I’m back from Ghana….complete with a wicked cold….YUCK! I’m only just starting to feel human again after 2 days of traveling. I was hoping to write today but all I could muster was writing down some notes while I replayed the memories in my head.

Sorry I was not able to blog while I was there due to a lack of internet service! The trip was “full on” from the moment we got there until the day we left. I look forward to putting these memories into words for you to read!!

Stay tuned….more from me to come….including pictures!!!

Thanks for checking in!!!

Literally less than 24 hours before my flight left I finally received confirmation that I actually had a flight going to Accra!!!

Luckily I was packed and ready to go so I wasn’t too stressed over it.  I figured either I’d go or I wouldn’t.  Simple as that!

My flight left Mammoth Lakes CA Tuesday afternoon on the 19^th two red eye flights later I arrived in Accra on Thursday the 21^st!!!

I had met up with Jon  Malmberg, Becca Bredehoft and Cade Palmer before the flight then met David Cleeland once we got off the plane.  Our first stop was the tourist visa office…$150 bucks later we were met by Collins…who works for the Tourist Board of Ghana…he will be our life blood in Ghana.  This man was responsible for all of us being there, planning our flights co-coordinating arrival times etc.  He was in charge of the pilots…imagine that task!!!

We were  whisked away and taken to the hotel where we could jump in the pool, change and eat lunch.  A much needed little break after being stuck in airports for the last three days!

We were greeted at the hotel by Sabrina Krewin who was to be the director of this event for the first time this year.  It was great to finally meet these wonderful people that I had been corresponding with over the last few months!!!  After meeting these two (Collins and Sabrina) I knew we were in good hands and I was ready for the adventure of it all.

We waited at the hotel while they organized a bus for us instead of trucks that would leave our gear in the open and the forecast was for rain so all of us were thankful for this….especially while driving thru the pouring rain later that night!!!  Plus it was way more fun all being together on  (what Sabrina called) the short bus J….we all felt so special!!

Loading the "short" bus.....

The 4 hour trip ending up taking more like 8 hours to get to Nkawkaw.  First stop was the Mall…yep a mall…we were told we only have 45 mins so make it quick!!!  Snacks, drinks, sim cards, and what ever else pilots forgot or did not bring…this was the place to get it because once we get to our flying destination all bets were off finding anything to easily.

The bus ride was fun with lots of visual stimulation while driving.  At the various places we slowed down there were plenty of street venders selling their goods off the trays balanced so perfectly on top of their heads!  I was impressed with the balance these people had and the amount of weight they could carry up there.  I thought about and wondered if I could carry my PG on my head?????

We finally arrived at the RoJo Hotel across from the LZ at around 9pm… I think.  We were warmly greeting by the other pilots that had arrived the day before.  Stories, beer, dinner and room assignments later we were in bed with orders that we needed to be ready to fly the next day by 8am!!!  YIKES…no rest for the weary!!!

Somehow I managed to get myself out of the room this morning.   The thought of coffee was the inspiration.  I was greeted by other pilots dreaming of the same…but no such luck.  There was no coffee to be had yet.  I wondered to myself how did they expect a bunch of tandem pilots to get going without the help of such a beautiful thing???  We all stood around in surprise…there was food out and no coffee…oh no….I think we all had the same thought…something has to change.

Finally two thermoses of coffee appeared…YIPPEE…everything was going to be ok!!!  Until we tasted it….oh no…I know I’m a bit of a coffee snob and all….but really I was ready for instant Nescafe like we had at the hotel the day before…but this, I have no idea what it was!!!  I tried to love it, then I tried to like it, then I tried putting more condensed milk and sugar in it and NOPE is wasn’t meant to be.  My buddies Becca and Cade also apparently coffee snobs agreed, there was something seriously wrong with the coffee….bummer….TEA it was after that…YUM!!!!

Our first of three stops on the way up the hill was a meeting with the Ghana Tourist Board officials that were responsible for us being there.  We were welcomed and thanked for coming.  Next stop was to meet the “Chiefs” which was interesting….they were all dressed in beautiful robes made with colorful hand woven materials.  They sat in some kind of order with one of the Big Chiefs under an umbrella held by someone else.  We got in line to shake each of their hands and thanked them for the warm welcome into their community.

