Week 9

I thought that being a tourist in Tanzania before I came to Ghana would be enough, but then someone told me about this tree canopy bridge thing, and I thought, "Hmmm, it seems like I've seen that somewhere before." And then I heard it's close to Cape Coast, where there's a castle that was used in the days of slave trading, with a door called the Door of No Return. And then I remembered -- both of those things were tasks on the Amazing Race a few seasons ago when Uchena & Joyce were the winners! (I know, I'm a total reality-show nerd, but because I'd pretty much give my right arm to be on that show, I had to go down and check it out!)

So I've just returned from a lovely mini-vacation to Cape Coast. I did the tree bridge thing in Kakum National Park, which was amazingly high in the air but had cargo nets on both sides of the plank, so it was less scary than the ropes course at Rainbow Trail, despite being two or three times higher up. The castle was strange because it's in such a beautiful place but was the site of such horror. Mostly, though, I'm glad I went and saw the ocean. It was so beautiful and unspoiled and uncommercialized, unlike pretty much every other beach I've been to. My hotel was right on the beach and I paid $20!! The sunset picture was taken about twenty yards from my door. Now I can say I've dipped my feet in the Atlantic on both the American and African sides! (The African side was much warmer, since the American side was Maine in the fall . . . brrr!)

Ghana has all kinds of places I'd love to go if I had unlimited time and funds -- a park where you can walk up close to elephants, a village built on stilts above a lake that you can only get to by canoe, a sacred crocodile pond where you can sit on the crocodiles' backs . . . I guess I'll just have to come back again sometime! The great thing is that so few people know about this country and all that it offers, so there are no crowds of tourists everywhere and prices aren't through the roof.

I'm going to keep it short this week because I'm anxious to spend as much time as possible with the kids AND I want to practice my drumming skills on the new drum I bought yesterday. My neighbors will love me when I get home!

P.S. Way to go Women's Retreaters!! The director is going to be so excited! I said we usually get about $200 in offerings that weekend, and she said we should pray for a double portion. You're sending a triple portion!! Ascension rocks!