"Hey Bruni" Revisited

Tonight I'm turning in my next piece for my travel writing class. I decided to revisit a short blog post I'd written when I went to Ghana back in 2008. It was amazingly challenging to make this piece flow considering how much I wanted to write about. Next week we'll see what my classmates think. If you read it let me know if you have thoughts or suggestions!

Cape Coast, Ghana

Hey Bruni!


Temporarily removed....be back later!

Photo Wall

As I've mentioned, my penchant for traveling was bred in me by my parents. My whole life my parents have been heading off to the far reaches of the globe for weeks at a time and would bring me back unique trinkets - a tiger from Seoul Korea (donned with the Olympics apparel from that year), Chinese dolls from their visit across the border into China (when visiting was still exceptional), a piece of the Berlin Wall from my dad's trip in 1989, etc. Once I turned 9 years old, I was invited to join them - the first trip was to Hawaii (quite exotic when you're growing up in Minnesota). The following year was Monaco, France, Switzerland & Italy....and there began my love affair with travel!

Next week I leave for Peru to meet my parents and my mom's best friend in Cuzco - we'll be visiting Machu Picchu together and then they'll continue on their trip from Santiago up the coast of South America, through the Panama Canal and ending in Fort Lauderdale. My trip is slightly abbreviated - 5 days in Peru with 3 in Cuzco and 2 in Lima. Whirlwind! But given the weather we've had on the East Coast this winter, I'd go even for 3 days! Snow, slush, freezing rain, ice (skating to work), hail, mist, black sludge, you name it. Being originally from Minnesota I know I've seen WAY worse but 20 years away have certainly diminished the memories! But don't worry, I still LOVE NYC despite the weather...it so beats elbow sweat in the summer.

More to come on the Peru trip next week. In the meantime, a few years back my mom and I collaborated on a wall of photos in the stairwell of their house. As we were working with 20 foot ceilings we had a lot of free wall space to work with! We picked a selection of photos from both of our travels and had a blast editing and arranging them. Below is a selection of our final product - they include photos from China, Australia, India, Thailand, The Philippines, Ghana, Egypt, Germany, Jordan, Bali & Burma ...enjoy!

March 8, 2008: Gutten Tag!!! Greetings from Heidelberg!

I only have a few moments but wanted to send out a short email. Our last days in Africa were the best of our trip and were truly amazing. We went on a guided tour to Kejetia market, the world's largest open air market covering more than 12 acres. It sold everything you could think of and was more eye opening than anything I have ever seen. Our guide, Comfort, took us to the top of a building adjacent to the market and showed us the perspective and it was almost too much to take in. Then she walked us through the market stopping to explain things to us and introduce her "Bruni" to friends from her local village. It was hysterical, but also overwhelming. I'm not sure Justine and I could have made it through there on our own. Being in Europe now, a place I am very comfortable in, I realize just how exhausting Africa was. We were constantly aware of our surroundings, the people around us and trying to stay "safe" even though most of the people we were encountered were the nicest and kindest people I have ever met. Regardless, it was foreign territory and the conditions were so foreign and unfortunately so "third world", that it was better to be safe than sorry. 

One thing I never did comment on was what we DID eat in Africa. Per Anthony Bourdain's suggestion on "No Reservation" and the reality that the Ghanaian diet consists of mostly carbs, we did try two specialties. One was Banku which is basically a ball of sticky pounded maize (think uncooked bread dough) that you use as your eating utensil. Banku, similar to Fufu (made of cassavah) and Kenke (cassavah with maise..baked), is served with some sort of stew or protein. I had mine with fresh grilled fish and a pepper tomato sauce. Really good but the banku can get to be too much. Bean stew with whole fish and rice is another typical meal we had. It's good I got over my "thing" with fish because the whole fish does include the eyeball and the teeth that "grrrr" at you while you eat it! 

After a very long and hot overnight flight back to Europe, Justine and I arrived in Germany at 5 AM yesterday. Luckily, we were able to shower in the airport and hit the autobahn in our Seat Ibiza! Having control of our "destiny" (i.e. ability to drive ourselves) is SO underrated! We went first to Wiesbaden and did a day trip up the Rheine River Valley stopping at a Cistercian Monastery that used to grow Riesling wine and several castles and charming villages along the way. Although we are a bit early for the tourist season in the Rhineland, it was almost more fun as we were among the very few to walk within the castle walls and to tour the villages. 

We ate a very late lunch in Bacharach, a medieval village surrounded mostly by the original walls and traipsed up and down the hills looking at the old ruins and the vineyards (most are on the side of the steep hills that line the valley. Our drive along the Rhine brought us to Koblenz where we stayed last night. After a great run along the Rhine this morning, we did a quick tour of the city and hit the Autobahn again towards Heidelberg.

PS...the weather (about 40 degrees) is awesome as opposed to sweating all day! Justine is a bit in shellshock after 5 weeks in Africa but she's slowly coming around. Warm and inviting food is a great help...and fruit! I'll admit...I hit up the Starbucks in Wiesbaden yesterday for a latte! 

We toured through Heidelberg today, which is such a charming city, and we are about to leave for Bamberg, a UNESCO city just north of Nuremberg. We are planning a "picnic dinner" in our room tonight...very exciting for us apparently. 

I'm not sure I'll email again before I come home and if I don't, I will send photos when I get back. This has been an amazing trip and I can't wait to tell you more about it!!!

March 4, 2008: Hey Bruni!!!

32 hours after leaving Los Angeles, I was flying over Africa and looking through the very dusty and dense air above Lagos, Nigeria. Seated next to me was Danny, my very fragrant and would-be husband had he not exited the plane upon landing. He even requested a "peck" as he called it before leaving. That was one of my first introductions to the "friendliness" of Africans. He was harmless and actually told me a lot of about Nigeria (we stopped over in Lagos to refuel on the way to Accra) and the African culture in general. The title of the e-mail is a common "call" that Justine and I get in the streets...it means "Hey Whitey"! Although Justine is half-black, she is so much lighter than the majority of Ghanaians that she is seen as a Bruni.

Over the past five days, I have thought this e-mail over in my head so many times because I don't want to be more verbose than necessary! This is a trip I cannot articulate briefly and still leave you with a sense of what every day has been like. So...I'll give it a shot and I'll tell you more when I get back. Today is our first chance to check e-mail (can you imagine...me without e-mail for this long!) I've relished the break, but it is very strange feeling totally removed from the rest of the world.

Justine and I met up in Accra last Thursday night and left for Cape Coast the next morning. In the taxi from the airport to my hotel, I pulled a Bob Gallivan and asked about the country...the literacy level, if school was mandatory/free, what the typical businesses were in the capital, and yes, alas, I even asked if the banks were run solely by the government or if there were foreign banks (Dad..you'll have to wait for that answer until you get back from your trip!)

Driving in our taxi to the "bus station", I got my first impression of Ghana...there were people everywhere and all of them had the most beautiful ebony skin. Tourists, particularly, Europeans and Americans are few and far between. Roads are lined with small stalls where everything you can imagine is sold...mufflers, mattresses, tires, furniture, phone cards...you name it. Some are made of corrugated tin, some of mud, wood or cement. Since we have been here, I have yet to see a central supermarket or something of the kind. Upon arriving at the station, we spent three hours waiting for our bus. At about 9 AM the heat kicked in and sweat started pouring off our bodies. We finally left at about 11:20 (on the 11 AM bus) and arrived in Cape Coast 3 hours later. Mind you...the distance to Cape Coast is only about 100 miles...took twice as long as it would at home. And that was a lucky trip.

