22nd March 08

Date: 22nd March 08
Location: Big Milly’s, Ghana
Weather: Clear blue skies, slight breeze and still damn hot! 35°c
Status: All good

A.M.
A few days on and I’ve had a good amount of time to sit and think about the decisions that I’ve had to make recently and they still feel like the right ones.

Went to visit MSC, the shipping company who’ll send the Colonel to South Africa for me and the earliest they can get in into a container is March 31st so another ten days or so of sitting still which infuriates me, but is also a very good thing as it allows me to recover totally and to up the training too. I’ll have to hang around for a few days after the ship leaves to sign the customs papers and then I’m off to Cape Town to continue what I consider to be Part 2 of the project, the easier part and the time to see and meet up with amazing friends I haven’t had a chance to see for years!

Moved out of the lovely fanned bedroom and back into the tent so woke up boiling hot and headed out for a run down the beach to the nearest village around 5kms away.

The beach is full of people as it’s the Easter weekend so running through and around the fishing boats, umbrellas and also the huge amount of human crap that washes up at high tide was certainly interesting! By the time I got the to village I was boiling up and decided to head inland and follow the coast road back to the camp and how it amused the locals “abruni, abruni” was all I heard (meaning white man) as I ran through the village!

Its Easter Saturday and the camp has filled up now to full capacity so its not quite the little oasis of peace and solitude that is has been for the past week but the vibe is good and Silvia is here until tomorrow and then heads back to the orphanage to work for another couple of weeks before coming back here to Big Milly’s with her boyfriend….I intend being long gone before that happens as I’m not sure if either my heart or head could take it.

The travelling life is a funny thing, it throws you into situations and circumstances you didn’t think you’d get into, challenges the body and mind more than you’d ever do stuck at home in a routine but also allows such fresh thoughts and ideas to be germinated from deep within that it constantly educates and changes your opinions and mindset. There’s nothing more meaningful behind this statement, purely an observation…..I think it’s a really good thing.

P.M.
Then just as you think you’ve got everything straight in your head and you know where you’re going….everything changes!!

A M.A.N. overland truck pulled into camp this afternoon with dutch plates on so after a while up walks Case the driver and starts to chat about the usual things; vehicles, routes etc. One thing led to another and it appears that he needs to get to South Africa as quickly as possible to, has only himself to do it with once the girlfriend leaves in a weeks time and just wants to go for it……..SO THAT’S WHAT I’M DOING!!!
THE BIG PLAN IS BACK ON……. We’re sitting down today to talk about the logistics involved but its seems I’m back on to complete the adventure/journey/mission as I wanted to, by travelling all around the coast.

Excellent.

End of day location: Big Milly’s, Ghana
Distance covered: 20kms running