Mole Mole Mole

Our trip to the elephant reservation, Mole National Park (pronounced 'mol'-'lay'), finally happened. But not without some obstacles. Friday morning, eight of our usual fifteen, took our first of many tro-tros to Kumasi in order to catch a STC bus to Tamale. STC is a type of Greyhound transit system, except the buses are ancient and faulty. The typical eight hour ride took ten hours because it broke down for two in a small town. Once we got on our way again, the driver turned around because we had left someone behind. Whoops. Finding that the stranded rider had disappeared, we turned around again. At our next rest stop, however, I was the one left behind. In the middle of my potty break in some distant field, I saw the bus picking up speed without me in it. So pulling up my pants, I dashed rather quickly across the field and started running along the road, chasing the bus. The Ghanaian kids grabbed my hands to run with me and started chanting 'Run Obruni, Run!' Classic. Of course, the bus stopped and I got on again, laughing hysterically. On the bus, though, we met a few people from the UK who had the same weekend itinerary so we got to hang out with them at Mole.



We arrived to Tamale at 8 pm and it was already pitch black, which was terrifying. A drunk man grabbed me and another kid tried to pickpocket Matt. Tamale is still a couple of hours away from Mole, so we had to stay the night there and catch another transport in the morning. Elliott and Megan had made several reservations at Tamale hostels while we were on the STC bus, but that didn't really help. For two hours we walked around in the dark, looking for a hostel that could house eight people. Thank goodness we didn't have all fifteen of us. We were eventually able to get a couple of rooms so we could nap for a few hours. Three am Saturday morning we trekked back to the bus station to catch a 4 o'clock bus to Damango (the town outside Mole). Unfortunately that was booked, so we waited at the station until the next one left at 8 am. That ride took about three hours. And from Damango we packed all of us and the driver into a five seater car to take us to Mole. But of course, that car had to break down as well. Luckily, a taxi was in the same spot our car broke down in so we hopped in that to get to the park By noon Saturday we had made it Mole!



By 1 pm we had already seen our first taste of wild life. While eating lunch, a group of babboons wreaked havoc on the restaurant. One of them stole my toast and a bottle of ketchup. Another stormed into the kitchen and came out with an egg in his mouth. And another launched at Elliott while he was trying to shoo it off. Sadly though, this was about the same time that I started feeling sick. Looking back on it, I probably had some sort of food poisoning from eating unwashed fruit. Beginning at that lunch, I couldn't keep any food down for the rest of the weekend. The rest of the day was dedicated to taking in the beauty of the park. The Mole hotel had a fantastic, almost aerial view of the 4,000 plus acres of natural forests. There was a perfect porch to take in the scenery and watch another of Africa's breathtaking sunsets. Before it got completely dark, though I made my way to the room to sleep as long as possible.



Sunday we woke up at six to make the 7 am safari walk. It was the perfect time to go. A little after sunrise is just cool enough to begin walking around. Before venturing out into the forest/savanah we suited up in our best safari outfits and blister-giving rubber boots. With my camera, I looked very National Geographic. Our tour guide PK, armed with a tranquilizer, led us into the reserve to catch a glimpse of the eight available species that inhabited that part of the park. Immediately, we saw the many warthogs and baboons. Then after only fifteen minutes we got to see a herd of almost twenty elephants! The behemoths were absolutely huge. We also saw some avatars, antelope and spider monkeys. Although it was only a three-hour trek, I was very dehydrated from being sick and the day was also a scorcher. I was having a hard time breathing and I barely made it back to the tourist centre. But I got 'er done and then I headed straight to the shower and took a nap.

Since there are only four major tourist spots in all of Ghana, most of the European and American volunteers end up meeting each other there. While at Mole, we all met some people from Holland and England who had the exact same agenda for the weekend. Over the couple of days, we shared stories and experiences and compared perspectives on Africa. Sunday night, we didn't want to stay at the Mole Motel again because it was too expensive and everyone at this point is pinching pesewas (pennies). Instead, we went to a hostel in Larabanga, just outside of Mole, owned by some guys named the Soleas Brothers. The hostel is famous for allowing its guest to sleep on the roof of the building, or really the mud hut structure, which we got to do. For dinner, we went to another hostel called the Savannah Lodge, where we ate rice around a campfire and shared riddles with some locals and Dutch volunteers. Sleeping on the roof was amazing. Without a mosquito-net to block the view or a moon to obstruct the lighting, the stars were brilliant! It was so peaceful to fall asleep too. At 4 a.m. we all awoke to the muezzin making the first prayer call at the mosque across the street. It was convenient though, because we had to catch a bus at 4:30 a.m.

The ride home was probably the hardest part about the weekend though. Every transportation we attempted to take broke down. And 9/10 of the roads back to Kumasi are not paved. So by the end of another 12 hours of driving in various tro-tros, the eight of us were caked in red dirt. We got back to Asenemaso around 3 p.m. on Monday, and the first thing I did was take two showers. The trip was a good one to take towards the end of our stay in Ghana, because otherwise I would have been too burnt out. There's only one week left and still a lot to finish up. The Asenemaso library opens on Friday and the last day of classes is Thursday. Six weeks seemed like a long time to stay in Ghana. But that was six weeks ago. Now I feel like I could stay a lot longer.