At Cape Coast, we walked the streets to visit the Cape Coast Castle, built by the Portuguese and later taken over by the Dutch and the British. The walk from our small pension was very eye opening. Justine had to remind me that we are in a third world country where infrastructure is minimal if any. Taxis and tro-tros (shared buses) represent about 75% of the cars on the road and they WIZZ past you giving a quick honk to let you know you better move your ass or get run over. Now, that would be fine if you could walk on the side walk; the sidewalk is actually the open sewage ditches that line the roads. They are where garbage is tossed, the water from the "street baths" trickles and of course where waste ends up. Many people try to burn the garbage that lies everywhere (again...limited garbage removal) so that smell mixed with the open sewage smell took some getting used to.

Both the castle at Cape Coast and Elmina (both originally Portuguese built and eventually British occupied) were fascinating. Elmina is the oldest castle in all of Africa, built late 1400's. These forts, originally purported to host trading of textiles with the Ghanains, became the last stop for slaves being sent to the Americas, Europe and eventually Asia. I cannot even begin to explain the monstrosities that occurred at these forts and the conditions in which the slaves were kept. In March, it is 100 degrees and 100% humidity. The slaves...hundreds of them, were kept in underground dungeons with only slits in the upper walls to the exterior to provide air and basically no sunlight. We went in one chamber that was about 20 x 12 and 200 male slaves were kept in there for 2 months without ever leaving. The chamber had been excavated and several feet of "filth" had been removed that had accumulated over the years. The slaves were taken underground through a tunnel to the "Door of no return" where they were sent off in slave boats to their next destination.

The goal seemed to be to starve and torture the slaves so that only the strongest and most valuable survived. The captors saved money on food and only sold the "best". The skinnier, the better - they could fit more on the ships. I will spare the other gruesome details until I return. Needless to say, both Justine and I were horrified at what we experienced. A funny note was that the man at the "reception" to the castle told us he would give us the student price if we promised to vote for Barrack. Justine was in...and I had to claim my Republican status; he let us both in anyway!

After seeing the Castle and Fort in Elmina, Justine and I walked the streets, followed by all the beautiful children calling "Hey Bruni!" and "Hello! What is your name?!" We chatted with some people as they are very friendly, but the men/boys are a bit "overeager"...asking for your e-mails and addresses and if you have a husband and children. Justine and I are apparently both married but yet to have kids! Still doesn't really stall the attention. One guide book writer actually gave out his address to all who asked for it and upon returning home had 40 letters from Ghanains! They are a friendly group! They do also like to touch you, which is a bit disarming when in very crowded places. Both Justine and I had our faces grabbed today in Kumasi, while we were trying to move through this very hectic town.

Travel in this country is a big pain. As mentioned above, it takes forever to go a distance that we take for granted at home. Yesterday, we traveled from 8 AM to 6 PM to get a distance of about 200 miles. We were fortunate in Cape Coast to befriend our taxi driver, Papa. He offered to drive us to Elmina from Cape Coast and then we made a deal for him to drive us to Axim, the beach "resort" we stayed at for two nights. We paid him $55 for the entire day, which, in retrospect was a bargain. The time at Axim was fantastic! We stayed in our own private hut on the hill above the ocean and had the quaintest room and shell encrusted bathroom. There was AC but as it is run on solar power, we discovered you cannot have a light, the TV and the AC on at once. Most everywhere seems to run on generators so we've experienced several blackouts at our hotels and tonight we had dinner by candlelight...fortunately they cook with gas so our pizzas (YUP!!!!) were just fine!

We went running on the beach every day and lounged by the beach. The ocean was wonderfully refreshing (not too warm) and we didn't venture to find out if there are sharks! Lizards are everywhere including one that hustles along a few feet and then does 3 push-ups! He's my favorite...little muscle head!

