Let's go for a run

Following the Independence Day celebrations, I left for Bamako and I jumped on a plane with 11 other PCVs from Mali to go to Accra, Ghana. The main purpose of the trip was to run in the Accra International Marathon (4 runners) and Half-Marathon (myself and one other runner). Everyone else came along to support us as rowdy spectators.

We arrived in Accra in the afternoon on Saturday September 25, having woken up at 2:00 AM to catch our plane. We were all exhausted, so super early to bed that night and up early again on Sunday to run the half-marathon! The bus picked us up at 5 AM to take us to the race course; the race was supposed to start at 6 AM, but didn't start until after 7, which did nothing to help our pre-race preparations...

At 7, my friend Josh and I began the half-marathon. About 1 minute into the race, I was side-swiped by a handicap hand-cyclist, a group of whom had begun the race 3 minutes ahead of us to avoid such incidents. Luckily not too much harm done, despite being laid flat upon the pavement. Nerves shaken a bit, Josh and I got going again. 2 hours and 12 minutes later, I finished my first-ever half-marathon! While perhaps not a wonderful time, I was proud to have finished and not to have walked during the race, which were my two main goals during training. Having trained every day in village, where I have no idea of time over distance – I ran slightly faster than the 10:30 minute mile I was planning for. Also, I am hopeful that I can run faster if I ever decide to run a half in America. Just an idea of the race conditions: no mile markings until a mis-marked final mile marker that led me to nearly bonk out in the last 5 minutes, infrequent water stops (water only, no rehydration drinks/bananas/what have you), the HOT Ghanaian sun on your back because of starting one hour late, running through neighborhoods and along busy, exhaust-filled streets with no sidewalks and people gaping saying either, “Walk Walk! You're tired!” or “White person!” (one friend was even told she was “late” by a person handing out water...imagine hearing that when you're 20 miles into a marathon!). Even with all of that, it was nice to get a coconut and soy milk at the end of the race and to wait and cheer for the full marathoners as they arrived.

Running is not my favorite thing to do for physical activity by any means, but this was a great opportunity to stay active in village. I have no desire whatever to run a full marathon, but it might be fun to train to run a faster half marathon when I get home to America. Really I just want to start rowing again when I get home. Thanks to all of the fellow runners (Josh, Holly, Colleen, Kat and Jeremy) for their support, sometimes training runs and inspiration. And, big thanks to Chris and Gloria for the water, gel packs and bananas on the road – and for taking pictures as we ran.

After the half-marathon, 5 of us traveled to the Green Turtle Lodge on the coast, a great place to relax for a few days, especially with legs that felt like jelly. From there we traveled to Cape Coast and Elmina, sites of two “slave castles.” We visited Elmina Castle, a very haunting place. Slaves from all over West Africa were held here in inhumane conditions prior to being traded to the Americas. We also traveled to Kakum National Park, where you can walk along a bridge in the forest canopy, 30 m off of the ground. The bridge was overpriced and uninformative, but a few of us did a nature walk with a Park guide, where we learned about the medicinal uses of all sorts of trees...some make you have diarrhea, some stop diarrhea, some have beautiful fragrance, and some give you good breath if you chew the bark.

Later, Josh and I traveled to the Kumasi area. Highlights of that trip were staying with an amazing couple we met at the Green Turtle Loge, Coy and Kacie. They are on sabbatical and in the process of writing a very creative children's story. Thanks for being such great hosts! Coy and Kacie knew a lot about the area, and helped us get to Ntonso (a village known for their Adinkra-printed cloth), Adanwomase (a village known for its Kente cloth) and into Kumasi (the Kejetia Market was an enormous mass of goods, you can't walk anywhere without being knocked over by merchandise sitting on top of a woman's head).

From Kumasi, Josh and I traveled to Tamale and Mole National Park with the hope of seeing elephants. Unfortunately, we didn't see any elephants on the hike we did (our friend Colleen had seen them just the week before), but we did see all sorts of monkeys, antelope, warthogs, etc. In the afternoon, some elephants were spotted with telescopes, way off in the distance. Pretty cool. By the end of this part of the trip, Josh and I were pretty tired and ready to go home to Mali. We traveled back to Accra and met up with Chris for the flight back home to Bamako. Good times.

One of the most striking things for me about Ghana was the omnipresence of Christianity. In the south of Ghana, it seemed like every store had a name related to Christianity... “Downtown Virgin Liquor Store,” “Watch and Pray Hair Salon,” “Don't Judge” (plastered on the back of a public transport van double passing on a curve), and many other gems. Funerals are elaborate occasions, and everywhere you look there seem to be posters advertising someone's funeral. In Cape Coast, there were huge nightly gatherings next to our hostel, with gospel and sermons hosted by Ministry International. I guess I am not used to such in-your-face expression of faith. Not necessarily a bad thing, but certainly something that is suppressed to a great extent in the United States. I think it is probably a good thing to suppress it to some extent so as not to offend/discriminate those people with beliefs different from your own. Okay, enough of that, enjoy some pictures:

Kat, Jeremy, Josh, Holly, Colleen and I waiting for the bus at our hostel before the marathon:

View from the beach at the Green Turtle Lodge:

Gloria, Josh and Jeremy on the canopy bridge in Kakum Naitonal Park:

View of Elmina Castle:

Josh and I in Elmina:

Josh practicing Adinkra stamping in Ntonso...there was a Peace Corps Volunteer working in that village who recently had a Peace Corps stamp made and let Josh buy it:

Kente cloth weaver in Adanwomase:

Our tour guide dressed me up in traditional Kente cloth...these cloths are in the range of $150-200 each. We were even shown a very intricate cloth that was close to $1000. A huge amount of work goes into the production of each cloth, and the cloth is worn for weddings and other festivities in the area:

A curious monkey in Mole National Park. I am pretty sure this same monkey swiped at a tourist eating in the hotels restaurant later that day.

An elephant through the telescope: