Thanks to:

 Thanks to the GNAT Course Directors, Ernest Assamoa, Thomas Baafi, and Thomas Musah...

and to all the GNAT drivers: Francis, Felix, Eric and Daniel...

and to Eric, our incredible driver and chauffeur....

our CTF Ghana teams, Vanda, Brenda, Pascale, Bonnie, me, Diane, Marie and Obed...

and to Diane, my co-captain on this month long project, we made a great team...

and Gifty and all the other children of Ghana, who after all are what this whole project is about.

That's All Folks

Tuesday, August 4th.

Today was waiting day. Obed woke me up at 7:00. Spent a bit of lazy time with e-mails. Tried to back up Diane's photos onto her stick but had a problem with it. After breakfast Diane and I sat by the bar and worked on our books. We all hung around with each other. After lunch Diane, Vanda, Marie, Brenda and I went with Eric who dropped us off on Oxford Street while he took Obed to the airport. He was the first to leave. Vanda bought some gold charms, Brenda a few souvenirs and then we all went to a grocery store to pick up honey and a few other things before Eric picked us up and took us back to the hotel. We invited him to have dinner with us and we hung around the bar and pool until then. The weather was cloudy and cool today and none of us went in the pool. Ernest came to say goodbye and joined us for dinner. He said Baafi was going to join us but he never did. After dinner Francis came for our luggage and Eric drove us all to the airport where we said our final sad goodbyes to him. The airport was easy and we had a two hour wait before boarding and off we went. Diane, Bonnie and I are off to Toronto, Pascale to Ottawa, Brenda to Montreal and Marie and Vanda are staying in Germany.

Kakum and Elmina Revisited

Monday, August 3rd.

We were up and off by six. Eric drove us out of Accra towards Kakum National Park. En route we picked up Fredrick, Thomas Baafi's son. The drive was long and bumpy as usual. We stopped at Anomabo Beach Resort for breakfast. Really nice place on the rough, misty coast. We ordered and then enjoyed the sound of the waves, the smell of the surf and the misty vistas. Food was good too. Then we continued on to Kakum. There was a misty rain when we arrived. After snooping in the shops we all, except Vanda, headed up to the canopy walk. It was great, not crowded and not rushed. Obed and Marie were nervous but we all got through it. Then we headed on to The Crocodile Hansen Botel for lunch. We ordered and then walked around taking photos of crocs and the weaver birds. Lunch took forever for everyone to get served. From there we headed to the Elmina Slave Castle and took a tour. The weather was still cloudy so the pictures are not as good as last year. On the way home I asked Eric to stop at Cape Coast Castle to show the group the view of the fishing village, but you have to be up on the wall of the castle for the view, so we headed home. It was a long drive back and when we got to Accra it was dark and there was lots of traffic. We finally arrived at 8:30, a fourteen hour day, but everyone was very happy with all the sights. We had a quick dinner. I had ground nut soup with chicken. Diane and I stayed up and had a beer and talked about our projects. Then she went off to bed and I sat by the pool typing and finishing my beer.

Tourist Market and Coordinator Dinner

Sunday, August 2nd.

Today was a day to relax and re-energize. We hung around the pool and swam for a bit in the morning. Then we took two cabs to the Arts Market and Culture Centre. This is a big tourist market where the hawkers are on you trying every trick to get you to come to their shop and buy something. I had bought a lot last year and decided to buy nothing. I walked about with Brenda and Diane and we went all the way through to the village out back and to the beach. Then we went back in and they shopped for some things while I walked about. One guy wanted me to give him some time, I told him I didn't have a minute, and the guy in the next shop said 'give me a second'. Back to the hotel by cab again and Pascale and I hung out in the water talking. Late in the afternoon I went back to my room to organize for tonight's party with the exec from GNAT. Thomas Musah showed up first with his wife and two children. A little later Eric showed up, followed by Thomas Baafi and his wife and their driver and finally Ernest. We had a very pleasant evening talking and everyone seemed really relaxed, happy and friendly. I had good open talks with Baafi and Ernest. I made a little speech about being the only Ghanadian at the beginning of July, but now there are eight of us. I told them how much we had enjoyed our stay, their hospitality and working with all the teachers. I also thanked them for their support and work in getting us to the three remote schools so that we could deliver our supplies. I presented them all with a gift bag full of Toronto t-shirts, Nunavat hats and other bits and pieces. Then Baafi spoke. He thanked us for our time and commitment and complimented us on our effort. I had asked him if GNAT was happy with the workshops we provided and he said that the participants were happy, the resource people were happy and so were they. After they left and everyone went to bed I hung out for a bit on the lounger and typed and soaked up the evening atmosphere. When I got back to the room I talked Obed into coming with us tomorrow to Elmina Castle (he claimed to be out of money), after all it is not only a huge part of Ghana's history but also his. Then sleep.

Back to Accra

Saturday, August 1st.

Eric and Felix showed up at 7:30 with the van and pickup and packed up all of our luggage. Then we drove to the hotel where the other resource people were staying and we waited for a half hour while they packed up all their gear. They had also bought a lot of food stuffs to take back to their families, as apparently it is cheaper to buy here. We got under way with our five vehicle convoy by 9:30 and drove all day. We stopped for lunch at the same place that we stopped at on the way to Tamale. All the drivers complained it was too expensive and went across the street to a small local restaurant. We stopped at couple of places for washroom breaks but most of the day was spent in the van. I listened to my iPod most of the day. The traffic was terrible from Kumasi down and we didn't arrive in Accra until 8:30. Long, long, drive. We met up for a quick dinner before everyone headed off to bed by 10. I am sitting by the pool on the lounger typing. Off to bed by 11.