Is it the 20th of January already?
The past couple days have been almost surreal. I still cannot believe that I am flying back home tonight, it's a very bittersweet feeling however. I cannot wait to see everyone back home, but I've really come to love Ghana, it's people, and it's wildlife.
I'm very happy to announce that I am leaving on an extreme high note as well! As mentioned in my last post we had been surveying the beaches in Winneba for a weeks time looking for Sea Turtles and had come up with a big fat 0! However on my last night in Winneba, Leslie and I walked our beach site one last time. On our first run we came across freshly made tracks from a Green Sea Turtle....We had JUST MISSED IT! We proceeded to tell ourselves that this evidence was enough to make us happy even if we didn't see the actual turtle (mostly to validate the fact that we had walked a couple miles of beach for the past week!) because at the very least the beautiful creature made it back to the sea after a successful nesting without any poacher interference. However we were still a bit dissapointed in missing her.
We decided to hang out for a short time on the beach, just to try our luck with catching one emerging from the sea, but after sitting for a bit we began the trek back along the beach. As we continued our journey we saw caught a glimpse of something in the sand....MORE Tracks, we quickly put our red head lamps on and scanned the tracks, our eyes following them to the dunes at the top of the beach. It is here where we saw sand being flipped into the air.....IT WAS A TURTLE!!! We quickly and quietly scurried up the dune to find a beautiful Olive Ridley Turtle beginning to dig out her nest. We a watched her dig and lay eggs for a good hour, sitting in awe nearly the entire time. It was such a blessing to finally see one of these amazing creatures nesting in Africa! We snapped some "Infared" video for Leslie's conservation/resource education video, and when she was finished nesting were able to take a few quick photos before she made her way back to the sea. Stuff like this always hits my heart pretty hard and I had to fight back tears of happiness/amazement when seeing this HUGE and beautiful animal perform such an amazing task! These are the kind of events that affirm my calling and my faith in the path that I'm traveling on!
After our last turtle-hurrah Leslie and I returned home where I got packed up and ready to go to Accra. Thankfully our friend Andy with the Ghana Wildlife division was going to Accra for a meeting and was able to give me a ride into town, helping me to keep all of my bags intact instead of jamming them into a crowded tro-tro! I hope to do more work with Andy in the future, there is a lot of potential for work at the Winneba site.
I cannot believe my time in Ghana has finally come to a close, this amazing place including it's people and wildlife will forever hold a special place in my heart. I've met some wonderful people,witnessed some incredible wildlife, and have had a truly outstanding experience here! I just hope my presence here leaves an impression half as good as the impression the country has left on me.
Thank you to everyone here in Ghana and back in the states who made this trip possible, it's one of the best things I've ever done in my life and I hope I have done you proud.
To those still in Ghana, God Bless and see you again in the future. To those back home in the states, be seeing you soon!
Much Love...
"Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad, let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord." -Psalm 96:11-13
THE END
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