Sunday, August 21, 2005
Mole National Park, Ghana
All along the road from the border to Mole National Park, there are signs advertising various development projects. A plethora of billboards with AIDS awareness themes are displayed every couple of kilometers. Stay a virgin! one said. AIDS kills! another warns. Use a condom! Every sign was put up by a different NGO, both local and international. I will dare to guess that, unlike many other countries we have visited, most people in Ghana that can read have a good understanding about the threat of AIDS. Even though we saw a strong NGO presence even from our cars, we hadn't contacted any partners in the Northern region before arriving, so we decided that we would be tourists for a few days on our way to Kumasi. We turned on the road to Mole National Park, a game reserve in the northeastern corner of the country.
As we arrived, the serenity of the place was welcome. Elephants roam languidly through the hotel grounds here, not far from where our tents are pitched. The elephants eat everything in sight, from trees to German girls' bikinis. After we had been there for a few hours, the serenity was tainted when we realized that some of the animals were unruly. A troop of baboons came to sack us. These baboons steal bags of fish and cookies from unsuspecting tourists, unless they learn to fight back with rocks, like some of us did. Not that I advocate hitting animals, but they will take advantage of you if you don't protect yourself. Seriously, that fish was our dinner. I was going to cook pasta pescatore bush style, I even had a bottle of wine ready. I was sorely disappointed and upset with the baboon. Next time he came around, I threw a rock at him. I missed and he charged me, showing his teeth and hissing. I picked up the next thing I saw, which was a chair. He backed off. I learned a lesson: animals fear me. Even though I was shaken by the experience, it was somewhat empowering. Many people have told me that I am too timid.
My foot was still sore from an accident in Ouagadougou. I decided to power through a hike, but returned from the first hike with a swollen foot. I quickly dropped the idea of trying to prove how tough I was. I don't need to prove anything to Sean and Nate, they know me. As it stood, my foot would not be an impediment to seeing animals. I sat in the lounge chair overlooking the plain below and an elephant snuck up on me. I hadn't heard him approach. I was stunned.
All along the road from the border to Mole National Park, there are signs advertising various development projects. A plethora of billboards with AIDS awareness themes are displayed every couple of kilometers. Stay a virgin! one said. AIDS kills! another warns. Use a condom! Every sign was put up by a different NGO, both local and international. I will dare to guess that, unlike many other countries we have visited, most people in Ghana that can read have a good understanding about the threat of AIDS. Even though we saw a strong NGO presence even from our cars, we hadn't contacted any partners in the Northern region before arriving, so we decided that we would be tourists for a few days on our way to Kumasi. We turned on the road to Mole National Park, a game reserve in the northeastern corner of the country.
As we arrived, the serenity of the place was welcome. Elephants roam languidly through the hotel grounds here, not far from where our tents are pitched. The elephants eat everything in sight, from trees to German girls' bikinis. After we had been there for a few hours, the serenity was tainted when we realized that some of the animals were unruly. A troop of baboons came to sack us. These baboons steal bags of fish and cookies from unsuspecting tourists, unless they learn to fight back with rocks, like some of us did. Not that I advocate hitting animals, but they will take advantage of you if you don't protect yourself. Seriously, that fish was our dinner. I was going to cook pasta pescatore bush style, I even had a bottle of wine ready. I was sorely disappointed and upset with the baboon. Next time he came around, I threw a rock at him. I missed and he charged me, showing his teeth and hissing. I picked up the next thing I saw, which was a chair. He backed off. I learned a lesson: animals fear me. Even though I was shaken by the experience, it was somewhat empowering. Many people have told me that I am too timid.
My foot was still sore from an accident in Ouagadougou. I decided to power through a hike, but returned from the first hike with a swollen foot. I quickly dropped the idea of trying to prove how tough I was. I don't need to prove anything to Sean and Nate, they know me. As it stood, my foot would not be an impediment to seeing animals. I sat in the lounge chair overlooking the plain below and an elephant snuck up on me. I hadn't heard him approach. I was stunned.
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