Landed in Afia

July 30, 2011

I am officially in Accra, Ghana.  We are staying at the Afia Beach Hotel, and it is absolutely gorgeous!

To back up just a tad:
The plane ride was interesting, we got off to a rocky start when the aircraft lost power completely just before we took off.  They rebooted the system, and we waited for about 90 minutes then we were finally in the air.

I strategically got a window seat. They fed us some dinner around 11:45pm.  Mine was beef with rice and some stuffing-like cous-cous.  Not too bad.  I tried to get as much sleep as I could on the plane, and managed about 5.5 hours. 

When the pilot announced our initial descent, I was actually able to get a birds-eye-view of Accra.

The sights were not what I expected. 

Here we were welcomed off the plane, "Akwaaba!"

Once we landed, we did the customs song and dance, getting through security and baggage, where we met Jeremy, the course instructor. He enlisted the help of some security guards (one of whom carried my suitcase for me) and we got outside to our giant van.  Luggage rode in one van, all of us in another.  Going through the streets of Accra, many people tried to sell us things while we were still in the car.  Any time we were at a traffic light.  Anything from cellphone covers to bubbles.

When we finally arrived at Afia Beach Hotel, we were all flabbergasted.  The hotel was nothing like we expected, truly a beautiful sight.   We went into the hotel restaurant and had lunch.  I decided to go light on my first meal in Ghana and got some simple baked chicken, which was delicious.

After lunch, we got our cell phones and checked into our rooms.  Jeremy did the money exchange for us during that time as well.  I am rooming at Afia with a woman from Canada named Davida.  She and I shared a lot of interesting stories of our past travels and performance experiences.

After we all settled in, a couple of us went for a walk on the beach, which is located just behind our rooms.  The sky was breathtaking!

During the walk, a new friend, Ptahra, and I decided to get a little silly for some pictures.

The views from the beach seem to never end!

Ptahra and I in front of the Star Monument.  This was found towards the end of the walk.  Some of the others went much closer, but Ptahra, Allie, and I decided to stay closer to the hotel since it is only Day 1.

This is another part of the monument which is an interpretation of the Ghanaian flag.

Tonight's dinner is a Ghanian style buffet for all of us to try, which I am very excited for. 

I am finding it more difficult than anticipated to find internet, so I may not be able to post every day.  I will keep the journal for each day on my laptop, and add multiple posts so each day is represented though, so no worries!