Boti Falls

On the first of July, it was a holiday. Sisters, kids and I were off to Boti Falls, in the Eastern Region of Ghana. We arrived early about 9 am. Posters displayed everywhere “Boti Falls First Annual July 1^st Festival.” As we enter the gait, there were two prices one for Ghanaian and one for expats. We attempted to argue Emma is a Ghanaian and Krobo (Solomon's tribe), presented our last name, through vicious arguing from all of us, we lost this battle. People were setting up food booths music was blasting. We descended down the 250 steps to reach the pool of the waterfall. The surroundings were green and lush. To one corner of the pool the mist blew soaking the ground, plant and people who ventured there. The waterfalls were rushing loudly. The falls are split into two. The female on the left and the male on the right. This time of the year, the rainy season, is the best time to see the falls. Later in the rainy season the guide explained that the two falls can meet in the middle.

Back up the 250 stairs with Zinetta on my back. We ate some, relaxed, tried some fresh palm wine. Palm win is a whitish, slightly bubbly, sweetish wine that is tapped from a palm tree. Then we were ready to leave, so we exited the gait to find masses to enter. We said, “Wow we are glad we came early.” Until we reached our little blue car trapped among hug travel buses, private cars and tro-tros. We thought we parked in a good exit spot. Seriously trapped, no one leaving for hours. No parking rules, park where you can and get out any way you can. No drivers present in any of the cars that need to make way for us to leave the madness. Solomon's sister and husband attempted to find the drivers for two vehicles, as they were school affiliated and all wore there school uniform shirt. After much time, Emma's cousin said, I saw a driver of that car! We chased this lady down and begged her to move her car out so we could exit. She agreed to help, but his meant I had to drive through this wet ditch area and then up to the road. Well I had to try. I loaded kids up got the right position and tried, needed to go faster or I will get stuck... and then boom we erupted up on the concrete. We made it. I thanked the lady who let me out and we were off to home.                

No Gas in Ghana!

A few days ago, the availability of gas went away. The news was that the government has not paid the oil companies, so the supply of as is no longer. My sister and I were driving home from the market in Medina, we saw a couple of gas stations still pumping. The lines were unbelievable. There was one little gas station in our town that was still pumping. As we drove my car began to sputter and run out of gas. Luckily through the slow down and speed ups, we made it to join the line. Yellow fendered taxi’s, mixed with private cars stuffed the gas station. The picture represents only the beginning of the chaos. As we weaved our way through the line, 2 hrs later, we made it to the 1 pump nozzle that serviced all. There were lines of yellow cans to be filled. Lines of cars. Lines of motorcycles that entered the front of the line. All the people from the cars gathered around the pump calling the 1 man to service them first. There was no system to the filling, who ever draws the attention of the pumper or who knows who was how it worked. Finally we reached the pump and argued our way in. Being able to argue well even when your wrong is a trait I think I need to learn. Some people argued for us to fill the woman’s car first, as these were mostly men getting gas. Due to the elderly gentlemen who was in the taxi directly behind, he was able to push us through so he could be next. As we were pumping, they were trying to not fill the car and only give us a small amount of gas. We were able to almost fill it full. Now our 'petrol' is on conservation.

I guess this happens about once a year. It is not a common problem like rotating power outages. Power is out today, which does not cause much havoc during the day. It will come back on in a few hours. Havoc will be caused though as the “football games are on and the TV is not!” Or more havoc for me is the lack of fan to cool me down while I try and sleep. Last night fan went off and on through out the night. My sheet went on and off, on and off.

The the return of gas is unknown, but people think it will not be long. I hope it does not linger long. This could severely effect the economy.

Stolen I Phone

Well it has almost been a month since our arrival in Ghana. A quick update before my story. Kids are in school and we are all adjusting well to the changes. It is the rainy season so the weather is actually mind and nice around 80 degrees. This is my first blog posting for you all. I hope to write at least weekly on new experiences. So my first story is about my stolen Iphone 5.

