I left Portland Thursday afternoon with Delta Airlines, flying to Amsterdam, then on to Accra. My flight in Portland boarded early and it looked like we would get to Amsterdam an hour early, as the pilot announced that the prevailing winds would shorten our flying time by about an hour, so instead of 10 hours, it would be nine. That good news would be short lived, for just as we were to taxi to the runway, another announcement about a minor repair in one of the lavatories. The repair soon turned into a big deal. More and more repair guys keep coming but no one seemed to be able to fix the problem. Finally, after about an hour, they announced that the lavatory would be closed for the flight. Now, finally, after just sitting for an hour on the tarmac, we were off.
Most of the passengers on this flight were older adults flying to Europe to enjoy tours, cruises or just travel. Several around me were going on a bike tour, others wine tours in Italy, and some river cruises in Germany. Very few young people on board. Don't know if this is normal or not. The plane was an Airbus, which I thought was very noisy and the seat configuration was different. But the flight was smooth and we arrived in Amsterdam about 9:30 am.
I never had been to Amsterdam before, so I was eager to see the airport. I didn't sleep on the flight so I had reserved a room in the airport hotel. I decided I needed to first the hotel and sleep some. The Yotel(the name of hotel) was on the second level but clearly marked. I was shown my room and given an alarm clock so use for wakeup which was nice. The room was a small space but comfortable and quiet. I could sleep, watch tv, or shower. Couldn't ask for much more. The design reminded me of Ikea- simple but very functional.
My last flight was a little over 6 hours, arriving in Accra about 8 pm. On my flight, I sat next to a woman from Liberia who lives in Minneapolis, MN. She was very tired too. KLM airlines was nice and I think it was the first time I had used this airlines. Towards the end of the flight, the airline people start to pass out the Immigration and Custom forms. The Liberian woman didn't understand so I ended up filling out her form too. Some of the information I didn't know either but I gave my best guess. haha!
The Accra airport is quite antiquated. First you deplane using these portable steps that are not for the handicap. Then you walk into the main building. There is a very nice mural on the wall that added some culture to the building. Inside, the lines for Immigration were quite chaotic. I picked a line but true to form, it ended up to be a bad line. The immigration officer seem to be taking an intolerably long time with each passenger, so I spent about 40 minutes in this line before getting to the front. Then I noticed that I had mistakenly left the blue form in the plane. so I asked the line monitor if he could get me another blue form. He said to me " Are you carrying more than $10,000 USD? " I said "No". "Well, then you don't need the blue form". I didn't think he would be correct as the KLM people said we had to fill out both forms. But then the line monitor told me to go into the "diplomat" line. haha! So I did. That immigration officer was so nice. They finger print all your fingers and thumbs.And take a photo of course. First for that for me. Felt a little like a mug shot. haha! I found out too, that I didn't need the blue form and that they paid very little attention to anything you wrote on the white form.
Outside the airport, I looked for the hotel driver who was to pick me up. There must have been about 100 people holding up name signs, so I had to proceed slowly, scanning each sign. I never did see my name but I spotted the name of a fellow volunteer so I knew that this had to be my driver too. After verifying that he was really the right person and not a fake, he took me to the van. Along the way, he two other young local Ghanians accompanied us. They began talking to me in a heavy accent and talking very fast. I was understanding only about 10 % but I didn't ask for clarification because I knew they wanted something or selling something. At the van, they tried to tell me I should tip them for their expert advice. I didnt think they did anything, but they guy keep telling me how intelligent and strong I was. haha! I had read about all kinds of scams that can occur in Ghana, so I thought this must be like that. Finally, I decided I would give him $1 USD, because I thought maybe he would go away. When I pulled out my money, he saw that I had a 5 and 20 too, so he immediately told me that I should give him the 5 as they don't use $1 in Ghana. That is when I told me 'bye" and ended up giving him nothing.
I knew Roberta from Pittsburg was arriving 20 minutes later then me so I had planned to wait for her at the airport, then we could both go to the hotel together. The airport driver went back to find her. A little later he came out and told me that he would take me to the hotel and then come back for her. I told him "no" and that we would continue to wait. He goes back to look for her and then later returns without her. Now, he tells me , she didn't come. I didn't think that was true, so I took the sign with her name and went back myself to look for her. Finally, she came. I knew it would take her a long time to go through security. We rode back to the hotel together.
Don't know if I will get another time to post an entry while in Ghana or not because I am going to a more rural area. Also, I realize now I brought the wrong attachment to download my photos to my iPad. Darn!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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