Crocodile Hunters!

We thought we would take this opportunity to highlight some things to do in the Bolga area. We were able to spend this weekend enjoying some much needed rest before beginning work in a new community on Monday.

On Saturday, we visited two local attractions: Paga Crocodile Pond and the chief's palace (or what we thought was the chief's palace...) According to the Ghana Tourism Authority, "It is a customary offense to harm, kill or show any sign of disrespect to the crocodile of Paga. It is not uncommon to find children and or visitors sitting at the back of or holding the tail of a crocodile without any harm, after a sacrifice of fowl." (Unfortunately for us, we were hoping to feed Nate to the crocodiles. Apparently, however these were friendly crocodiles.)

The crocodile pond has more than 200 crocodiles living in it. We were able to interact with two different crocodiles, including one that was over 90 years old. Evie was able to take her horse back riding skills to a new level on an entirely new species when we were each given the opportunity to sit on the crocodile's back and lift its heavy tail.

It wasn't until after our time at the pond that we learned why the crocodiles are so tame. The locals believe that the crocodiles are reincarnations of their ancestors and, since they are therefore human, the animals would do nothing to harm a member of the human race. We're not so sure if we follow this logic...

Nate looking frightened (and reasonably so!)

After our time at the crocodile pond, Evie met a new friend. He showed us pictures of a beautiful palace and encouraged us to come and visit. We followed but soon realized that the village he took us to was nothing like the photos. We were in a tourist trap! Yes friends, even in Africa, you can still fall into these traps. Some of the stories of the "ancient" village were questionable at best, but he was a nice man and it certainly was an experience we will not soon forget.

He was so proud of his sign that he insisted we take a picture of him with it. Beware: tourist trap ahead!

Elizabeth and Evie with Evie's new friend

Today we were able to worship at a local Pentecostal church. The pastor's wife graciously offered to pick us up at the hotel. The church was very large with close to 1000 people in attendance. We were able to spend this afternoon at the hotel planning with Noela for the upcoming week.

We will begin our day tomorrow by meeting with some of the World Vision staff in Bolga before heading out to the community we will be working with. We plan to construct one modified pump and one latrine in this village, much like we did with the previous community.

If you have a chance (and have not done so already), please take a minute to check out the website for the documentary that Derick and Rodney are working on. They have already posted some incredible clips from our time here and will be continuing to update the site as work progresses. The link for the site can be found here: theghanafilm.wordpress.com.

We would also like to continue with our personal updates of each member of the team:

Derick: Derick can beat almost anyone in any game...beware if you agree to play a card game with him! On the positive side however, he can also figure out how to play almost any game (including Skip-Bo, which is interestingly much harder to figure out than it may appear!)

Nate: Nate has used some of the downtime of the trip honing his poem and song writing skills (particularly if they involve the topic of latrines.) We've encouraged him to explore this alley as a possible second career.

Rodney: Rodney has developed a tendency to leave empty soda cans and water bottles laying about. We all have had to pick up the slack by picking up after him.

Elizabeth: After several marriage proposals in the village last week, Elizabeth hopes that the team will maintain the high price of 50 cows for her hand in marriage as we head into the next village. (Better not do anything to upset the team if she hopes to make it back to the US...)

Evie: Without Evie, we would not have not fallen into the tourist trap village in Paga. Though Nate and Rodney rolled their eyes at her through the tour that day, we've decided that was a fun experience and one we would not have had without her!