Many important Chiefs

They performed an interesting ceremony with the schnapps that was gifted to them….they pour out a shot in honor of the deceased…in their case there was  a few of them… I swear they poured out half the bottle on the ground while chanting…finally they filled a wooden cup for each person to have their own mini version of honoring the dead…we all followed the tradition one by one…a few shot of Schnapps later and we were on our way to the last stop before heading up the hill to fly.  We entered another place of ceremony…this time it was a quick walk through, a shake of hands with the elderly Chiefs to thank them for having us and we were off.

Honoring the deceased...

On to launch….my first impressions were a blurr…I was greeted with live music,  people dancing, people watching, vendors selling and tandem passengers waiting in line to fly with us….GAME ON!!!  I was given a quick site introduction, a passenger to fly with, and we were off…so to speak!!!

We flew passengers from all over the world that bought tickets to fly from the Ghana Tourist Board.  Many of the passengers were Peace Corps Volunteers that were working in Ghana.  The vision I had of flying local kids that waited in line for their turn to fly with us soon vanished into this new reality.

having fun??

The Easter holiday is huge in this country and the Ghana Paragliding Festival was a big attraction to the villages surrounding the area.  We were the attraction… people just wanted to be around the scene even if they could not afford the flight.  They loved encouraging each other to “try it” and cheering each and everyone that dared to fly.  It was quit a scene up there with wonderful energy!!!

After a long day and flying till sunset beer awaited us back at the Hotel RoJo across the street.  Dinner followed shortly after and then a much needed full nights sleep FINALLY!!!

Ghana Glass Off.....

The fun continued over the next four days.  It  was a blur of excitement!  We settled into a sweet morning routine at the hotel before  charging up the hill to fly each day.  I dared to try the coffee again a few days later surprised to find that it was drinkable…YIPEE!!!  I remember thinking “note to self, bring coffee next year!”  It was nice catching up with the pilots that were early risers.  We chatted about the days events, the country they were from and future plans.  I felt there was never enough time for this type of connection with the amazing group of pilots gathered for this event.

We flew each day in a furry to try to accommodate the huge line of passengers waiting their turn.  It was so much fun to connect with each and everyone as much as we could…to share what we were doing there and to find out what they were all about as well.

Ghana's first class passenger....

Captain Nick in the pilots lounge

From the stories floating around from different pilots there seem to be no end of interesting people to fly with.  A few of the pilots had interesting tandem connections with people that were in the area working for different charity organizations.  Two of these leads brought these organizations to our hotel equipped with presentations to plead their case .  It was their hope that the money we raised through the Cloudbase Foundation might be directed towards their cause.

It was an interesting process as an observer new to all of this, to see how it all plays out.  They present and appeal.  We listen, learn and ask many questions.  They all go away and we discuss what our mission is and see if and what fits into our criteria…which is helping the children in the immediate areas of the flying site.  These relationships we want to build on year after year.  We want to be able to see what’s been done with the money a year later.  For instance we donated money to go towards a water tank with S.O.S. Orphanage last year. We visited the orphanage this year and there it was a new water tank complete with the Cloudbase Foundation Banner proudly displayed!!!  It was awesome to see how appreciated it was!!!

Cloudbase Foundation Banner displayed...

Here is what we came up with….

Donation Update:

1) Village of Hope

1 classroom, US$4,654.00 is the approximate estimate they gave us when visiting, after checking their list.

2) Peace Corps Volunteer: Bethany Marchwinski

1 Water Tanks for her School, each tank is US$1,800

3) S.O.S. Orphanage (aka Bless the Children)

US$3,000 for general needs

4) Original Volunteers /Aqua filter by the Cleadon Rotary Club

3 community water filters at a cost of GBP200 or about US$327

(important to note they are not the family/personal filters, but the community)

The locals having a bit of fun on the beach…

Busua Beach, Ghana

The last day of the Ghana PG Festival was a bit of a let down….literally..the wind blew down the mountain with the occasional calm mixed in with the “faker” cycle up the hill!!!  I felt launch conditions were tough enough when the wind blew up the hill so I wasn’t to excited about running off in those conditions.  There were just a few brave souls, the gung ho pilots flew while the rest of hoped and waited for better conditions to launch in. The weather  just didn’t cooperate.  I wish we could have flown all the people that were waiting in line to fly…they were so excited.

The waiting game on launch

Hang waiting....

That evening we had some time so a bunch of us ventured into the town center for a cultural experience.  I loved wondering around the market and checking everything out from clothes, sandals made from car tires, spices being ground up to sell, dead “things” of all shapes and sizes to eat if you dare.  Pretty much anything one would need you found there.

Hungry?

Spice of life...

