Cruising about....

Well the last phase of our holiday is almost done!......and we have over 850 pictures to prove it!!
The new experience is the last one and we are not disappointed (well apart from the quarantine!). From the moment we stepped on board the Freedom of the Seas (the largest cruise ship built) we knew we were in for a treat. We have yet to explore the whole ship....there's so much to see and do!!

Our room is compact but very functional and the bed is sooooo comfy! Still feeling the effects of jet lag we seem to be napping quite often. (As it turns out we are also suffering from some kind of bug and diarhea that doesn't quit takes us to the medical facility on board...they have a gastrointestinal expert on board this week and he says we have to be quarantined 48 hours until the symptoms are gone!!That put us in our room for Montego Bay and Labadee, so we missed our tube ride and Rudy missed his seadoo booking.......so sad!! I guess we'll just have to come again!).

Our first day is at sea and it's cloudy and rainy all day. Good day to explore the ship, get a manicure and pedicure, check out the shops etc.

Day 3 is our first stop, Cozumel. We make this a shopping day and we trudge along behind all the other tourists who have been dropped off, looking for bargains and souvenirs....I was looking for diamond studs, but didn't seem to find a bargain. After this strenous effort (we're exhausted!) we go back on board ship and rest. We then head for the pool and just soak up the sun! (which is finally out). After we clean up we take in a show.."Now you see it"...an excellent performance by an Illuisionist. We are booked for the second seating for dinner (8:30) in the most beautiful 3 storey dining room! At dinner we meet a couple from Maryland (the other people are eating elsewhere tonight). After dinner we hear that music from the 70's will be featured on the Promenade, which was fantastic. We then move to the Pharoah Lounge here "The stingrays" (a live band) are playing music from the sixties....we have a great time dancing!

Day 4 is on location at Georgetown, Grand Cayman. Here we have a helicopter ride booked and it's fantastic! What a way to see Grand Cayman! Of course the dips and turns leave us somewhat green around the edges and we retreat to an air conditioned restaurant for water and a bite to eat. Our next adventure is a 2 man Submarine ride....anyone who knows Irene, knows that Rudy must have booked these 2 adventured and Irene didn't know what she was getting into! The ride is fantastic....we travel along the bottom of the ocean floor (40 feet) and see coral and tons of fish...it's absloutely beautiful, like riding around in an aquarium.

Day 5 and 6 are our quarantine days and we pass the time watching movies, reading, watching the shore off our balcony (Thank goodness we had a balcony!) and sleeping.
After getting our "out of jail" papers...our last day on board ship is an at sea day and it's cold(75F), cloudy and misty...figures....now that we've been cleared...we'll just have to "make do" with what's on board!!!

Sunday, Feb 18 - after a long day of travel, (up at 5:00), we arrive at home! It's good to see the girls, but what's that white stuff!?! BRRRRR! Not sure we're ready for this!


Hope you've enjoyed our adventures, look forward to seeing you all soon and showing you all of our 947 pictures & videos (if you're interested!).....

Love
Rudy and Irene

Next....

Well, the next 30 hours are spent en route. We fly to Frankfurt with a stop that lasts almost an hour in Lagos to pick up more people. In Frankfurt we have a 5 hour wait for our flight to Toronto. (We're both almost finished our second book.) The Toronto flight seems to take forever, but we finally get there. Here we book into the Sheraton which is attached to the terminal, so we don't have to leave the building. We notice people wearing parkas and cold air is coming through the doors! Seems like forever since we've been gone from the cold! We see that it's -24 in Winnipeg....boy are we glad to be heading south again!

David & Brenda Mensah meet us for dinner. It is good to see them and tell them all about our time in Tamale and especially to thank them for letting us stay in their home. It just made our stay so much more relaxing and enjoyable!

Well, we're off to Miami on Saturday morning, where we will spend the night and then head off on our cruise. The view of Miami from the air is just like the shot on CSI Miami....blue, blue waters lapping up on the beaches. We are staying in the Coconut Grove area....very ritzy here!

We're on the 10th floor.....this is our view.

That's it for now..... our next adventure begins tomorrow......

We say goodbye to Africa...

Well our African adventure comes to a close....Here are a few last photos:


Frank & Nancy Cosway hosted a "Meet and Greet" for us at their place...it was good to visit with old friends...... One last shot of Tamale as we head for the airport.

Back in Accra, we stay at Afia Beach Hotel....it's right on the beach.....boy is it hot & humid here!!

Jim Mensah comes to visit Rudy...they have a"meeting" at the beach!

Supper at Papaye....hmmmmm good!......

