Determined to find some internet and fix Emily’s phone (which has required trips to various phone stores in 4 of Ghana’s 10 regions), we woke up early and headed to Wa, the nearest town. After several hours in a tro-tro, two long waits in phone stores, and waiting out a rainstorm under a store awning, it was time to head back to Lawra and try out my newly purchased modem (feel free to email us!). What was at first glance a normal ride in a “normal tro-tro” turned out to be one of our most ridiculous transportation experiences yet.
Tro-tros Waiting in the Wa Station
After cramming ourselves and our backpacks inside, we skeptically looked around our combination hearse / sauna / prison transport vehicle. The peeling and stained quilted ceiling sloped down low on the sides and the windows refused to open, so when I turned my head (a difficult task, considering I was wedged in sideways with my arm behind Emily and a man sitting against my knees) all I could see was the shoulders and heads of people crammed in front of me. The steel bars stretching across the windows, and the fact the door had to be tied shut from the outside (using an old flannel shirt) just added to the lovely atmosphere.
To make matters worse, the jarring bumps in the dirt road made the two old women sitting with us in the back have to pee, making us and all the people sitting in the isle crawl out of the tro-tro every 30 minutes or so, tumbling over legs, bags, and whatever remained of the broken seats. After several pee breaks, a trip to deliver juice boxes to a village store, and a random detour where we all got out and the tro-tro drove off before returning 30 minutes later, we finally arrived back in Lawra- whew!
Emma