Friday morning we woke at 6:30 am, to get a tro-tro to Kumasi. The ride was typical and uneventful: bumpy, a crazy driver, windy, and dusty (and since there is no a.c. you drive the windows down); three hours later we arrived safely. Once in Kumasi we went to a bank to withdraw money and then to lunch at our favorite spot for an American fix, On-the-run, a fast-food/convenience store where we can get delicious pizza, chocolate ice cream, and snickers (chocolate can only be found in the big cities). While we were eating we met an American Methodist missionary couple who were very friendly, they gave us their name and phone number, and offered their home, if we were ever to travel though their village and needed a place to stay. In the past couple of weeks, I have met such caring and friendly people, it has been an awesome reminder of humanity's capacity for goodness.
After lunch we got cab and went to the enormously chaotic bus station to a get tro-tro to Nkoranza, where we would be staying for the night. After finding our way with some help from the cab driver, we purchased a ticked and got on the tro-tro and waited for an hour. In Ghana you sit and wait until your bus is complete full and then you can leave. You sit, in the heat, and wait, all the while girls and women are coming to the windows trying to sell things: food, bags of filtered water, and pretty much anything that can be carried in a bowl or basket on top of the head--including skin lightening cream which was offered to us a lot while we waited. Many of them are very persistant and will beg you to buy from them so you shake your head no and repeat "daabi, daabi medaase" (no, no thank you), and then they laugh because an Obrouni knows Twi.
Finally the tro-tro was full and we were on our way. The ride was typical and after two hours we were on a red clay road, so bumpy and dirty (at the end of the night we were at least two shades darker from all the dirt). While on the clay road we passed through villages with mud and stick houses and thatched roofs--it was a beautiful image of simplicity. Then after a half hour the tro-tro broke down, we all de-boarded, and stood on the side of the road waiting for another tro-tro to come and finish the journey. The replacement finally arrived and an hour and a half later we made it to Nkoranza, then we found a cab and were on our way to the guesthouse: we had an individual house with two bedrooms and bathrooms, a small living room and kitchen, a beautiful view, dinner and breakfast for less then $10.
In the morning we woke, had breakfast at 7, and then walked through the village to the main road to get a taxi to the sanctuary. They claim it is a 20 km drive but it seemed to be more than that, the road was clay, covered in bumps and holes filled with water. Finally we made it!! We paid admission, signed our names in a guestbook, and were taken further into the village where we met a guide. He took us through the village, pointing out the two species of monkey: Colobus and Mono (at some points we were only 6 in. away from them), the 70 species of trees, and 30 species of butterfly. We were finished with the tour in a less then two hours with grand finally fight between two monkey families because one family entered the others territory. There were at least 30 monkeys involved, running jumping, making loud noises, and I was right in the middle of it. It was quite the entertainment.
p.s. After the journey to Nkornza I decided I wanted short hair, so I found a shop in the village, and cut off all of my hair, I have only about an inch left, and once I figure out how to upload pictures, I will attach some.