Internet Cafe in Accra...I spent 3 hours here working on the Blog....(it was air conditioned!)

This store in Accra (used to be Kwatsons is now Koala) has anything and everything from cheese to frozen vegetables to select cuts of beef and chicken to sumptuous desserts! 10 years has seen improvements here!

There's a new hotel in town (actually it was here when we were here 10 years ago, it's just finished now. The Royal Palm...and it's huge. It has a Conference Centre, Casino, swimming pool, restaurants, beautiful grounds....we took a look around. They water their plants here and had beautiful bouganvillea!



Our last night in Accra, we experience Ghana to the fullest. Up to this point we have been very fortunate to not have been in an area that experiences scheduled power shut downs. On our last night our hotel has it's power shut down. This usually lasts until 6:00 a.m. The hotel has a generator but the A/C can't run on it! We lie very still all night but we're sopping wet...it's so hot and humid! (As I was getting out of my shower, a HUGE cockroach was making his way up the curtain...I screamed, Rudy came running and all I heard was loud banging .... he finally got it...YUCK!!! we hate cockroaches!) So needless to say we are not rested for our long trip the next day....... but such is life in AFRICA!

Tamale/Accra

Greetings again... (Irene here)
Today I am sitting in an Internet Cafe in Accra, spending 10,000 CEDIs (about $1) an hour for this time. Check out the photos I've added to previously published posts!

We left Tamale on Monday afternoon and feel satisfied with our experience there. We met the people we wanted to... we ate at the restaraunts we missed and we saw the things that have changed and those that have not.....I will conclude our reporting on Tamale with pictures:











Relaxing at Mensahs' place.....................visiting with Chris and his family...12 years ago I attended this child's Baby naming ceremony and held the baby...he is Adam and is now 12 years old! (I was wearing the same dress I have on in the picture!)

Laurenda International School, the school the girls went to...They now have approx 30 students, 3 of which are from expatriot families. The woman in charge for now is from Holland.....Irene in the market ....

Having pizza at TICCS (our old cook Victoria works here now and on the menu they offer Sloppy Joes (hey that's my recipe!!)...Enjoying Spring Rolls at the Las Hotel...they are still the best Spring rolls we have ever eaten!!

These images are from our old "home" on the GAP compound. The compound is no longer owned by Canadians...it's been turned over to Ghanians...the pool is no longer functioning, needs a new liner and no one wants to pay for it....tennis anyone???

That's it for now!

Carpenter/Northern Ghana

Rudy writes:

On Wednesday, Irene and I are off to David Mensah's integrated rural development project in Carpenter. Carpenter is a 3 1/2 hour drive from Tamale (2 hours south on good roads, the picture on left is of an accident we encounter bewtween a bus and a tractor, and 1 hour on let's say rural roads).

On arrival we are greeted by Noah the manager and Jacob, Peter and Thompson and others of the 24 staff working there. They are prepared for us and proceed to offer a comprehensive tour of the various development initiatives here. Following is a sampling:

1. Women & Farming - Between 500 and 800 women each year are given a large sack of peanuts for them to plant and begin their own farming operation. At the end of the year, they must give back one sack to repay the one originally given them, one sack for them to keep in a secure storage that they will use to re-seed next year, and one sack that will be used for a new applicant. They can get a return of 7-12 sacks per sack planted.

2. Emus & Ostriches - To supplement the revenue sources for existing farmers, the project is investigating whether these birds can adapt to Northern Ghana. Their meat can provide protein and their skin and many other parts also have value.

3. Grass cutters - This is not a lawn mower, but a badger-like animal that Ghanains love to eat. In the dry season they burn the countryside grass to drive out the grasscutters. so they can shoot them. In the process this creates significant environmental damage. This project is working to see if they can be raised in a farm setting for their meat.

4. Fish Farm - Fish can provide much needed protein for the rural people. The purpose of the project to see if Palapia fish and the Catfish can be farmed. In the rainy season water collects in large dugouts and low areas. They provide a source of water to communities for many uses including washing, water for cattle and unfortunately for drinking as well. The intent is to seed these dugouts with fingerlings and within 3-4 months when the dugouts often dryout, a crop of fish can be harvested.

5. Gari processing - Cassava is widely grown and used to produce a food product called Gari. The project has set up a cassava processing plant where the cassava is grated, squeeze-dried, screened and heat dried and then using wood as fuel is heat dried to produce the Gari food product. Jobs are created for the processing plant and the value added food product produced.

