Stuck in Accra

"Yes I'm stuck in the middle with you, And I'm wondering what it is I should do..." -Stealers Wheel lyric

I left the Andoh household right after breakfast this morning. I rose early to shower before a line started and finish packing. I said all of my goodbyes and wondered how I could ever begin to repay the Andoh's for all their generosity and hospitality other than to be generous and hospitable and pass it on. I told Shirley I would give her my phone Sim card as someone else could use it and she said I had better keep it. I said I was out of credit on my phone though and she chastised me asking what I would do if I needed to call once they left me at the airport. Ever the optimist I said I wouldn't need to and we hugged and parted ways.

Had I had to eat my words they would have filled an all-you-can-eat buffet.

I was told that while I could still fly to Ouagadougou, my connecting flight through to Bamako was cancelled. What now? I asked to borrow the phone of an American woman, a public health official, who shared my same predicament to call Shirley and alert her before she got too far from the airport. We were told to wait for more info.

The more info turned out to be an invitation from Vijay Kumar to pay for another ticket to Bamako through Abidjian (Ivory Coast). I don't understand, I said, I have this ticket, can't I use it? Will you honor it? You didn't buy the ticket from me, Vijay says. I can't help you. So now I was thoroughly confused...But the airlines has my money and they have cancelled the flight I was supposed to take...so what provisions did they make for me?

Listen, Vijay says, I can get you on this other flight but I need to know if you can pay. How much is it? I ask weakly. He says it will cost $250 to Abidjian and as only business class is available from Abidjian, $408 to Bamako from there. I am quiet. The other woman offers a credit card and he frowns at it. What is this? My credit card, she says. Oh no..only cash, Vijay says. So if you give it to me I can get you the ticket. He holds his hand out and I'm thinking are you for real? I'm supposed to have $700 cash on me just like that? The woman says she will have to go to an ATM as it is Sunday and the banks are closed. He says she should return quickly. I tell him I have been volunteering all summer and I don't have cash for a new flight. He looks disinterested. What else can I do? I ask. He says you can give me the cash or I can get back to you later after I deal with the flight.

So I wait. In the meantime I decide to go look for a place to buy a phone card to add to my cellphone minutes. One of the airline workers graciously walks me to the place which is not that close to the airport. In walking there I stub the pinky toe of my left foot on the wheel of the cart carrying my baggage. A chill shoots through my spine. I think it might be broken. We walk and walk and the vendor seems to be very far. I am reassured by the fact that we are in open air, still on the grounds of the airport and my "guide" is wearing an official looking yellow glow in the dark vest. He sees me limping and asks what has happened. I tell him and he insists I sit and wait while he takes my money to go buy the card. I can see where the vendor is now and I give him the money and tell him what denomination to buy. If he takes off with it so be it.

He returns without the card but with my money. The only denomination they had was for much more money than I had still in my possession in Ghanaian Cedis. I thanked him for his trouble and he accompanied me back to the airport, with me limping all the while. Shortly after Shirley arrived (she told me she was going to finish running an errand and then be back). Together we tried to make some sense out of what Vijay was saying. Apparently while he assists Air Burkina with loading and checking in passengers he is not an employee of Air Burkina and so should not be expected to be helpful in that manner. He does however own his own travel agency where tickets are bought in cash and you can get where you want to go if your flight is cancelled. How shady is that? While the other American woman took him up on that offer as she had a Monday morning meeting in Bamako that she had to make, her expenses would surely be reimbursed by her company and mine would not.

If I had gotten the flight I would have been stuck in Ouagadougou until Friday when the next flight to Bamako came through and my flight to NYC from there would have been long gone. So I am back with the Andohs, what better place to be stuck, and they are working with their cousin who is a travel agent to find a way for me to use my return ticket to get home. There's some drama in Ghana for you...