Aug 14th

Kofftown-

Slept in, ate breakfast. Watched some African soaps- these are fascinating and I miss them horribly. I hope to find a restaurant that imports some of these great shows in Portland. Actually, one of the "obibini" favorites is a Mexican soap opera "Sebastian and Carlita?" or something. This is probably one of the best shows ever. One thing that is a mystery to me in Ghana is the extreme rape scenes on tv. Like every soap opera ever has a guy beating the crap out of his girl or raping her. These soap operas are not in Twi, they are in English. So, I'm not sure if this is a social commentary depicting reality (as most soap operas are LOL) or if they think it's acceptable. Then, there are signs all over the country putting down domestic violence. Maybe the media is a good place to start people!

Took trotro to Akisombo and arrived at Soundrest motel - a great value for $20US/night with AC, tv and hot water (not). Unfortunately, there was no river places available. Akisombo is supposed to be the big local getaway from Accra. Many people will take their weekend holiday here, plus Saturday is funeral day! And Sunday is also funeral day. While our hotel was very quiet (we were in the back of a dirt road with chickens) we still heard the lazy humming of the bass literally all night long coming from the local spot. Apparently the party goes all day Friday, Saturday until Sunday afternoon. And this means all night too. People stop by as they see fit and party and dance to commemorate the dead.

Went to the Volta hotel which was worth it for the view of the dam, but overpriced by Western standards and somewhat sterile for the experience. You wouldn't know you were in Africa if you stayed here.

Went to Aylo's Leisure spot for dinner and met with a couple from South Africa who happened to be staying at our guest house. Sara was a fellow runner who was telling us about some ultra marathons in Cape Town. Hmmm.