We didn’t go to work today, we went to the city built on stilts, Nzulezo, instead. We left the house at 5:30am and got a Tro-Tro to take us to Takoradi, which is about an hour west of Elmina. From Takoradi we should have had to transfer to another Tro-Tro or to a bus to take us the rest of the way, but Ekiate negotiated with the drive and he agreed to take us the rest of the way. Originally we thought the ride would be between two and three hours. It ended up taking almost four and a half. That is along time to sit in a Tro-Tro smooched together with other passengers. Next time maybe we will splurge and take a fast car. Tro-Tros stop often to pick up and drop off other passengers fast cars take you straight there, and they have air conditioning!
When we were getting closer to Nzulezo the road turned to dirt and there were millions of potholes. I’m really surprised our Tro-Tro didn’t get a flat tire or worse, get stuck. In order to complete the journey to Nzulezo we had to take an hour canoe ride through a lagoon. We kidnapped our drivers and paid for them to come to Nzulezo with us. We thought it would be nice because they have probably never been and that way they didn’t have to just sit and wait for us, but mostly because we didn’t want them to leave us there stranded with no ride home.
The canoe ride was my favorite part. We all sang songs and were laughing and having fun. It reminded me of being at summer camp. It was a good bonding experience for all of us. I was secretly terrified that our canoe would tip over, not because I cant swim or I was afraid of what was in the water, but because I was scared my backpack would get wet and all my electronics would be ruined. I thought I was doing a good job hiding my terror, but Sarah claims she could read my face like a book. Thankfully we made it to Nzulezo dry... well dry except for the fact we were drenched in sweat after sitting in the midday sun for an hour.
The village was amazing. It just boggles my mind that people live there away from everything on top of the water. The village wasn’t very big but they said 500 people live there; it must be pretty cramped when everyone is there. During they day they canoe to the mainland. They said most of them work in agriculture so they have to canoe for an hour each day to work and an hour home. I bet they’re all ripped.
After the canoe ride we hopped back in the Tro-Tro and traveled home. By the time we got back to Elmina we were all exhausted and starving. Thank God for Eli and her Mac n’ Cheese.
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