the watering hole to the park.  The moon was in hiding and we would not see the spectacular view over the Savannah till morning.

Before bed we did have a simple dinner of fried rice and a beer.  What a great room.  Two double beds, a big bathroom and ac that we had to turn down.  Running water at Mole Motel is from 6-8am and 6-8pm but the leave a bucket for each person, which is more than enough. 

Dreams of wart hogs dancing in my head at Mole National Park, Ghana

Tonight will be a restless sleep as I wonder what animals are wandering outside my door.  Looking forward to my safari walk and jeep trip tomorrow.  Sweet dream little warthogs.

Off to Cape Coast

Before I left I ran into Jesse and Ben yet again.  Lucky for me Ben was heading to MTN to fix one of Jesse’s phones.  I still had to register my phone so I tagged along.  Back an hour later with my Ghanaian Burner phone ready to go.

Talking off for Cape Coast today.  It should be about a 3-4 hour journey but I have no clue what time the buses leave so will be heading to STA Station about noon (I think it is one of the nice bus lines). 

As I was checking out I ran into Jesse for a final goodbye.  He definitely showed me a side of Accra I would never have discovered as a tourist. 

Taxi to STA station (15 cedi) took maybe 20 minutes as it is on the outer ring of town.  Had no clue what I was doing of course but as is Ghanaian style a guy working for STA showed me where to go and what to do.  Easy as pie.  A ticket from Accra to Cape Coast was 8 Cedi.  STA buses are comfortable and have AC.  I did have to suffer through a Nigerian movie but hey that’s how you roll here right.

As it got closer to the time on my ticket to depart I noticed action around the corner from where I had been waiting for an hour.  I figured it was time to do something so I followed the crowd to luggage tagging area.  It was 1 cedi for my bag.  As usually I hung within view of my bag until it was loaded. 

I have to say that the whole public bus thing works very well here.  I am use to Asia where buses leave minutes to hours late and you just never know until its happening.

We arrived at Cape Coast at about 6:30 pm as the sun was going down.  Straight off the bus I got a taxi to Prospect Lodge (10 cedi but hotel said it should be 8 cedi).  I have noticed the price changes a bit if you take a taxi at rush hour times which is fair enough.

I arrived in the middle of a blackout (one of many to come on my travels around Ghana) in Cape Coast but the hotel had a generator, which gave one light and the fan for each room.  I had a simple dinner in the dark along with a beer.  There was a beautiful church across the lot from me and some kids had a bonfire going (I assume because of the power outage).  It gave an amazing glow to the steeple. 

Prospect Lodge is situation on a hill, which gives great views of the city and ocean.  There was a beautiful mosque across for the hotel too.  The call to prayer was reminiscent to staying in the Medinas of Morocco.  It is centrally located to the market, beach and attractions.  Before I went to bed the electricity was back on and I actually got a bit chilled with the AC on.