Saturday, August 30
Cape Coast, Ghana
I’m suffering from a bit of traveler’s fatigue.
I’m lacking motivation, not looking forward to discovering each new town like I was during the first two months of this trip. I’m sick of putting on the same worn clothes each morning, sick of brushing my teeth with bottled water in dirty bathrooms, sick of eating greasy food and drinking soda.
The negative vibes are partly due to the constant headaches that pain me here. In the States, I get migraines once or twice a month and can usually fend them off with medication. But because I get them when I’m tired, and I often don’t sleep well here, either because of noise or simply because I’m in a strange place, I find myself popping headache pills far more often. Africa — with its screaming babies, music blasting in the streets and people who shout rather than using normal voices — is not a good place to have headaches.
Perhaps my sour mood is due to my lack of running, the exercise that keeps me sane at home. It’s possible to jog here in rural areas, but my knee has given me so much trouble lately that I’ve had to forego running altogether. (I could cry now just thinking about how much I miss running! And my gym. And feeling in shape!)
Or maybe the 10-week travel mark, which I’m about to hit, is one of those hard spots, kind of like when marathoners hit “the wall” around 20 miles. Any experienced long-term wanderers out there want to weigh in?
Yes, I did say 10 weeks. I’ve been on the move now for nearly two and a half months, traveled all the way from Dakar to Ghana’s coast. In one week, the first leg of my six-month journey will be over, when I fly from Accra to Cameroon.
In southern Ghana, I’m surrounded by travelers who are preparing to return home after spending the summer here, mainly university students who worked as volunteers in orphanages, refugee camps and schools. Even my German friend Cedric, who I met in Timbuktu and am planning to see again here shortly, plans to fly home mid-September.
But I’m continuing on, a bit nostalgic for my reporting job at home, knowing I’m missing election season and a hurricane barreling down on the Gulf Coast.
So, with all of those gripes out in the open, I’ll do for you all what I do for myself when I’m sick of living out of my backpack: Detail what magnificent thing I did — or saw or smelled or met — during the past few hours.
Today it’s the castle I just explored in Cape Coast, a city that once was a hub for the slave trade (Click here for map). I walked into dungeons where slaves wept and died, saw marks on the floor from the shackles they wore, looked out over the ocean where they were taken from their homeland, never to return again.
That helps me remember why I’m doing this. It’s not to “find myself,” as one friend half-mocked me before my departure. I already know who I am. But there’s a lot about this world and the people who inhabit it that I don’t know. So I travel to learn, and learn far faster and broader than I would sitting in my comfortable chair in the newsroom, fully rested and energized from a run, enjoying a burrito and refreshing my homepage.
That’s why I’m going to get up from this whine-spot and find myself for dinner something — anything — that’s not drenched in oil.
August 30, 2008 at 11:48 pm
chin up, kid. i can entirely relate to the traveler’s fatigue, but remember that you’re seeing a world that many of us can only dream of. the lens through which you’re seeing and reporting this, will help clarify for all of us what life in west africa is really like, beyond merely the crisis and conflict reporting that surges from the few underpaid, overworked reporters living in its belly. it’s impossible to find aspirin in hong kong, but i’m sending you hugs, tiger balm and dim sum.
August 31, 2008 at 6:46 am
Lexi,
Im so proud of you ~ All of the things that are making you upset right now and you still keep a postive attitude and thats what I love about you! Keep up the good work! I pray and think of you everyday. Days will def get better. Just think of all of the experiances you will have to take home with you. I love you very much and Ill talk to you soon. Hope you are sitting by the ocean eatting something good and tasty! Love. Lo
August 31, 2008 at 11:18 am
Hang in there Lexi! I live out of suitcase for work all the time and I know what you mean about being tired of wearing the same thing. There is something about wearing something different that changes how you feel. I think its a girl thing, but its a thing that I embrace. I’m really sorry about the headaches and not being able to run. I dont suppose its safe to swim anywhere for a lower impact workout? I love reading about your adventures and look forward to reading more. Take care of yourself and we’d all love to see you when you get home. Im sure K and I wouldnt mind a day of pampering with you.
-Ally
August 31, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Inexperienced short-term wanderer weighing in:
These things that are hitting you now are the reasons why lots of people don’t do what you’re doing! …Remember that book about reporting in Iraq that you sent me, ‘Tell them I Didn’t Cry’ ?
In it, she despaired over a lack of lettuce and lack of time and safe space to run. Are you doing hotel-room exercises? (Pushups, crunches, lunges, etc?)