We left Axim yesterday for Kumasi...that entailed first checking out of our hotel. An aside...everything here is done in "Ghanaian time". Our trip demonstrates what that means. Checking out took 40 minutes. 40 minutes for the lady to process my credit card and call a taxi. Right. Then the taxi took us into town along one of the bumpiest roads ever (typical...most roads are not paved) with the biggest potholes you've ever seen and took us to the tro-tro station. Tro-tro's (shared buses) only leave when they are absolutely full to capacity (with the helper crouching in the front). We waited about an hour for ours to leave, sitting in the hot tro-tro to save our seats. Imagine sweat just pouring down your body...that was us.

The Ghanaians sweat too, but nothing like this Irish girl. After an hour and a half tro-tro ride to Takoradi in which our butts fell asleep from the bumping along and lack of cushions in our 1980's (maybe) beat up tro-tro, we arrived in Takoradi. Having some foresight, we had already bought our tickets for the bus that runs twice a day to Kumasi (4 AM or 12 PM - we chose 12). We waited about an hour and a half for the bus to leave on our 5 hour journey. A side quiz: what's the hardest thing to find in Ghana? Answer: a restroom. So...although it is 100 degrees, you have to be very careful not to over-hydrate or you will have no where to go. Literally. Justine warned me of this so we've unfortunately been slightly dehydrated most of the trip...also, finding something simple for lunch is practically impossible so of the last 5 days, we've only had lunch once and otherwise have subsisted on the lara/odwalla bars and dried apricots and mangos I fortunately brought. Our 5 hour bus ride was filled with wonderful entertainment...they played Ghanain movies. Remember the last time you saw a Ghanaian movie win an Oscar? Exactly. Pure torture played at HIGH volumes. Apparently the actors think if you shout it translates to the audience. Not really.

The countryside is amazingly beautiful. It reminded me a lot of Cambodia and Vietnam...very lush and full of forests of palm trees, plantain and banana trees and high grasses. The scenerey stretches for miles and offers some insight to how traveling between Cape Coast and Kumasi (200 miles) took several months a few hundred years ago. Villages break up this scenery and are mostly mud or tin huts bunched together on the side of the road. One or two wells serve the villages for water and the poverty is rather striking. The people are so nice and very welcoming - taking pictures is something you have to ask to do, but most people are very inviting.

In Kumasi, we visited the cultural center and museum and then went out to a village to see the Kente cloth being woven. Today was our most exciting day overall. We had the most wonderful guide through the Kente village...he was kind of effeminate and very chummy...almost the Ghanaian version of a gay guy friend. We loved him. He took us all around and was very funny with an infectious laugh. While touring, he said, "I'm peeping." Justine, having been here for a month, said, "OK" and ushered me to the side. Apparently Christian had to use the restroom...right there. Another thing you see everywhere is Christianity. The stores all have names like, "God Bless you Business Centre" - although I didn't see a Xerox or Fax machine in the 4 x 4 stall that housed this sign. Or "May you walk with him Beauty Salon". It's all over the place. Literacy is pretty low so most signs are accompanied by a painted picture. At the herbal medicine doctor hut, there were images depicting all sorts of sexually transmitted diseases. I couldn't get a photo, but it was rather humorous. We verified that we're "clean".

I have left out so much detail, but I will send another e-mail from Germany if possible and of course have a million photos already. I've taken video too as that really helps you understand what we're experiencing over here. We are off to go home right now and shower and probably watch a movie before going to bed.

February 27, 2008: Adios!

Hey all!

I've made it part way...7 am flight to Chicago and now on my 2nd plane. Now only an 8 hour flight, 5 hour layover and another 8 hour flight before I join JW's in Accra, Ghana! I can't believe I'm on my way. Traveling is seriously so fun for me...although the long travers alone isn't. Damn giving up wine for lent! I'm already through one book, on to the crossword and will shortly start the Katherine Graham bio.

Thank you to all of you for your calls and best wishes. Yes I'll be safe! I will try to send my typical verbose emails so you can experience Ghana vicariously through me! And of course I'll have a million photos when I return. Thanks to the Lainger, I have 2.5 megs of storage! Hope my battery doesn't blow with my converter!