I know it's been awhile, but I have an excuse. Since the beginning of January, I've been traveling. Five weeks were spent jetting between Ghana, Egypt, Israel and Benin.
I'll begin the chronicles with some nuggets from Ghana (see a few photos here).
As soon as we crossed the border from Togo to Ghana, a shift was apparent. First of all, everything was in English, and we soon saw that the majority of signs had something to do with God or Jesus. With all respect to God and Jesus, it was quite funny. Here are some of our favorites:
Wonderful Jesus Classic Cosmetics
Amen Cold Store
Hope in God Auto Shop
I Am Saved Herbal Clinic
In God We Trust Barbering Salon and Business Center
God Is Able Electrical Works
God's Glory Fashion
The Lord is My Shepherd Food Stand
Glory Gas
Try Jesus Fashion
God's Will Architecture Services
By the Grace of God Fast Food
Psalm 100 Radiator Specialist
As I was generally in the middle seat between Don and Carol, and the roads were generally atrocious, I did not get photos of this amazingness. Next time for sure.
Layer on ever-present Ghanaian music, complete with tom-toms (bongos), and the scene gets better. Music is an essential part of West African culture and for whatever reason, Ghana blares its music while Togo keeps it private. A fun soundtrack awaited us at every village.
In general, it seems that Ghanaians are more proud of their country than the Togolese is of theirs. Ghana is touted as the golden-child of West Africa and, although it's still very poor as well, you see signs of development everywhere. They sometimes seem minor on the surface: street lights outside of the capital city, the occasional 4-lane road, official signs to villages, and more cars than motos. But if things continue this way, Ghana will be very much changed in 10 years, while Togo will be exactly where it is now.
My favorite part of the trip was visiting the slave castle in Elmina. If you ever have the chance to visit Ghana, don't miss this stop. Although it's tough to see such a terrible side of human history.
Aside from the sites, Carol started learning to play Bridge (yes, I now play Bridge and tennis and all sorts of ladies-who-leisure type things). It was a fun beginning to the upcoming travels!
