The Dam and the Beach

First of all for those of you who are commenting on my blog entries, Thank you. I am trying to respond to any requests you have among the comments, so please look there to see if I have commented.

On Saturday and Sunday (yesterday and today) we visited the Akosombo Dam and the beach at the Com Si Resort. they were play days, but there were at least two valuable lessons that I learned.

At the Akosombo Dam, which is about a 90 minute drive from Accra, we joined two other groups to hear about and see the facility. It is a dam that was constructed in the early 1960's to help Ghana modernize in its push for electricity. It is a massive dam, and it blocks the red, white, and black parts of the Volta River. The damming created Lake Volta, which is the largest man-made lake in the world. On top of providing power to Ghana, the plant also sends electricity to neighboring Togo on the east and Cote D'Ivoire on the west.

One of the two other groups were a group of elementary-aged students, so the tour guide (who worked for the power company) talked at their level (his words). I was impressed because he was able to explain to the students and the adults all about how the dam functions. But I was also impressed because he was speaking about the importance of conservation at such a desperate time for Ghana. The intake tank is not supposed to go lower than 235 meters and it is dangerously close to there now. Ghana has been on rolling blackouts since last December and if they do not get their expected rains in the north during the months of September and October their power and water situation could become critical and maybe even severe. I thought it was interesting how the guide (who spoke as if he were an engineer) told the group of students how they could do their part.

By the way, I have figure out a way to download picture, but the Internet connection is slow and I have not yet had the patience to let a picture download. The Internet connection here costs about $5 an hour, so I will try another Internet Cafe' during our travels, so stay tuned.

Today, we were scheduled to go to the beach, but the one we planned to visit was closed due to the fact that it was heavily polluted. We drove east from Accra toward the area around Tema. We found one beach, but we couldn't get the bus down the road to discover whether or not it was suitable. We then found the Com Si Resort and even though the water was washing trash and debris on the shore, we decided to stay there. The area was very nice (except for the pollution). We had a shaded area in which to sit that was covered by coconut trees. There were two gigantic speakers banging out some reggae tunes, and a space on the beach large enough to play a 5 v. 5 football match. I joined our guides and their friends to play against 5 local boys. We hammered boards in the ground to make goal posts and away we went. My team had six players with one sub. Our team consisted of Ben, Daniel, Renel, Theo, Razak, and I. We won 5-0. Razak scored twice while Renel, Ben, and Daniel all scored once. Theo said he set up all the goals. I enjoyed myself thoroughly, and I am now considering retiring on the continent, so I can say I am undefeated in Africa. The truth is I don't think I did so badly. I won a few tackles and made some useful passes. I have never played in beach sand quite so thick. The sand in Daytona was always compacted due to the cars. After playing we drank a ceremonial victory beverage and grooved to the beat of the music. and then we went to a late lunch at a fast food joint called Southern Fried Chicken Express.

Not only did this place have fired chicken, but they had burgers, hot dogs, pizzas, Indian food, Lebanese food, fish, and Ghanaian food. There was a birthday party going on at the tables just down form ours and I helped a family out by taking a picture of all of them in it at one time. About the only difference between this place and a place off the highway in the United States was that here there was a bunch of cattle grazing in the open field on the other side of the road. It was fun.

Tomorrow we will work on our projects and prepare to drive to Kumasi and on to Tamale'. Keep checking and keep responding.

Tohajie is out for now.