Exhausted from the long flight, we slept in till 8:00. We are thankful to have gracious friends here in Accra who open their home to us when we pass thru, heading north. And while the juicy  ripe mango, avocado, and homemade quiche breakfast was delightful, it was the strong coffee that helped clear my head and focus on the problem at hand — our flight to Tamale was cancelled.  It was not the Harmattan, but a broken aircraft. 

Travel in Ghana can be exciting.

We drove to the airport to see what we could do. Jeff let us off at the departures level and told us he would loop around every 5 or 10 minutes.

Inside the terminal, we were greeted by this LCD board:

The interaction at the desk went something like this:

Us: hello, we are on the flight to Tamale.

Airline: the flight is cancelled, what do you want to do?

Us: the screen over there (pointing to LCD) said everything is on time.

Airline: that is wrong, the flight is cancelled.

Us: what can we do?

Airline: you can ask for a refund or take a different flight.

Us: ok, let’s take the 4pm flight,

Airline: that flight is cancelled too.

Us: ok, when is the next flight?

Airline: there is a flight tomorrow at 6:00am

Us: ok, can you put us on that flight.

Airline: No, that flight is full.

Us: hmm, so when is the first flight that we can take to Tamale?

Airline: Wednesday.

Us: hmmm, ok, well, I guess we need a refund

Airline: Monday thru Friday

Us: (puzzled) what do you mean?

Airline: you can ask for a refund on Monday, when the financial office is open

Us: (protests and pleading)

Airline: ok, fill in the paperwork , and within 5 to 7 days we will process a refund

Us: ok.

Beth and I walked back out of the airport and back into the dust hanging in the air, blocking direct sunlight. Several minutes later Jeff pulled up. As we drove out of the airport, a security guard stopped us, After friendly introductions, some banter and some smiles all around, I was still perplexed. Why were we pulled over? More friendly talk between the security guard and Jeff provided no hints. Finally Jeff causally asked “is there a problem? What do you need?” The guard explained that no pickups were allowed at the departure level.

My mind replayed the drop off and pickup. Yup. Jeff had picked us up at the departure level after he looped around the airport. Jeff kindly explained our situation, and everyone was smiling, but he told us to wait for his boss. The commander wore a black sweater under a uniform vest. He was stern, but polite. The fine would be $30. Jeff explained that he was just dropping us off and didn’t have money with him. Smiling, the officer explained they would impound the truck. “I would like a receipt for the fine”. A third man who was now with us pulled out a small receipt book with yellowing pages and a bent spiral binding. More smiles. More discussion. We drove off without paying the fine. 

Back at the house, we started fresh plans.  To help sort out the possible next steps, Jeff and Laurie started calling people they knew. We have learned many times that Africa is relational, and the US is more transactional. Phone calls to the only other Tamale airline did not find us a seat. Jeff phoned a friend who gave us the number of another friend, who works for a bus company. 

Jeff and Laurie replied to the expressions clearly shared by our faces. “Oh, these are nice busses, you get your own seat”.  Indeed, they are very nice. At the bus company, we met Steve, the friend of a friend, who secured our seat on the bus. As I write this post from our comfy airline style seats we are bouncing and zigzagging our way north to meet Ray. The bus is 12 hours. We might arrive some time around 6am in Tamale. Thanks again Jeff and Laurie for the help getting north, and for the picnic basket and hospitality.

So… by morning we should be arriving in the north, ready for church — Ghanaian style,  there are few things as joyful sounding as a Ghanaian church, so we look forward to joining our friends in song.