CIEE Trip #1 Part 2: Kakum National Park

So...the next day we woke up and Kim and I had had a successful shower with water pressure!!!! EXCEPT like idiots, we weren't aware that in order to get hot water you needed to switch on the water heater. Therefore, our shower was cold. But, at least in was a shower. It's nice to know that at least once a month we will have showers that work! Such good news. Oh, and we all freaked out because the toilet paper was so soft. haha. I considered stealing it. It's gotten to that point! Such small pleasures we take for granted in the States! W e had the best breakfast I've had in a while too. We had toast, omelets, cereal (!!!!), oatmeal, jam, coffee and hot chocolate. Yes, I did eat all of that.

We headed to Kakum after packing up. On the way Mr. Gyasi talked about palm wine and he bought a cocoa pod on the way for all of us to try them. Yes, a cocoa pod is the root of cocoa and therefore chocolate!! The pod was green/yellowish. We cracked it open with a knife and the inside was white. You took one piece and sucked on it to get all of the juice out from around the seed. You normally don't eat the seed- but thats what are used for the cocoa. The seeds are dried and then sent to the States for processing. Next weekend we will be seeing a cocoa farm and how it works in more detail. It tasted very sweet! Palm wine is taken directly from a palm tree. It tasted amazing! Although, apparently it can be very deceiving. The alcohol content increases astronomically the longer you have it, so many people end up falling asleep after having a bottle. haha We were told to be relatively cautious. When we arrived at Kakum there were some gift shops which gave me some ideas for Christmas presents! :) We all received neck tags and began the trip up to the walk.

We had a twenty minute or so hike up to the walk. Many Ghanaians were with us and equally as terrified of heights. haha It was funny to hear the lingering chatter between all of us while trekking up. 

After a short speech from our guide about how this site is one of the largest, and most sought out in Africa, we proceeded to the walks.

To see more pictures and a video, check out my Facebook. Behind me was my friend Neyat and Will. Here was our victorious, "We survived the Canopy Walk!" photo.

Not gonna lie, walking back down to the bus was probably more challenging than the canopy walk. It was slippery and VERY muddy. Complete with hidden vines and rocks that gave me a few more bruises. haha Awesome. I do love my bruises. 

We went to a restaurant before departing back to Accra. I forget the name, but I remember the crocodiles. Yes. Our restaurant was above water built on stilts complete with crocodiles that we could TOUCH. The bathroom signs were particularly interesting. 

It seems fitting seeing as in how many people are religious here and affiliate themselves with the Christian faith. Here was a shot of part of the restaurant:

After we ate, we did touch the crocodile. I will close with this epic picture. 

This made me think about all of the times Dad had gone to take pictures in National Parks and Mom would freak out because he could see some of these creatures. haha i'm sure my siblings know what I'm talking about. Love you :)