Before coming to Ghana, Solomon informed me not to leave phone or money etc by our windows as someone could easily push screen back and reach in room to get wanted item. We do have glass windows and burglar proof, however screen can be slid back. The week after Solomon returned home his family, the kids and I were preparing dinner and then ate in back of house near kitchen area. During this process, I remember setting my orange cased Iphone on the head of the bed semi under book that I am reading “Gone Girl.” I consciously thought the phone will be ok under the book here this far from window. Well not! Sometime with in less than an hour I went to find phone and is was gone. So my sister called the number and someone answered it and then hung up. Two amazing things, my husband recently made me put a passcode on my phone and also enacted “find my phone” before leaving for Ghana. As the evening progressed my sister call the number back and the thief answered and said he needed something off of this phone and that he wanted us to give him the passcode. Obviously we did not. Over the next few days Solomon was able to track my phone using find my phone to a near by home in Ayikuma, where we live. Just down the path off the main road and under the big identifying lone tree. For days the phone was turned off so we could no longer track it. We were trying to figure out a strategy to get the phone back, should we pay them money for it, go to the house and try and retrieve it. If we went alone to house, unfortunately, it would just be a bad situation.

Relying on the Ghana police is not something that is used. Police are easily bribed to get out of trouble or often stop at check points and try and get a few cedi's (local money) from you. Well I still decided to try the police station in Dodowa, our near by town. It is a small building off the side road painted blue on the bottom and tanish/yellow on the top, as most are painted. My sister and I went into the station to make a report and have an officer go to the house with us to retrieve the phone. The office at the counter took the information down for a report and told us to wait. We waited and waited, very common theme here. Finally we met with the “investigator” women I a back room and I wrote my statement. I was insisting that I can track the phone using the other Iphone that I had in my hand. I could find the exact location of the phone on a map. She was not too thrilled or believing this. I showed her a picture of the map and location that Solomon found days earlier. Unfortunately, the phone had been switched off for days and even this morning that we were making the report, so we did not know if phone was in same house. Finally, the investigator woman said she would find us a police man to discuss case with-go and wait. We waited under the big tree out side the police station. My sister tried to call the lost Iphone and it went through... that meant the phone was switched on. Woohoo. I rushed to pull the tracking system on my phone to locate the current location. It came up and the phone had moved into the Accra area, the large capital of Ghana. It's about 45 min away with no traffic. I was so excited, I rushed in to show the investigator the new actual location of the phone.

The next thing I know, I have two police men in the back of my little blue Hyundai driving to Accra to find my phone. One was a very young police 'boy' dressed in blue police attire (minus the thong sandals). The other was a detective dressed in street clothes. So I drove into the city, not yet confident in my new Ghanaian driving skills... A longer story short. Police were unable to accurately find location using the map. I took the phone, used the map counting the paved roads that we passed to match with map and made it to our HOUSE. We parked outside, my phone was inside the concrete fenced yard. There were many young men lingering around the gate. So the police enter the complex, my sister and I in the car. After a couple of minutes, I told my sister to go inside gate and call my phone so she could here it ring the drum sounds. She entered the gate and a minute later ran into the street arms raised, jumping shouting we got it, we got the phone! I then entered the compound and police had my phone still in orange case in his and luckily. Luckily because after minute of talking to the young man who has the phone he darted to the back of the house. The police jumped over the porch railing and chased, but did not catch the boy. I think due to the thong sandals the dam police man was wearing!

After interrogation we left the house with the phone. We continued back to Ayikuma to make a presence in our neighborhood that we have the police involved. Word will spread the we were able to get phone back. I gave police some money for there help. Then back to police station , I thought in and out. But no.... They said, this was an investigation and we need to see the phone. You have to talk to women and tell what happened. Then wait to talk to the head police officer at the station. I graciously thanked them for their willingness to help me find my phone. No one had heard of the cell phone tracking system and were amazed how it worked.