August 8th

Picturesque town of Gyekae- funeral procession in the middle of theroad en route to Mosomogar (20m off the junction from Fante NyamKomase - road from Cape Coast to Kumase). Haunting image in 2nd town(name unknown) of hundreds of people walking down dirt road alldressed in black. As if there's not enough attention drawn to the"Obruni", the driver thought he would honk his way through the damnvillage. Luckily, funerals are arranged typically on Saturdays (morethan one at a time) and therefore are basically highlife parties.Interestingly enough, people actually put up billboards for funeralsthat might be happening. After the funeral, they make teeshirtscommemorating the individual who passed. This is amazing! Why don't wedo this? Loves it.
Mosamogor is a tourist rip off! Do not go. First off, no one can tellyou where it is. Second of all, the guidebook is wrong- it is notright off the tro tro. An additional fee (for the taxi $10 there and$15 back), the dance performance, $20GH per person (which we saw abetter one for free in Kokrobite) meals (10GH per person - WTF?). Allof which adding up make the measly lodging ($16 CD/ night) look likepocket change. You can get a damn good room for 16 cedi in any cedi(including AC, self contained double) as long as you do not hold it to"western standards". Problem is, once you are out in the middle of thejungle without any leverage to negotiate and all of this is dropped onyou once you arrive, you don't really have anything to bargain with.

Moreover, they told us that we were given the option to stay at thelodge and do a day hike (which was only one hour), or do the threehour hike we had agreed upon before. However, the "three hour hike"involved me walking out to a tree "platform" to stay overnight andsleep without a tent or camping gear or anything.

At this point, Princess Caroline drew the line. You want me to dowhat? And sleep where- on what 11 foot platform and wait for whatelephants to nudge me off the top deck and what lions to eat me at4am? Oh no you di-int".

This is the part where we took the village tour, ate our own lunch,and did not stay the night. (Sorry Jay, I don't care that you thoughtwe were being rude)One note on today- as it was pretty frustrating - I need to comment onthis "being rude or culturally appropriate". This was the first timewe had been outrightly lied to in Ghana. We have had a welcoming andfriendly experience. Regardless of the fact that we are, in fact,"Obruni" (foreigners), everyone is always honest with you. They willsay, "drop taxi only" if they are not willing to be a "shared taxi".They will lead you to the tro tro station you need to go to, they willeven take you to a restaurant you want to go to with no expectationsof at tip. When there is a scam, it's obviously a scam.

I have a hard time with dishonesty, and I think tourists usually endup rewarding it and giving into it. Being in a vulnerable positionwhere you are "required to pay extra" is technically extortion. Givingin and not telling people "no fricking way- what's up with the hustle"is rewarding to exhortionist types of behavior. This might sound rude- as we, as whites are rich and privileged, have more money, and morethat we take a lot for granted. However, when prices become high forUS standards, usually the activity is not worth it. Moreover, givingmoney at this point reinforces a "racial and cultural hierarchy thatis not cool and somewhat reminiscent of the Caste System andhistorical slavery (I am black, I am here to serve you).

As the US, yes, we have privilege, let;s recognize it. However, justas we are trying to treat people "equally", it was frustrating to betreated that just because we are white (which was WAY WORSE in India)the only thing that people are interested in is the fact that we havemoney- we are made of money.As people who are trying to travel on a shoestring, it is easy to livein comfort for $15 US per night. We also want to continue to be ableto do so, as is possible here in Africa (vs. in India- it has beentouristed enough). As budget travellers (a recommendation) and forother travellers (a request) to Ghaha, try not to associate withpeople who only want to talk to you for your money or want something.I say this because USUALLY people do not. Usually, people areinterested. We have made many friends here, everyone is trulyinterested in being friends. Offering their homes to stay in, offeringto show you how to cook, asking you about your own culture. This isthe type of situation that is rewarding and what travel is all about!We can offer things freely and be able to sit down with someone for abeer or go out to see some highlife. This is somethign that comesfreely in Ghana. Let's keep it that way.

We are on a tro-tro to Kumase on a conveniently caught car from thejunction. We left the village after the dance and spent a ridiculouslybumpy tro tro ride to Kumase. I can't wait to shower- I haven'tshowered in three days. Gross.