Baby Turtles, Bangers and Mash, and leaky canoes.

This last weekend I traveled to the Western region and did some "exploring." We took an STC bus from Accra to Takoradi which is the biggest city closest to Cote d'Ivoire. We then took a 2 hour tro tro ride to Beyin which is a small village. We stayed the night there at a small little resort on the coast that is actually run by a young British woman. Part of the resort is the sea turtle conservation that they do and we got woken up early in the morning to see clutch of sea turtles hatch and wriggle their way to the ocean. It was a very cute and funny but kinda scary cause the little turtles get bashed around by the waves, stop, and then keep going until they finally make it into the ocean. The night before we ate some over-priced under served but still delicious bangers and mash. This is basically mashed potatoes and sausage. It was quite good just small. We then took a ride to a stilt village called Nzulezo. It was an interesting combination of a good trip to see something new and the feeling that we were getting ripped off for a tourist trap. The canoe ride which was supposed to be included in the fee was an extra charge and we were expected to row it ourselves and bail it out as it started to fill up with water. Once we got to the village it did look interesting but it was incredibly small and the only thing that happened was that we were met by the chief's son who mumbled his way quietly through the history of the village and then we were asked to pay more money to help pay the teacher's salaries. Once we bailed our way back to Beyin we took a tro back to Takoradi which promptly blew out a tire. We made it back to Takoradi too late to go to Kakum or to Cape Coast so we found a cheap hotel overlooking the big circular market in the center of Takoradi. At night we went out to eat for Elliot's 21st birthday at what ended up being a really fancy looking restaurant. All of us guys ordered cheeseburgers which were amazingly good and for some reason tasted like gyros. We asked the waiter if Elliot got a free piece of cake for his birthday but he said no. After a few minutes however he came out with a bowl of ice cream and cake and made us sing happy birthday and he sang along. He then brought out a bottle of sparkling apple juice. We were a little nervous that these would show up on the bill but they did not. At this nice restaurant with main courses and drinks the total was only 42 cedi for five people. Because this guy was so great we tipped him well despite the fact that people here never tip at all. I started to get more sick as we stayed there so I definitely was just in the mood to get back to Accra. While on the way home we had to give way for a political rally which was fun. The political rally was great because all of the parties have various songs and dances that are pretty funny. While in Beyin we tried to get some CPP Convention People's Party t-shirts but they were all out. Hopefully I can get some t-shirts soon. This week I have very few plans but hopefully will get some more Kente cloth from the Volta region and will explore Accra a little. Our farewell dinner is this Friday so things are definitely winding down even though there is basically a month left. My plan over the next few weeks besides a big trip to Burkina Faso and Mole are to "study" very hard by sleeping, eating, watching movies. Hope everyone enjoys the increasing cold while I "enjoy" the increasing heat. Have a great day!!