I awakened in Accra, Ghana. My sleep the night before had been deep, strong, and dreamless.
We hopped happily into the dark car headed from Accra to Kumasi. I soon realized why the others may have urged me to take the front seat. Suffice to say riding in the front passenger seat with a Ghanian driver is not for the faint hearted. Nor the unredeemed.
I soon found myself staring wide eyed into the bulging eyes of another unfortunate passenger in the car barreling towards me, as our drivers played a vicious game of chicken. Holding on to the o sh*t handle of the passenger side of the car I wondered idly if I’d come to Kumasi not to begin my life but perhaps to end it. Anyway the distance between the two cities was 4 hours regular time. I had no idea, however, that Ghanian travel time, like their money (Ghana cedis), nearly doubled in numbers when converted. Our kamikaze driver delivered us to our Kumasi hotel nearly 8 hours later. By then I was nearly numbed by my experience. I stonily thanked him for inspiring my closer communion with the creator. As I stumbled off leaving my companions to pay the man, I sincerely hoped our paths wouldn’t cross again. Once registered with the hotel, we (my colleague Joyce and I) went up to our shared room and prepared for bed.
The hotel’s architecture was stunning. Somewhere between baroque and moorish it had great detailing in its doors, floors, and windows. The interior was spotless, quiet, and well ordered with the exception of a lone mosquito buzzing about. My roommate, a native Ghanian, immediately called down to the front desk and insisted the room be sprayed. I pulled out my OFF brand bug spray at which my companion smiled and shook her head “These are a different kind of mosquito. He must come spray.” When the attendant arrived she instructed him to “Spray just enough to allow us to remain in the room yet kill the mosquito.” Once alone we both readied ourselves for bed with my companion falling immediately into a deep sleep. I lie wide-eyed and alert for a long time on the extra firm mattress. Finally, sleep claimed me.
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