I didn’t journal during my trip so it’s a bit hard to recall all the days and events so I will just give a little description of each country. I won’t be able to post pictures till some time in June, but when I do I will make the albums by country so they are easier to look through.
I left my village in April the week of the 23rd and traveled to Dosso( another region in Niger) & Gaya for two nights to meet up with my travel buddies (Rebekah & Tess). From there we crossed the border into Benin for the first leg of the vacation.
Benin- We spent close to three days in the capital Cotonou, which was like a 3rd world NYC. I was not a fan, it was just too overwhelming & very congested. Next we travel to a village on the water, Ganvie, where the houses/huts are built up on stilts. That was really incredible to see. My favorite village that we stopped in was Ouidah, which is known for its practice of Voo Do. We met a PHD grad student living in the town, who took us around and even gave us Voo Do readings. Apparently my life is on path…I could have told anyone that. We also stopped at the serpent temple and held some large snakes, of course I’ll post those picture. Our last stop was in Grand Popo on the coast for one night. That was the first ocean I had seen in 10 months and of course it rained that day. LAME.
Togo- Okay, this country was a big deal for me because its where I saw my first African waterfall. It was absolutely amazing to stand under the rushing falls. It was something I never that I would do and still cant believe I did. We had to stay in the capital Lome for one extra day because our Ghana visas took a bit longer then expected. One great advantage to this delay in our schedule was our dinner/dessert at Cafe Festival De Glace. It was freaking delicious. I told the waiter we needed one in Niger. It was my first sundae in Afrik!!! I didn’t know I missed hot fudge that much.
Ghana- On to the relaxing part of my vacation. Our first stay was in the capital Accra for one night. And of course we had to stop at the MALL. It was ridiculous, they even took credit cards there. I was in a bit of retail shock looking at the prices and wide selection of western clothes; however I didn’t purchase anything (that took a lot of strength). I did stop by their “Apple” store called iShop and snapped a photo. It was just a little too strange being in a mall knowing what kind of poverty exists in the country/west Africa. Both Rebekah and I had birthdays in May, which was a happy coincidence. Rebekah’s was during our time in Ghana. As a gift her mom booked 2 nights at a beachside resort for all of us to stay in (with continental bfast). I have nice friends! After two days of air conditioning, TV, and pool time we moved on to another beach resort in Akwata called Green Turtle (much less luxurious). We stayed in a very clean mud hut on the water with an outside shower. Two other PCVs (Brian from MA & Will from TX) met up with us on our 2nd to last day at Green Turtle, which was a nice surprise.
Burkina Faso-This was our final stop and gave us a few days to prepare for our bus ride back to Niger. We did travel outside of the capital city Ouagadougou to hopefully see some hippos, but it didn’t work outL We celebrated my 24th at a local Italian restaurant, where I preceded to order everything on the menu including lots of wine and ice cream. The waiters even sang to me in French. We did a few tourist things and some shopping, but not as much as I would have liked. Then we were back to Niger on Friday evening.
I know I am forgetting lots of little details, but that comes with my old age. But really it was an incredible trip and I am so glad I took the time to do it right. I neglected to add that in each country Peace Corp is present and that’s where we stayed some of the time if we couldn’t find other hostels or hotels. The other volunteers were very helpful and extremely welcoming. I must say it’s a nice club to be in.
Other news aside from vacation: my first project proposal got funding!!! I will be working with my English club on cleaning and organizing the library so that we can have an open house for the village. I am super excited to get back to ville and get the project moving. I am also in the process of applying to be a peer trainer for the new volunteers coming in July. Hopefully I get picked because I think that peer support is really what you need in your first few weeks here, I know it helped me. So cross your fingers for me!
