Light Out, Night 5/Day 6 (part 1?)

So I was just settling in to go to sleep last night when DZzzzzz (it's the sound of all things electrical shutting down)...."light out!" This is what they say here in Ghana when the electricity goes off. Goodbye air conditioning. Goodbye fan. Goodbye light. Ugh!

The ambien was kicking in but you do NOT want to lay there in a hot room with absolutely no chance of moving air, so I got up and opened my windows in hopes that the direction of wind was right for it to blow through. Not so much, but every once in a while I'd get a nice breeze. Oh, but I come prepared for light out and no breeze! This is why I bring the little $1-$2 handheld fans you see at wal-mart! I clicked on that baby and put it about 6 inches from my face! Ha!

You don't come to Ghana without some sort of flashlight. This time I came with not only a flashlight but also this $5 stand-up lantern thing that has come in very handy! It is bright enough to act as a reading lamp.

So, I have light. I have air. Great. But it's still freaking hot! Don't get me wrong! The regular PJ's won't due! I change out of them and into my little tank top and just wear that with panties. By this time I'm a bit awake so I decide to lay there with my little light and little fan and try to read for a few minutes before I go back to sleep. Remember, my windows (and curtains) are WIDE OPEN but I figure nobody is really around. Right? WRONG! As I'm laying there this guy comes right up to my window! ACK! "Madam! Madam! I'm looking for room 4. Can you direct me?" Oh, and he's taking the view for everything he can. Remember, my body type is considered pretty nice here. I fumble with the light to turn it off and then tell him where 4 is. Good gravy! At that point I decide reading time is OVER!

At some point during the night the electricity came back on. WONDERFUL! I got up, closed the windows, closed the curtains. I went to turn off my handy-dandy fan but realized it had already run out of batteries (fell asleep with it on). So excited for cool air, I quickly fell back asleep.

It was a short-lived celebration, as a few hours later it was "light off" once again. Ugh. I just kept sleeping. No more opening/closing windows for me during this night! By the time I woke up and took my shower this morning I was very ready to head over to Rye Manor Guesthouse.

I got to Rye Manor at 11am on the dot (check in at 11)! Randy escorted me in. His staff wouldn't let me lift a finger to carry in one of my bags. I saw them closing windows and bringing in a big fan. The purr of the generator kicked on. AHHHH! Yes, it's still light out--more than 12 hours in Teshie without electricity now, but here at Rye they are keeping the generator on so that the Obruni can at least have a fan blowing on my face. You'd think that a fan in 90+ degree weather wouldn't be enough, but believe me, if I were still at BeachComber I'd have NOTHING right now. A full size fan is LUXURY. Mighty nice! Thank you!!!

Anita