I’ve come to believe that tech issues confound in every country, and Ghana is no exception! I drove the crew to the Accra Mall to recharge our internet connection (don’t have to pay by the GB in the States) and sort out some issues with Vodaphones (personal hotspot is now operational). Stephanie tried unsuccessfully to get her USB dongle working (Symantec Endpoint virus protection interferes).
Back at the flat, Tracy asked me to evaluate cell phones for the soon-to-arrive students. Calvin has a bag full of old phones for this purpose. Unfortunately, some phones had no chargers, and some chargers had no phones. But, I found seven working units, which should be enough to cover interim students who choose not to bring their own handsets.
For an afternoon excursion, we went to Afia Beach Hotel, near downtown Accra, past the turnoff to Osu. After ordering a snack at the restaurant, we made the short trip to the beach. We walked a bit West and looked East, observing several working skiffs offshore. Obviously, the weather was, again, hazy.
Afia is not a swimming beach, due to contaminated water and garbage on the shore. Which is too bad, because it was rather hot for us Michiganders. Regardless, we had a nice walk. Catherine ran in the intertidal zone, but Mark chose to stay at the restaurant knowing that swimming was not an option.
—Matt
