Trip to Fishing Village

Lydia (my host mother's) sisters were taking her children into the village to get fish, and they invited us to come along with them, which was really nice considering how crowded the vehicle was.  There were five kids, the aunt and uncle, JJ, and me.  In an eight passenger vehicle.  It wasn’t as bad as last week Sunday, but when they picked up a big momma in addition (some sort of relative), and I became wedged right up in between her and Nati, things got a little more crowded.  We stopped at ShopRite (there is a big mall) and got some pies (the kind with meat in them).  We all ate in the car and arrived at the fishing village.  It reminded me of last year’s visit to Cape Coast.  There were canoes all along the shore, and fishermen and their children everywhere, and huts on the other side, and a gorgeous but polluted beach.  Adwoa, Essie, Naki, Nati, Papa, JJ and I took off our sandals and ran near the ocean line when the waves went down and ran away from them as they came crashing back towards us.  I can’t explain why it was so enjoyable, but it definitely upped my jolly-meter.  We also raced across the sand.   

The fishermen’s kids were all gathering behind us.  I think because of the two obruni (white people). They were watching us and laughing with us.  Because it is not a touristy area and we were with an African family, I think it was quite the novelty.  We saw ‘gas stations’ which were basically a bottle of gas.  Some kids had tied some sticks together to make a ‘high jump’ and were jumping over it.  There were two very small boys pushing a wheelbarrow full of things around.  I don’t know how they were strong enough to do that.  And there were many carrying wood or fish on their heads.  That isn’t much different from any of the other villages, though.  We went to the uncle’s lab and changed into swimwear and went to another beach.  This one was still a public beach but secluded.  This time JJ, the five kids, and I were able to swim, jumping with the waves and letting them carry us to shore.  It was very rocky though, so we couldn’t go out too far.  The others buried Essie in the sand up to her neck, which was great.  Meanwhile, the aunt and uncle were buying fish from some fishermen.  It is cheaper to go directly to them then let the sellers buy and get it through them.  The fish were HUGE!  They had sharp teeth and were several feet long.