And then…the sky decided to open up and show who’s boss….it went from a few dark clouds to half the sky turning black. We new what was coming so we ran to flag down a taxi, jumped in and the wall of wind hit.  It blew hard then came the rain as we drove back to the hotel…..wahooo!

A bit windy....

I love watching mother nature let loose!  I was not alone as we ran upstairs of the hotel to get to the outside balcony to watch the storm unfold.  We had a great view of the landing zone across the street…the flag was sticking  straight out!!! J

Home is where the heart is...

The next day, our rest day of course looked perfect for flying!  So after a leisurely morning we ventured up the hill to fly.  A couple of us got off the bus to make a quick stop at the Village of Hope school project, to see what their needs were and check out the “bus that needs some work”.  But first while we waited for our ride we wandered into a little neighborhood off the main street and  we were soon stopped by a family and friends.  They were all so welcoming and happy to try to talk to us.  It was such a sweet time with them of course there was a language barrier…but it just didn’t matter!

Family fun…

Our visit with the school went well….we toured the school and took a look at the bus that needed some work.  After a quick look we decided it would not be a good idea to invest any money in helping with that project but thought building another room to add to the school was a better idea.  I look forward to going back next year to see the progress.

Really you think it will run??

The writing is on the wall...

Village of Hope School

My last flight in Ghana was a tandem flight with Nick Greece since we were up on launch with perfect conditions and no passengers.  It’s not a good idea to  fly our tandem wings alone so we flipped a coin to see “who’s boss”….I could not believe how scared I was to be the passenger J  ha ha ha….What a flight, it was magical we could fly anywhere and we did.  We flew around the valley at cloud base and  enjoyed it completely!!!  That is until Nick said “are you ready for some fun”  I thought I was but…but…I guess I like being in control better!!!

Nick and Kari Flies....

That evening we had a bit of a ride from h***….a bunch of us that had a few extra days to travel and relax chose to head to the beach.  Thanks to Ed, Nick and Frode who organized transportation for us. We were off in two separate vehicles traveling at warp speeds thru these villages and narrow streets while not moving an inch for the people walking along the road.  It was pretty scary!!  We all started asking the driver to slow down right away but he would not listen for some reason. It took NICK to get the point across…I was impressed how well Nick handled the situation!!!  THANK YOU NICK!!!

We arrived at the beach, all thankful to be alive!!  I swear it took me two full days to get over that ride!!!  Busua Beach was a sleepy little tourist destination.  Surfing and relaxing being the main attraction.

Our first nights stay...the rules....

After one night at the huge tourist type hotel I knew I wanted something a bit more organic.  A few of us ventures away and found a place called “Stone Wonderland Lodge” .  It is a sweet little place tucked away at the other end of the beach from the big hotel.  We had to cross the river to get to it, I loved it!!!

Stone Wonderland Lodge

We spent the next three days unwinding, hanging out, walking the beach, eating great meals, listening to good music and of course trying our hand at surfing!!!  We met “Brett” the local transplant from the UK. He owns and runs “Mr Brights Surf School”.   He was an X competitor himself so we were like kindred spirits in a way. He was great with us newbie’s.  We went thru his ground school training then off we went into the surf like good little students.  He gave us very specific things to work on that followed a perfect progression to get us to the point of standing on the board.  It was great fun!!!  Pictures to follow….

Gone fishing....

What a great way to end a great trip!  The night before we left Busua the rain came in with a vengeance.  The start of the monsoon, it was time to leave!  A muddy trip out of there, a long hot Cho Cho bus ride back to Accra  (Cho-chos are the Ghanaian form of public transportation: unmarked vans that go from here to there, picking up passengers whenever flagged) a taxi ride to the Hotel where we were greeting by our master Collins.  Boy was it good to see him again!!!  He took us to the market for last minute souvenirs.

Pack, shower, dinner then off to the airport for me….some 36 hours later I was home….my head spinning with memories along with fighting a wicked cold I caught right at the end….ah the price to pay for having fun!!!  It was all worth it!!!

People have asked what I liked the most.  I have to say it was the children, their beautiful little faces, their smiles and their spirit.  They were so curious and interested in what we were doing and us for that matter.  They would look so serious until you “smile” then they would light up…I just loved this about them!  I made a point while driving by children to wave smile and get their attention…it was so much fun to see them smile , wave and blow kisses back.  I am thrilled to be able to help these kids in any small way!

Thanks to ALL that donated to help some children in Ghana!