Day 1 and 2 (July 26 - July 27)

Travel accounted for 28 hours from Flagstaff. A one hour delay in Phoenix nearly held us back severely, as we would have missed our connection in Chicago, then in London, and all flights to Accra, Ghana, are booked through August 6th! Jaina led us to several terminals, racing to inter-terminal busses and ticket counters, under the guidance of our friends, Michelle and Monika, from Avenues of the World. Michelle and Monika worked wonderful magic (we will never book through internet again!) and finagled us seats on the relatively luxurious British Airways. Our connection is London was shortened to nearly instantaneous, leading to some luggage not meeting us in Accra.
We were plucked from the lines by a man in military garb, which initially gave us some hesitation. It turns out our in-country liaison, Anthony Akunzule (a.k.a. Akunz), has friends in high places and we were escorted around the lines to quickly meet Akunz and his friend Ayua. Immediate smiles and hugs greeted us all. After placing the appropriate luggage descriptions with the airline, we were exited the airport to be greeted by many more friends of Akunz’s, including our two guides, David and Isaac.
Landcruiser-ed through the streets of Accra, we made our way to the Afia Beach Hotel, where Akunz briefed us on Ghana, its political and traditional structure, and the various meetings he has organized for us.
After some struggle figuring out how to get a plug in the wall in Ghana, we charged our cameras and our laptop, and slept like logs until breakfast at 7 AM Saturday. Morning greeted us with lush greenery, shockingly colorful and sizeable lizards, humid air, the crashing waves along the shoreline of the Bight of Benin, and toast. --Jared