Day 2

As we were landing in London.

Just inside security at London airport.

Just because.

Match ball of the London games.

The first shop in the London airport that I stopped at.

The Giraffe at London's airport, organic and delicious!

As I walked into the airport in Accra.

Ah, London, I had been anticipating this leg of the trip.  I got to the airport and was overwhelmed by everything (in a good way).  First, I was stopped so they could check my bag and the lady searching me said she wasn't sure why but assumed it was my chalk bag (which she was allergic to and wanted me to quickly put away).  I walked around the airport and people were very nice.  I stopped into a couple of gift shops (my favorite was the one with all the football memorbilia) and ate at a wonderful place called the Giraffe "Live, Eat, Love" and they served a variety of fresh organic foods and it was delicious.  I thought about leaving the airport but began running a bit short on time so I found a quiet meditation room and spent some time in there.  I spent the remainder of the time near my gate admiring all of the large double decker aircraft.  Now the time had come to board my flight to Accra and I was ready to start this leg.  I flew via Brittish Airways, had an aisle seat (which turned out to be great for a little more leg room but bad for getting up to walk around and use the restroom), and enjoyed a very pleasant crew.  The portions were small and the drinks were half the size of normal cans.  What's even better is that it had been cracked open a little and I spilled it all over my lap, fortunately the blanket took all of it.  I was again greeted with no food options but the stewardess came back a short time later  and offered me a plant/soya based meal consisting of veggies and couscous and a salad and dinner roll that someone else had requested and then refused.  I remember waiting in line for the bathroom and a man expressed that he had to go pretty badly so I let him go in front of me.  I noticed that the door to the other toilet was slightly ajar so I gave it a nudge and no one was in there but the door tag said occupied, I almost messed myself.  I watched Hugo, which I love, and thought "come with me on my journey and live through my dream." I began watching UP to pass the time before landing and then we touched ground.  It was by far the smoothest landing I've ever had.  I was finally in Accra.  Customs was crazy and I managed to work my way to the very back of the line and it was very much hurry up and wait.  Navigating my way through the crowds in the airport was a bit challenging and finding the transportation driver was tough.  I found him and we were ready to go to the hotel.  There were several people that wanted to help carry the bags to the car and we (I met a wonderful Scottish guy that took the cab with me.  His accent was so thick and he spoke quickly...I'm already finding the language barrier to be a bit intriguing, and it's all English!) finally got to the car and one of the guys pulled me aside and said I needed to provide 20 dollars as a tip for the trip (which was maybe a mile long) but I only had 6 and the rest were larger bills.  I gave him that and he said ok (initially it was supposed to be for the driver according to him but I never saw him give anything to him.  BE PREPARED TO HAGGLE/NEGOTIATE WITH PEOPLE.).  The minute they knew that I was American and that it was my first time to the country, they saw me as easy prey.  I finally got to the hotel (100+ dollars for a room no larger than 12 by 12 seemed crazy but I'm still grateful to Edwina for making it happen) but have no idea about my contacts or when flights to Kumasi depart so I'm sort of stuck in a little state of limbo but absolutely loving the fact that I'm horizontal.  Flipping through the channels, I came across a lot of fuzzy stations and then aljazeera and big brother Africa, CNN, followed by a station playing Premier League Football (which I ultimately fell asleep to).  A long day/s of travel and commotion calls for a much needed night of rest, I loved the travel and the flights weren't that bad but I am exhausted...on to the next one!