Fast Eddie was waiting for us when we arrived back at the Rexmar. We had packed or bags and asked for them to be stored at the front desk while we were at services, which they were happy to do. This way were able to settle our bill before we went to services and the staff could get in to clean the room, preparing it for the next guests. We started the five-hour drive back to Accra at about 1:00 pm. On the way up we had been stopped at only one police barricade at which Fast Eddie had to get out and open the trunk for inspection. I was not able to see behind the car to see if a bribe was paid to get us on our way. On the way back down were stopped at two barricade about an hour and a half apart. Though we trust God for our protection and safety, it is always a bit intimidating to be waved to the side of the road by uniformed soldiers (police) carrying automatic weapons – especially when I am riding ‘shotgun’ and the officers come to my window first. 

At the first stop when the officer saw a white man sitting in the front seat he just waved us on. At the second stop, we were waved over and pulled up to a rather large uniformed female police officer. Fast Eddie rolled down my window and I said “Good Afternoon” in Twi – which phonetically sounds something like ‘me-mow-aha’ and often sounds more like ‘mumwaha’ when said quickly. (It was a time like this that Pam and I appreciated the coaching we had gotten from several of the members and ministers on some key words in Twi. ) Our officer flashed a broad smile and returned the greeting. She asked a question in Twi and Fast Eddie answered and they both chuckled a bit. I would guess she probably said something like “Nice to see the white guy at least give Twi a try, but his pronunciation is funny!” She waved us on and wished us a good day. I responded with “mah-dah-see” a rough phonetic attempt at the Twi word for “thank you.” You now know as much Twi as I do!

At one of the many speed bump slowdowns we crossed, I saw being offered for sale a platter full of the largest snails I have ever seen – about the side of your palm.  I asked Fast Eddie if my eyes deceived me. He assured me that these were in fact large snails, they were being sold for food, and they were tasty! I told him that I was not a snail eater no matter how good they tasted. I guessing you have to eat snails very slowly.   :)  

On the drive down, we got a text from our son asking if we were okay. He had heard of a gas explosion in Accra and was checking in on us. Since we had been out of contact for the past several days we asked Fast Eddie what had happened and he explained that there was a huge explosion in an Accra neighborhood that killed many and injured many more. Later we learned that in a northern part of Accra – the “Atomic Junction” area – a gasoline tanker truck at a petrol station exploded into flames causing the truck, the station and the surrounding areas to be burned to the ground. Last we head, seven were killed and many injured and taken to hospital to be treated for burns. The news mentioned that this was the eighth explosion like this in the past three years! We assured Philip that we were fine and that the explosion was far from where we were staying.

Fast Eddie dropped us faithfully at the Airport West Hotel where we checked in, got a bit to eat, and made sure our arrangements were set for the airport shuttle for the morning. Out room this time was much nicer that the one we stayed in when we first arrived and we settled in for a good night’s sleep in anticipation of our trip to Nigeria tomorrow. Thanks Fast Eddie for your kind and reliable service!