Also, this is so great, right here: “There’s a lot about this world and the people who inhabit it that I don’t know. So I travel to learn, and learn far faster and broader than I would sitting in my comfortable chair in the newsroom, fully rested and energized from a run, enjoying a burrito and refreshing my homepage.”
Haaa! You’re so optimistic, you were down and talked yourself out of it in the same blog post. Yay for writing!
Yesterday, I was remarking to Derek about your headaches and wondering how you were getting on. Do you know I just wrote a story about the noise ordinances in Seattle and surrounding towns? …Nothing louder than 45 decibels is allowed to cross property lines between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
That’s a whisper!
I don’t imagine those towns have noise ordinances, huh?
…Thanks for writing about the slave trade. I was imagining the fear and despair, looking out over the horizon in your photo, that they must have felt.
Mwah
August 31, 2008 at 12:44 pm
…Also, think of all those journos for whom this is yet another election, another hurricane?
There will always be elections in the U.S.A. — God willing — and will always be hurricanes hitting the Gulf Coast — God forbid.
So, they’ll be waiting for you when you return!
…That said, Susan gets to report live from Baton Rouge! Lucky duck!
August 31, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Thanks for the encouragement, friends! I’m lucky to have you all 🙂 Today is a better day, and tomorrow I’m going to the beach for a few days with friends. That’ll be for the next blog post…
August 31, 2008 at 12:47 pm
AJ…
Ah, I am sad about missing Gustav! And isn’t it funny, I was out of the States (working in NZ) the last time we had an election, too!
August 31, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Lex, I totally understand what you are going through…just keep on getting the most out of every day of this amazing opportunity…and know that so many people that love and care about you are thinking of you and with you every step of the way!! Thank you so much for sharing this journey with all of us, and being the inspiration that you are.
love, tray
August 31, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Lexi~
What a great blog you have, it is so enjoyable to read your stuff when Amanda & I are at home not in the same position to travel as you are doing! We even enjoy hearing about your aches and pains. Keep it up! Isn’t life wonderful!
September 1, 2008 at 6:45 am
Hey Lexer – We all have our ups and downs – if most are up, then life is good! Hang in there with the headaches – try to get the endorphins going with any kind of exercise you can tolerate. You’ll be getting some new clothes in Cameroon along with a couple of other goodies from home. We are sending lots of hugs -we’ll talk to you when you get back. Give your sibs a call if you can! Love you lots!
September 1, 2008 at 8:47 am
Dear Lexi,
I just returned from two weeks in Ireland with my friend, Ronne, and am reading all the info you have been sending us. Lexi, you are amazing! You continue on with all these obstacles – both physical and emotional- I couldn’t do it! I took only a carry-on bag with two pairs of slacks and a few tops for two weeks in Ireland and did a rail/bus tour covering the west, east and southern parts of Ireland, and coming home I wanted to burn the clothes I’d been wearing!!! after TWO WEEKS! It was a marvelous trip, though.
I’m hoping that your stay at a beach area gives you a chance to relax and regroup, Lex. Those headaches can really try to wear you down.
Your writing about the zoo was so moving!What an experience that must have been with him! I loved the photograph!
Lex, what you are doing is something you will always have – an incredible experience! Something many people think about doing – but don’t. And always know that you can alter your plans as you go – we always make the best choices we can at any given moment. If that puts us in a place that is not working for us – we reevaluate and make a new choice!
I love you, Lexi, and am sending a huge, long hug right now!
Love,
Aunt Donna
September 1, 2008 at 11:37 am
Hey, Lexi — Thank you so much for letting me know you were writing this. I’ve been keeping up. Good luck out there, and have a hell of a time. I think it’s good for the rest of us that you share both the great times and the not so great.
Take care —
Blythe
September 2, 2008 at 11:36 am
You’re the best, Lex! I’m envious of you for going through this amazing long journey, and I can’t wait for more adventures through your blog. Burritos will always be here, so enjoy African food as long as you can 🙂 And running in Houston weather really doesn’t feel as awesome as you remember. The humidity is awful!
-Jess
September 2, 2008 at 6:44 pm
That travel fatigue is a bummer when it hits, but then, just as quickly is the moment you realize you’re living the moment. That’s what I miss about my life now– sometimes I feel like I go from one daily task to another without stopping to love/hate/appreciate the moment. And your blog has been inspiring to make sure that I find my own adventures in Chicago… thank you!
July 6, 2009 at 5:42 am
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