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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 19th two red eye flights later I arrived in Accra on Thursday the 21st!!!
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!!!