The Cecera Guest house where the others are staying is across the street a couple of buildings away and I went there and met them just as they were finishing breakfast.Ī pick-up truck came for the team and the three guys went and I stayed because Kwame, who is financing the factory in Kumasi, was coming later and Nicole and I went with him about a half hour later. He didn’t win but got in just over 15 minutes that is a marvelous achievement for novices.īreakfast on the morning of January 13 th at the Lamerta consisted of instant coffee, some sort of egg preparation that might almost be an omelet, and sausages accompanied by loud radio station that seemed mostly to be politically oriented and simultaneous TV. The best achievements were that the crew got very good at wheel building and at the end of the day one of the guys claimed he could build one in 15 minutes and others challenged him in a competition. The gas tank seems to be getting repaired as well. The parts including a section of pipe maybe 12 feet long came by motorcycle. Today the exhaust system was installed for the back-up generator. He also stepped them through the process of construction that will happen when all the tools and jigs arrive. The wheel builders are getting quite skilled and soon will not need oversight.Ībout mid morning Marty gave a lecture to the crew on factory set-up and management. So Friday at the factory began with further training in bamboo selection and in wheel building in parallel groups. Given the short amount of time that Marty, Justin and Ben have to do the training we need to get things started on Saturday if at all possible. Maybe it will be possible to have people work that day but not Sunday for sure. Then there is a question of what happens Saturday. We can do this ourselves and maybe a few will stay. Today is Friday, so if the container comes at the end of the day, the crew will most likely have gone home and will not be available to help unload. The day began with news that the container did not clear customs yesterday, but was expected to clear today and arrive at the end of the day. Still, it would have been good to stay a while longer. However, since I could not be involved directly in the training myself it seemed like not the best use of time to stand aside and watch and take photos and of course the semester began the same week so I had little choice but to come back to New York. The team of Ghanaians have been picking up skills at a very rapid rate and it would have been a real pleasure to see them lean to build bikes of the jigs made for that purpose and us the tools that they have. I rather regret not being able to stay for the week of training on the new set-up in the factory. Back to frigid New York in the evening of Monday with no serious issues. Simple getting to the airport and the flight was straightforward as well. The dining area was outdoors and the menu was reasonably interesting and the setting was outdoors amid palm trees with a distant view of the beach that I saw in the morning at breakfast. I would recommend it.Ī view something like the one from my room at the Afia beach Hotel A little rough in places but not bad at all. But the hotel was the real reward – bungalow style rooms that opened on to the beach. Fortunately I had downloaded a Google map of the area and could figure out how to get there. I didn’t get sick.įinding the Afia Beach hotel was a challenge as it is down an unmarked dirt road in poor condition and the sign for the hotel at the head of the road had been removed because it had been mistakenly placed over a sewer or utility lines and was taken down to do work on the utilities. Asking what sort of meat was in it, I was told something I could not understand ort recognize but I ate it anyway. The bus seems to deal with the roads better than the car on the way up, and we make better time as well even with a stop at a rest stop on the way where I paid to go to the rest room and I bought a pie to eat. People all around are selling water and snacks for the ride. So there is no schedule and the bus goes when it is full. The rest of us sit in the farther rows of seats and pick up our stuff and move progressively closer to the desired seats when those who have been sold tickets are told they can get on the bus. Those in the seats nearest the doors that lead out to the bus are the next to leave and they are sold tickets. Just turn up and sit in a waiting area that is set up with four sets of seats – three across and about ten deep that represents a bus-full of people. The bus station is located in market area and is fairly simple to catch. I traveled back to Accra on Sunday via the VIP bus.
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