Ghana Blog Entry - Oct. 1, 2010

Greetings from the MV Explorer,

I am currently sitting out on deck seven feeling the sea breeze dance across my face, taking some time to reflect on my experiences in Ghana. We arrived to Takoradi, Ghana on the morning of September 22, 2010, the ship pulled into port at about 6:00 AM just as the sun was making its first appearance for the day, it was stunning. The immigration and customs process involves the officials reviewing each voyagers passport and handbook to give everyone the go ahead to get off the ship. This process usually takes until 10:00 AM.  The energy around the ship as we are all waiting to get off is infectious. You can feel the excitement in the air, everyone is so anxious.

The people of Ghana stole my heart. The locals often times do not have shoes, flies circle all around them, eyes yellow with malnutrition, bellies bloated and in spite of all the poverty and hardship I never came across one Ghanaian that did not treat me with the utmost respect and kindness. Everywhere I went I would see children sitting along the road accompanied by trash, goats, and wild dogs. The children would look up as we drove by and they would beam at us with happiness, curiosity and goodness coming from their whole being. I have never in my life seen smiles so pure as I saw in Ghana. This makes me pause to think, are our western ways better?  Does all the “stuff” that plagues American culture just complicate our lives; does it breed dissatisfaction within our selves?  Last night Desmund Tutu spoke about South Africa since we will be arriving there on Sunday. One of the points he made that has stuck with me is that people have to laugh in order to survive. Desmund Tutu has the best laugh I have ever heard and he never stops joking around. I am in awe of the Archbishop because his spirit is so wonderfully happy in spite of seeing and enduring some of the most evil things humans have to offer. He has been able to achieve justice and promote so much goodness because he has never lost his smile. Ghanaians never stop smiling.

Ghana’s GDP rate is 1,500.00 per year so they are extremely poor. On the last day my friends and I drove around Takoradi and we became friends with our taxi driver, Christopher. He stuck with us all day and made sure we had what we needed, a kind gesture that I ran into everywhere I went in Ghana.  The topic came up of politics and Christopher was angry that his fellows Ghanaians are so poor because they are rich in natural resources there.  He does not understand why the citizens are not reaping more of the benefits of all the resources that are being exported.

My first day in Ghana I went with a group of friends to Bouza beach, about a forty minute cab drive from Takoradi. Mostly all Ghanaians speak English plus their tribal language. I so appreciated not having the language barrier because I was able to get to know the locals on a much more personal level as well as get around more easily. The water was nothing like what we saw in Spain, not nearly as blue and there were big waves, just a different type of awesome. After looking at a monkey at a little bar on the beach I dropped my stuff and went running for the ocean. Out a ways were about thirty local surfers and I headed straight for them in hopes that I would be able to get some pointers on how to get stoked and ride the wave J I had never surfed before and have been so anxious to try. Immediately a young Ghanaian man, about twenty-three years old offered me his surfboard and before I knew it I had the rope tied to my ankle and I was paddling out to sea. In that moment I for sure felt like one of the girls from Blue Crush! If only surfing was as easy as they made it look in that movie. I did not come close to riding a wave that day, what a challenging sport but am so excited to get back out there the next chance I get!

After playing in the water for a little longer three other friends and I hired two locals that had a fishing boat to take us out to a tiny, uninhabited island right off the beach. Two of my friends on the canoe, Matthew and Ally been caught earlier in the day by a rip current and were weary of the ocean but they were brave and came anyway. It was just ten minutes out to the island and then ten minutes back, very close and cool to get a glimpse into what the locals experience as they fish. I had such a since of serenity on the island. I walked off by myself for a couple moments and sat down on the rocks, letting the waves come up and surround me with all their force.

When we got back from the canoe ride I came across the catch of the day, dolphin and shark! There on the beach lay three dolphins and five sharks. This is what the locals eat and when I asked how far out they were when they caught them they said just off shore. I thought to myself “hmm hammerheads right off the surf, that’s interesting!” haha From there about thirty SAS kids and thirty little local children danced on the beach, played in the water, let the kids use our cameras and take pictures, it was wonderful. The sun was going down at this point and most of the SAS group headed back for the ship, the same four from the canoe stayed back. Earlier in the day a fisherman approached us and said that he would make us a fresh lobster meal. Matthew went to investigate this offer further and what he found was that when the fisherman said “fresh” he meant that he would go catch lobster and bring it back, while preparing it in front of us. That night I had the best meal of my life five fresh lobster with rice, overlooking the Atlantic on the coast of Africa, I am so lucky. After dinner I went and ran in the ocean one last time and then we made our way back to Takoradi. Our taxi driver waited for us all day and then even longer because we decided to eat dinner, he never once tried to hurry us along, so kind.

The next day I woke up and went on an SAS trip to the Slave dungeons in Cape Coast, 1.5 hours away. This was an extremely heavy day for all of us that left a lasting impact. To be in the same dungeons that the slaves would be thrown into for months of their lives was gut wrenching. I stood in the very room; with the same flooring that human beings slept, ate, went to the bathroom, got sick, and died in. I walked up the same stairs that young girls my age would have to walk up on there way to be raped by a slave master or the king. The castles were right along the coast because the ships would pick them up there and then take the slaves to the Caribbean, Europe, or America to be sold. How could humans do this to other humans? I have always seen the ocean as a source of beauty but that day I saw the ocean as a means of ripping families apart forever. Most of the slaves did not survive the journey across the sea. The slaves who died at sea would be thrown to the sharks and then if food ran out the slave masters would capture the sharks and feed the sharks to the slaves. I am going into so much detail because this part of African history is what has shaped the state that the continent is in today; people need to be know about this.  The feeling of standing in the dungeons overwhelmed me, my entire body felt heavy grief, I felt the torture and suffering that went on there.

On the third day in Ghana I went and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity. We left early in the morning because the work site was three hours away from Takoradi. Habitat is working on building six different homes at the site we were at. My job was to make two of the rooms level by removing dirt with shovels and picks. Physical labor is so rewarding especially when you are motivated with the goal of helping people. My most favorite part of the day was interacting with the children. At one point I looked out the window of the house and saw three women carrying gigantic tree stumps on their heads! It was an amazing sight to see. When I left the habitat site at the end of the day I felt very unsettled. Everyone in my group was wearing tennis shoes, North Face coats, had water bottles and sunglasses and then there are the children we are playing with who have no shoes, ripped clothes, very little food. What do I do with that? Everyone in the SAS group sat down to eat lunch and all the kids are sitting around watching us, not eating. The children’s English was not so good therefore it was hard to communicate but I was trying to ask them what they had to eat that day. I would like to think that they had eaten but I am not so sure. Since that day I have had to remind myself that I am only getting a taste of each of these countries, I am researching what people and places I want to come back and help. I want to get back to Ghana as soon as I can.

A couple of days ago was Neptune day on the ship. This is a tradition that every SAS voyage participates in when the ship crosses the equator. The day begins with a parade of loud banging and wake up calls. Then after all the voyagers get breakfast everyone goes to the pool area and proceeds to be drenched in fish guts and then jumps in the pool. The other option as a right of passage is to shave your head. I chose the first choice and went for a swim with the fish guts J Desmund Tutu was one of the many that shaved their heads, as well as at least three dozen girls. I respect the young women who have the confidence to do that, stripping away all vanity and sporting a new type of beauty.

So looking forward to South Africa. As far as I can tell I would need months to see it all. It’s going to be a busy five days!

Love,

Sammy