When the going gets tough . . .

. . . the tough get going. To a swanky hotel.

Rotating power outages are still in effect here in Ghana, although they have modified the schedule so we're blacked out every fifth night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. (previously, it was every third day, and alternated between days and nights).

The power shortages have caused problems with water pumps in our part of town, we're told, so we're often without water service, especially when the power is out.

Last Saturday was our scheduled night for "lights-out." Faced with the prospect of a long, hot night with no water or power, Jason and I packed a bag and headed to a hotel for the night.

After consulting our guidebook and making a few calls, we opted to go all-out: Air conditioning! Unlimited hot water -- with water pressure in the shower! Satellite TV! Swimming pool overlooking the sea! It was, I must say, magnificent. And worth every penny. Apparently you can take the girl out of the West, but not the West out of the girl.

Here's Jason enjoying the pool:



Here I am on the patio overlooking the ocean. I'm wearing a sundress I had made by a local tailor -- more on that in another post.



Here's what happens when tall guys take pictures of themselves with short gals:



The lobby of the hotel had a giant (or so it seemed to me) elephant head mounted on the wall:



It was fake, the concierge assured us. But life-sized. I was quite surprised. I mean, I know elephants are big. I just didn't, for some reason, imagine they were quite THIS big. The concierge said this is the type of elephant one could see in Mole National Park, which we plan to visit in January.

Fishing boats were launching from the beach just west of the hotel. Here's one on the sea:



From the hotel patio you could see Tema, a large port east of Accra, and the giant ships that dock there. Here you'll see a container ship in the background and a couple of tiny fishing boats in the foreground, in a children's-book example of old-and-new, or big-and-little:



On our way home, we passed one of the famous coffin carvers in Teshie. Fantasy coffins are big business in Ghana. In fact, funerals in general are big business here, as noted in this article.



That's a beer bottle on the far right, alongside a cow, a couple of vehicles, and a rooster. Spending all eternity encased in a rooster: go figure.

We returned home to full power and water. Hurrah! A fine weekend getaway.