Brittany and I were awoken about 0615 by the lovely goat that had taken up residence outside of our door. We got our stuff packed and then walked around the village a little but more. I watched a woman make the pottery that this village is known for. It was pretty amazing how they shape them without the use of a potter’s wheel or anything. They use a leaf to help smooth out the outer edges. During my walk, I realized that I love goats. They are probably the cutest things. Granted, all the goats in the village are eventually killed and eaten, the little ones are just so darn cute.
We met everyone at the church, which was basically a cinderblock building with no glass in the windows or doors. We had tea, bananas and some amazing bread for breakfast. So basically my breakfast was bread and another granola bar. Thank god for those granola bars. I am hopefully going to replenish my stock in South Africa. During breakfast something surprising happened. Maggie came up and put a kente cloth around my neck that said ‘Greetings From Ghana.’ I was shocked considering Maggie and I were not really on the best of terms. It was a really nice gesture. I also got her mailing address so I can send some pictures back.
The drama from yesterday was resolved my getting a second bus that would head straight back to the ship without making any stops and another one that would finish out the itinerary as planned. Mackenzie and I jumped on the bus that was finishing out the original itinerary. Our 1½ hour bus ride turned into a 3½ bus ride. The roads in Ghana are ridiculous. We were basically off-roading in a tour bus. Props to our driver because I am really shocked that we didn’t lose a wheel and that our bus was even still running at the end of everything. The ride was actually really fun because we couldn’t believe the condition of the roads. Plus, we were entertained by all the children in the villages that we passed because they would run to the road and wave to us. Also on the bus ride, Mackenzie and I really began to realize how dirty we were from the night before haha.
We got to the base of Afadjato Mountain and started the 45-minute hike to the top. The hike started out easy enough, but then after about 5 minutes we were basically going straight up the mountain. I felt like I was on the Stairmaster from hell. It was probably one of the hardest hikes I have ever done. Grazelema was a cakewalk compared to this. Although I was sweaty and out of breathe, it felt amazing to reach the top. The view was amazing. From the summit, we were able to see Togo, which is pretty cool. We all took jumping pictures on the top and we even tried to spell out SAS 09 with our bodies, but it really didn’t come out all that well. The hike down was harder then the hike up because it was so steep. Not to mention there were HUGE millipedes, which I remember from Gibby’s class are poisonous.  We waited around at the bottom of the mountain for everyone to get back. The people that worked at the visitor’s center had drinks and small things of food that we could buy. The best thing was that they had Obama biscuits. Yep – Obama biscuits. Ghana is crazy for Obama. They have Obama flags, Obama dresses, Obama billboards and basically anything else you could imagine.
After everyone made it back down, we all jumped back on the bus and headed to the monkey sanctuary. It was really neat. Our guide gave us bananas. We had to hold the bananas really tightly or the monkeys would take them right out of your hand. So we held the bananas up to the trees and the monkeys would climb down and when they realized that I wasn’t going to give him the banana, he actually peeled the banana. It was so cool! They weren’t really afraid of humans. I guess they associate humans with food. We weren’t at the sanctuary very long, but it was still fun.
Afterward, we headed back to the ship. We were supposed to get back to the ship at 3, but we didn’t get back until 9. Luckily, the crews held dinner for us so we could all get something to eat. Unfortunately, because we got back so late I wasn’t able to meet up with Margaret. I was supposed to meet her at 5:30-6:00, but I had no way to call her and tell her I wasn’t going to make. She ended up finding Kate and Kate told her what had happened with the trip. When we got back on the ship, Mackenzie let me know use her phone to call her. We made plans to meet up the next day. The rest of the night we just hung out on the ship and cleaned up.