An end to day 2

Alright, no promises on this blogging thing...it is all new to me. Where to begin??? First of all, let's just break down the psyche of the past 8 hours. The night/morning of the flight it was, "I can't believe that I am going to Ghana." and then the day we landed it was something along the lines of, "I can't believe that I'm here in Ghana." and now it has progressed to, "I can't believe that I get to be here for a month!" Call it the honeymoon phase or whatever, but this is AMAZING!!!

That all said, today was an experience...I woke up round 7 and was quickly ready. I am staying at Kofi's house, and all of the ladies are about 10 minutes (if the traffic is good, and usually it is not) away at a very plush hotel. What can I say, I am getting the authentic experience, and wouldn't change a thing. The water in the shower won't run out of the tap on the wall, so it is bath-out-of-a-bucket for me, and no waiting for the ladies to quit hogging it...lol. Shortly thereafter we went to the hotel, said g'morning to the ladies and had a lovely breakfast. Scrambled eggs w/ peppers, toast, and sausages (hot dogs). For the record, Nestle owns everything. In a very Fight Club moment, I wanted to be the, "I am not Mike's instant coffee" guy this morning....but for those of you that know me, who are we kidding, right?

After some food, the last two ladies arrived from the airport and we made our way, on foot no less, to the Madina Market. The streets are lined w/ shanty-like constructs and every sort of thing is for sale. I took all of this in stride, and got lots of photos. People in the cars immediately knew who we were, and for those of you tattooed folks that think we don't blend at home...yeah, you get the picture...it is like to the Nth Power here.

It was overcast at first, but when the sun broke through, I swear it was about 2 inches above my head. No joke. This equatorial business is, well, going to take some getting used to. Needless to say, my "Africa Hat" just about saved my life.

When we finally went into the market, it was sensory overload. People milling about like worker bees or soldier ants. A literal cacophony of strange Akan language, shrill horns from around the market, and smells most of which uncommon, and a few rancid ones from the gutters that were pungent to say the least. Saturday is market day and I must go back and get some photos of the food stuffs there: soft shelled blue crabs, meat and fish being butchered and cleaned, salted and dried fish everywhere, fruits, veggies, and spices, one man even selling dead rats...for EATING. um...no thanks, sorry. Anyway, it was totally overwhelming. It was so busy, and the group kept getting split up that we are going to have to go back for photos.

Afterward, we caught a Tro-Tro (taxi) back to Jampart (a restaurant) for lunch. Today I had Banku with Okra Stew and Beef. Banku is a fermented corn dough, very sticky and very filling. Last night I ate at the same place and had Omotuo (sp?) which is sticky rice balls, drowned in a spiced ground peanut sauce, and 2 pieces of chicken. It was delicious...weight watchers is just going to have to look forward to helping me shave off the "Africa" weigh, if I gain any that is, I sweat so much today it was ridiculous.

Anyway, I love you all, and Zane, baby, this is the most amazing adventure Dad has ever had. I think of you every minute and wonder so much what you would think of this. I am carrying you in my heart, just like I do every day at home. I love you, Buddy.

M