6. Teak trees - The project is supporting the farming of teak trees which are used locally as telephone poles.

The project staff are knowlegeable and committed to their endeavour. Electrical power should be available at the project site within 6 months. The power poles have been installed to within a couple of kms and are nearing the project site. The project site is presently on limited diesel power and also a small solar system to provide very basic electrical needs.

After a good lunch of rice, guinea fowl, and oranges we head back to Tamale, another 3 1/2 hour ride. We are now more committed to this project than before. We make one stop on our

way back to greet David Mensah's mother. She lives in Bamboi and is very happy to see us and thanks us for stopping by.

On Wednesday/Thursday, I (with David Mensah's driver, Simon) leave on a 2 day tour of some of the 14 small towns I worked with between 1994-97. Our primary role back then was to develop a sustainable water delivery system for these towns. 15 years previous Canada had rebuilt these systems and the Ghanaian Federal gov't that was operating them was not repairing them and stealing most of the revenue. This was not sustainable. Our task was to set up local Water Boards that would operate the hand pump and electric well pumps used to supply water, collect revenue, and pay for operating and maintenance costs. When I left in 1997, the Boards were formed, systems were being upgraded and most importantly water was being sold, revenue collected (not stolen) and banked and bills were being paid.

The main purpose of our trip to Ghana was to see if the Water Boards after 10 years were still operating and able to keep the water systems operating using their own revenue.

My trip to 4 representative towns where I invited myself in and spoke to some Water Board chairpersons that I remembered and some I did not, indicated that the Boards were functioning surprisingly well. As well, the Ghanaian gov't was continuing to build on the community controlled Water Board concept that our project had helped create. Also, several other Aid projects funded by other European countries are using our community Water Board Concept to develop viable/sustainable water delivery systems in more small towns. All great news. I can go home knowing that on this project, Canadian Foreign Aid will have made a long term sustainable contribution to the development of reliable water supply systems in Northern Ghana.

That however does not mean the Water Boards are not without serius challenges which they continue to work out daily.

Samples include the following:

1. Due to electrical problems, well pumps burn out and need replacement. Since our project had built in an Association of Water Boards concept within which regular contributions were deposited by all communities into a reserve fund for emergencies, funds were available within this group of Water Boards to fund their own emergencies. Previously these towns would have gone without clean water for extended periods. Once repaired the town would have to repay the loan from their Association of Water Boards.

2. Water Meters - Many more water meters are required to help control wasteful use of water and to reduce arguments and tension related to whether the flat rate was a fair rate. More meters require more capital to purchase and install them.

3. Water Meter Repair - Once installed water meters can break down. There are no local plumbers capable of repairing them. Training and a spare parts procurement system is required.

4. Overdue accounts - Some gov't agencies are not paying their water bills. As a result pressure builds on the Water Board's finances to meet its obligations to pay for its operating expenses such as Hydro costs. Tension builds and efforts continue to try to find out why the payments are not flowing smoothly. Remember this is 10 years later and they are still working on these types of issues. Development is a slow process it seems.

Back in Tamale, I visited my old office in Ghana Water and Sewage and found our project logo still on my office door and on our project vehicles, which are still being used. Considering how rough many of the roads are, this is amazing.

I found 4-5 people still there that I worked with 10 years ago. We had a great time reflecting back on how things had evolved over the past 10 years and how slowly the process of developing a country seems to go.

Having said that, here is a sample listing things that have improved significantly since we were last here 10 years ago.

1. Many people use reliable cell phones whereas 10 years ago the land lines were not reliable. Land lines are also now more reliable. We can phone Winnipeg withour difficulty. Privitizing has been the key.

2. Some main roads that were previously a nightmare to travel are paved with painted lines and wide shoulders.

3. Many towns now haev electrical power from the central power grid instead of diesel generators.

4. ATMs are available and cash can move much more freely.

5. Military rule has evolved into a working democracy after several successfully completed elections.

6. Ethnic conflicts have been somewhat resolved. Many from the conflict areas have moved into safer urban areas and hopefully peace and stability will prevail.

7. Freedom of speech in newspapers and radio has continued to improve.

But driving through the countryside there is still some serious poverty, old-time witchcraft and other issues that need work.

Speaking of poverty, can you imagine 2 men sitting on a large piece of demolished concrete from an abandoned bridge with a hammer and chisel working to remove the concrete piece by piece so they can get the steel rebar out for sale or making steel products.

Or 2 men sitting with large chunks of rock breaking them down with a hammer and chisel in 40C heat to make gravel which is worth $110 per truck load. If one man could make a truckload in 2 months, he would have a basic wage that meets his basic needs.

Having a great time! That's all for now.