Greetings,

With so many ridiculous, epic, and inspiring moments over the past couple months, I have had a challenging time just reflecting on them all in my thoughts, never mind writing them out in detailed story form. Therefore, I have decided to fulfil some blog material with point form style writing entitled, "new experiences and memorable situations list". This list, alongside my pictures that are linked to the tabs above, will hopefully give you a better idea of where my African adventure has taken me and what you may expect to encounter on a trip to Ghana.

New experiences and memorable situations list:

ü Crossed an African Border and was hawked at (yelled and begged at) like never before.

ü Rode around on the back of a motorcycle in Lome, the capital city of Togo, for the better part of 3 days.

ü Met a Rasta man who gave us an inside tour of Lome and later, his home, while discussing Rastafarianism and its history.   

ü Crammed in a Tro-Tro on the outrageously pot holed roads up to Dapoang, North Togo.

ü Dove into Islamic and Animist culture in the North of Togo and motorcycled through breathtaking savannah.

ü Motorcycled through the Atakora mountain chain and crossed into the North of Benin illegally (by accident).

ü Got lost in Natitingou, North Benin, by myself.

ü Spent 14 hours squished in the back of a taxi and drove through sketchy “police” check stops where big African guys in uniform held automatic rifles and gave us dirty looks.

ü Saw a sign that had an arrow pointing east and said, “Lagos, 15km”.

ü Enjoyed a sunny afternoon exploring the chaotic market in Cotonou and bought a Falcon from the fetish section for 10000 CFA ($20.00 CAD).

ü Attempted to free our new Falcon but failed miserably due to our Falcon having clipped wings and no left foot... The villagers ended up getting him.

ü Spent three nights in Ouidah, West Africa’s Voodoo capital which also happens to be the world’s birthplace of Voodoo and a major slave port during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

ü Had an amazing discussion on Voodoo, The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Africa as a whole with a wise old man from Nigeria named Patrick who is spending his last days on the beach.

ü Took a very run down bus across two African borders and through a lightning storm where the bus skidded off the road and almost flipped.

ü Arrived back at ISH and truly felt at home.

ü Became the photography editor of the University of Ghana’s first student-led newspaper, The Legon Star.  

ü Felt at home walking around Accra and had a few short converstions in Twi.

ü Partied and clubbed hard with a crew of Africans till day break.

ü Saw what it takes to be a fruit seller by getting up at 4am and accompanying one of the fruit ladies around on her trip to one of the busiest markets in Ghana where we bought a taxi full of pineapples, oranges, apples, mangoes, watermelon, lemons, and avocados.  

ü Explored Ghana's twin cities, Takarodi and Sekondi, while munching on freshly cut sugar cane and cashew nuts.

ü Surfed an African wave.

ü Found a little piece of paradise on Ghana’s far West Coast and explored the run down colonial town of Beyin during the day and slept on the beach at night beside a slow burning fire while under an incredible starry sky, and dozed off to the sounds of crashing waves.

ü Got a taste for Fufu and actually took enjoyment out of eating it.

ü Received an invitation to spend Easter weekend in a village in the Volta highlands and were the only three foreigners (obrunis) in the whole village.

ü Witnessed a bull get its neck slit open slowly with a machete and blood splatter and pool.

ü Met a sub-chief and a company of elders of the clan whodomea, who later asked us to join... we accepted.

ü Met the head chief and were welcomed warmly into the village of gbedzeme (pronounced bed-jem-bay).

ü Participated in the main celebration with all the gbedzemians.

ü Stumbled upon a serious party in a mango orchard in the jungle that was just outside the village and took apiteshee shots (local brewed drink similar to gin)  with some locals whilst proceeding to dance late into the night and later played a game entitled,  “spank the goat”, where I was the victor.

ü Sang and danced at the Easter Sunday church service and sat in awe of the beautiful jungle views.

ü Climbed to the highest village in all of Ghana and took apiteshee shots with some locals after stumbling upon a wedding parade.

ü Spent my 21^st birthday climbing to the top of a mountain with an amazing view of the valley below and later swam in a deserted waterfall at sunset. We had to climb down the mountain in a lightning storm but made it back safely and decided to feast on spaghetti bolognaise and ice cream before dozing off into sleep.

ü Spent a few days travelling by myself and met a wise man named King James who was a practicing Rastafarian studying nature in the Jungle.

ü Was taken under by a group of Rasta’s on the beaches of Kokrobite and was fed and taken care for 3 days.

ü Spent an afternoon with one of my new Rasta brothers at a Children’s Outreach Programme he founded and passed on some Winnipeg Jets gear to three fine young men whose joy I will never forget.

So, there you have it... An insight into what some of my African adventure has led me into over the past couple months. 

By the way, if you miss me, I most likely miss you too and I look forward to reuniting with you once again.

Hopefully we can share a story or two together.

God Bless.