Last Wednesday I travelled to Accra with the other Koforidua volunteers by tro-tro. The journey of less than 40 miles took two hours forty minutes partly because of the circuitous rout, but mainly because of the horrendous traffic in Accra. Tro-tros have a tendency to leave the main roads and take to rutty lanes when things get bad. We went to a VSO meeting on disabilities. Hot running water and a swimming pool at the hotel were welcome, the mosquito I shared my room with on the first night was not. The meeting was good for the three new volunteers. We got a good insight into the projects the established volunteers are working on, ranging for street children in Accra, mental heath care, disability issues in schools and sanitation facilities for disabled people.

Dan, Behi and I left the hotel on Saturday morning and spent that night with another volunteer, Steve based in Accra. On Saturday evening we watched England beat France in the Rugby World Cup semi-final at a sports bar. It was touch and go with the satellite equipment but it kept going.

Monday was a public holiday to mark the end of Ramadan. It was a rather dull day with nothing to do. Over the last couple of days we have had a tremendous amount of rain. On Wednesday the thunder sounded like a bomb explosion. I later discovered that a shop I used only that lunch time had been struck by lightning and there was stock everywhere. Unfortunately, though the rain is plentiful we only have water from the taps, one day a week at present. The good news is that the power crisis here is over and the only interruptions we currently have are the storms.

Culinary success this week has been yam, ochre and garden egg soup, which tasted quite leek and potatoey and looked quite glossy.