Day 11 and 12 – Emma and Alice

Waking up to another breakfast of porridge (not the camp favourite!) everyone was really excited to get out of camp for the weekend. However the TaTa bus got stuck on the hill about to overturn so the ‘Bant Tank’ was called in, which meant a 2 hour delay, in heavy rain- so we couldn’t even have showers while we waited! We finally got on the ‘Bant Tank’ with all of our camping equipment and headed to Sabre HQ, with Matt. B and Joe leading the singing. At HQ we changed busses so that we could continue to the restaurant, in the newly rescued TaTa Bus. We Arrived at the Zizibi restaurant, only to be delayed further as the service took so long. But the wait was worth while as everyone was jealous of Alice, Naomi and Lucy’s fried chicken and C HIPS!!! But what amused us most was Catherine crying at the extremely spicy Spaghetti Bolognaise, that everyone enjoyed trying.

We arrived at them Monkey Sanctuary too late to look around and still in heavy down pour, so we took a vote whether to outdo Team 1 and camp in the Rainforest or stay at Kakum where there was permanent shelter. We carried all of our heavy camping equipment up 12 flights of steps, sending Joe, Raj, Connor and Emma back down to get more stuff. After we set up camp trying to avoid the rain, hoping that the Tarpaulin would hold out through the night. We all finally got into bed after Carol, Julia and Bill gave up trying to control the banter. During an awkward silence Raj came out with the perfect ice breaker of – ‘Now for my daily check for testicular cancer’ Alice then continued the theme by asking Carol, rather out of the blue – “Carol is it possible to feel your ovaries?” with Naomi then adding “or are they glands?” After the laughing had dies down, Isaac brought out the brilliant new quote saying that he was “sweating like a hot cup of tea.” In the middle of the night, the Tarpaulin failed and emptied itself all over Connor and his camp bed leaving him damp and miserable, but everyone else highly amused.

In the morning we woke up to another breakfast or more boring sandwiches, and then packed up for more trips up and down the 12 flights of stairs. We did short whistle stop tour of the money sanctuary and then set of to Kakum after Isaac had broken the tree so that the bus could fit out. We arrived at Kakum with half and hour to spare so everyone stuffed their faces with popcorn, coke and cookies. Carol avoided the walkway and waited for us at the end. It was great fun and no one was too scared to give the full 7 bridges a try and we all completed them. After the walkway we left to drive to Hans Cottage Boatel (a cross between boat and a hotel) to grab some lunch. Nobody could quite decide whether the crocodile that the Ghanaians were paying to touch was real or not, until it jumped up and ate a weaver bird.

After Carol, Julia and Bill left us completely in charge, we somehow successfully managed to navigate to driver to a market where we brought food and project materials for the following few days. On our journey home, the roads were still a little slippery, so the TaTa Bus managed to slide backward al the way down a hill, and we must say that Bill looked terrified and desperate to drive us himself. When we got back to camp I think it is safe to say that we were all VERY HAPPY to see a long drop after using the rainforest floor and all its creatures as our toilet. After a controversial meal of soggy/crunchy rice and tomato and vegetable sauce there was yet another queue for Catherine’s massages. For one we were all in bed by curfew, looking forward to a breakfast of Eggy Bread, other than the cook team!