The Mango Tree

BAM! Roll, roll, roll,.... splat! It's 3:00am and I've just been awoken from falling fruit from the Mango tree outside my guest house room. BAM! Roll, roll, splat! Another mango drops out of the tree onto the tin roof.

Arrived here in Accra, Ghana, on Monday late evening,...greeted by a swarm of pan-handlers all looking to carry our baggage to the waiting car for a few USD or local currency (Cedi). "No thankyou" is not something they choose to understand. It's a bit frantic and we are glad when we are in the van with all our luggage and person intact. Thankfully the guest house we are staying at has a secure gated compound and relaxing gardens.

Accra is HOT. 30C is the night-time temperature. Brutal to sleep in that kind of heat. Plus the humidity is ~85%, so everything is clammy, like the bedsheets.

Went to the Canadian High Commission (Embassy) on Tuesday and ran into some major road-blocks. Prnce's medical forms have not arrived and have been traced to still sitting with the doctor in Liberia. Furthermore, the CDN Immigration office does not recognize the ACFI operated orphanage in Monrovia as an accredited organization, and first needs to perform a review of ACFI. These are major issues to overcome quickly if we have any hope of bringing Prince home with us.

On Friday (Jan 6/06) we travel from Accra to Monrovia via Slok Air. All local carriers here have a less than stellar reputation, but we've chosen the best we can. Tentatively we will spend 5-7 days in Liberia, depending upon if we bring Prince back with us or not, and depending upon what additional medical or visa work may need to be done back in Ghana.

Blogging will be brief until I return. Internet cafes are hard to find, and the priority has been to do whatever necessary to bring Prince home. I have pictures and diary, and will endeavor to blog more upon my return.

Cheers!

-=H=-