Thursday was my last day in Tamale. I had my last lesson with the kids and this was really hard. I played some games with them etc. and at about 11am I said that I had to go and reminded them that I wasn’t coming back the day after. They sang a goodbye song for me, I gave them each a small letter and I got given some letters as well. Then came the moment I had to go, each one of them cried, it was so hard to leave! They all wanted a photo of me but I’d only brought a few family photos, so I kept them for the girls I read with. They all walked home with me and one of them, the clown of the class, wouldn’t let my arm go. It was so sad!
Between that class and reading I had time to pack my bag and left half of my clothes behind, as I knew that even if I took them with me I would never wear them in Holland, so they’ll be given to the kids. Which meant more space for souvenirs! And don’t you worry, I’ve bought plenty (I’d say about 80% aren’t presents.. but are for me haha). When I went to reading, one of the main girls wasn’t there which was sad, but it was probably for the best as she couldn’t quite get her head around us not being able to see or talk after that day. I got some massive hugs and I know that although I’m leaving them, I’ve really helped them, which feels amazing. At night, Francis and I went on a motorbike ride for a while, although I tried to get out of it as he was hoping on us being in a long distance relationship when I was leaving. But Francis is a lovely guy and we had been great friends and I did remind him every day that we were JUST friends, so I felt rude not to and it ended up being fun anyway.
The next morning I got up at 5.30am to leave at 5.45am to the bus stop and left with the bus at 7am. I travelled the whole day and arrived at Accra at about 8.30pm. I had been very lucky that for once my stomach felt okay as the toilets along the way are.. interesting... Rockson, one of the guys at Fred’s house, had made sure I could get a lift to the resort after my busride with one of his friends. I got a taxi to that friend’s house and for some reason we didn’t end up leaving until 11pm. I thought we’d been waiting for a car, but we ended up getting a taxi so who knows. We arrived around midnight and of course the reservation I’d made, hadn’t gone through. He decided to spend the night there as well and after awkwardly saying about 3 times to the staff at the hostel that I didn’t want a double bed for me and him, we went to the dorms and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out. The dorm was a wooden room, without walls just wooden fences about a metre high, with mattresses on the floor and mosquito nets hanging over them. The room was £2.80 a night, so I wasn’t complaining!
The next morning, I actually got to have a look around and the location of the resort was beautiful and they’d really given everything a lot of character (see photos). When I asked if there was anything touristic to go and see or do nearby, I got to hear there wasn’t which was a shame as that would mean time would go even slower and I was just ready to go home now. As I was in a dorm it was easy to meet people. Straight away I met 3 people from Leamington Spa (coincidence huh?) and two sisters from England as well. I spent most of the day with the two sisters and we just ended up lying on the beach (hoping for sun, without result) and well eating... They had such good food! Oh and of course, there were souvenirs there as well, so, of course, I couldn’t resist the temptation. The next morning, they left and two other girls joined the dorm. One was Dutch, who I’d met in Tamale (another coincidence seeing her there) and a British girl. I spent all day with them and it was really nice. We just had another day of relaxing. I also heard that day that although I was meant to get a lift back with the same guy who gave me a lift here, he wasn’t able to do that anymore. Seen as I’d exactly calculated how much money I’d need for my last weekend(therefore no money for a taxi to Accra as it was meant to be a free lift), I realised I had to ask my parents for a little bit of money. However, as the British girl, Annie, was picking up her boyfriend from the airport the next morning, the Dutch girl, Gwendolyn, and I joined her so we were able to split the costs. My flight was that same evening. I assumed I was able to leave my luggage somewhere locked up at the airport which didn’t end up being the case. I went to the nearest hotel (and possibly the most expensive one in all of Ghana) and was allowed to leave my luggage there for the day for free, which was perfect!
Gwendolyn and I decided to spend the day in Accra before I got onto my flight and so after finding CROISSANTS (i got so excited) we hopped onto the tro-tro to go to some markets. The ride was about 15 minutes and was £0.20. Tro-tro’s are so cheap because they squash 20 people in a normal sized van, but it saves you so much money! We got there and got told the markets didn’t actually exist anymore, so we ended up going to the markets I went to during my first day in Ghana. More temptations...
So what I’ve bought, for myself, as souvenirs this trip:
- One beautiful long dress made with African fabric
- One short dress made with African fabric
- The top I got made in Tamale made with African fabric
- A painting
- 2 bags, one of goatskin and one of African fabric
- Two necklaces, 5 bracelets, a set of earrings
- The blanket that I’d bought in Tamale of African fabric
- A woodwork of a Ghanaian lady with a basket on her head, in her arms and a child tied on her back, which is the way I will remember them
- A pair of trousers
And I think that’s it...
I’m so glad I’ve done this though as otherwise I think I’d have regretted it. Don’t worry I didn’t only buy things for myself though, of course I also bought this for my family and my one friend in Holland haha. (jitske)
I got to the airport at 6pm and my flight was at 10.45pm, so had lots of time to spare. When I got onto the plane, I had planned to watch at least one movie as they were so good, but I really couldn’t keep my eyes open, so ended up watching 10 minutes of one.
Currently, I’m waiting at London Heathrow as I arrived at 6.30am this morning and my flight to Amsterdam isn’t until 1.20pm. This is kind of annoying, as I just want to get home, but ah well I will be home soon! Can’t wait! Finally get to see my family again, my one friend (haha), Sammy the dog and the house. Looking forward to it. Just 3 more hours of waiting to go...
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