After finally being allowed to get a taxi for 8 cedis by the crazy old security man who sits outside Marc Beas, Sophie and I joined the others at the renowned ‘Big Milly’s Backyard’ and began our big weekend.
Friday night: Having been called by Elisabeth earlier to pre-order our food both Sophie and I had gone for the BBQ’d Tuna, finally something that wasn’t chicken and rice! Dinner in Milly’s backyard almost felt like being back in England (but warmer) as the amount of Obruni’s staying at Big Milly’s was unreal, clearly we’d come to one of the most popular tourist attractions in Ghana.
After dinner entertainment involved acrobatics (including children - I was surprised Elisabeth didn’t run out to ask them questions about the work they did), fire eaters, contortionists and the main event of drumming and african dancing. In which Elisabeth and I were both embarrassedly brought up to imitate some african dancing. The evening was enjoyable for all and it was nice to have a cheeky alcoholic beverage before bed.
Saturday meant one thing to Elisabeth, Sophie and I...time to tan! With the beach only minutes away from our hostel we set out our towels and began to lap up the sun. However, Paul and Simiao were not as keen for the constant sun exposure, and so left to go for a wander around the area, and to have shower number two of their 7 showers in a day (Shower Gate ’11). Elisabeth the serious tanner managed to last a lot longer than Sophie and I, who decided to frolic in the sea for a large part of the day, taking on the treacherous waves and uneven sea bed.
After i could stand the sun no more i returned to the room to invade shower gate, leaving Elisabeth and Sophie (Sophie in particular) to obsess over the beads being sold on the beach. Beads, beads, beads, they were everywhere, especially in Sophie’s newly named bead bag.Saturday evening at Big Milly’s brought reggae music and dancing for our viewing and listening pleasures. I have found a definite new love for reggae music, but I’m still convinced that ‘No Woman No Cry’ can be sang to all reggae song tunes. We were also joined by Ken, Lisa, Nevis and Abigail (a Junior High girl who stays with them) for dinner, considering it was Paul and Simiao’s last night. Ken gave us a lot of insight into the Omega chain, how it all began and what his future plans were for school business. He was clear that appearance and word of mouth were key for keeping his business healthy, and that is why he has made sure all the school buildings are properly built and appear in good condition. He told us of his adventurous targets; aiming for 6 more schools by the end of this year, then intending to have 50 schools in Ghana by 2015. Although bold visualisations, I have no doubt that if Ken works as hard as he has on the current 7 schools he has, he can achieve his goals.
As the others felt the effects of a day in the sun and returned to the room, Sophie and I lapped up the weekends freedom and got talking to two interesting German boys, and were later joined by a lot of crazy Ghanaians. The conversation lasted until the wee hours of the morning and got more and more ridiculous the later it got. Antics included mine and Sophie’s attempt at creating a new language due to my lack of linguisitic skills, the fire eater trying to teach me Twi and one of the whispering acrobats wanting to whisk Sophie and I to a far away land. 4am signalled bed time and although Sophie was keen to sleep on the beach I was much more inclined to wake everyone else up (due to the inconveniently locked door) to make it to my bed.
After having approximately 4 hours sleep when the others suggested going to see the monkeys I had to decline and luckily Sophie also had no real chance of being ready in time. The others ventured off to see one singular monkey, while me and Sophie relaxed rasta style...i think i want a dread. With the weekend at an end, it meant it was time for Simiao and Paul to leave...for good. We said our farwells at Big Milly’s allowing Simiaio and Paul full reign of the shower back at Marc Beas. Me, Sophie and Elisabeth spent the rest of our day relaxing around Big Milly’s and perusing the stalls (Elisabeth and I slyly buying Sophie a birthday present.)
Once back at Marc Beas it felt strange no longer having Simiao and Paul around, suddenly 3 people seemed like a rather small group. I spent that evening getting accustomed to my new room, and watching some TV. The Ghanaian version of ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ was on, alternatively named ‘Who wants to be rich?’ Before the break the programme advertised a new version of the show which allowed children aged 8 - 14 the chance to go on the show with their parents to win up to 50,000 cedis worth of school vouchers. Another way of advertising education, and a clear sign that education is almost seen as a prize in Africa. I felt the concept was fairly impressive as rather than just winning money which a child or the parents may spend frivolously, school vouchers only have one use, and they could seriously change a child’s life, setting them up with years of fine quality education.
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