Chapter 35...The adventurer in me - riding motos and crocodiles!

Now as anyone who knows me well enough will know I am an adrenaline junkie who loves to include myself in situations or to create situations where there is a need for extremes! I'm a risk-taker who isn't happy unless I'm throwing myself around a raft on scale 4 rapids, diving in the World's most tropical waters or climbing and nearly dying on the Inca Trail! I have come to accept very quickly that this is a part of my personality that I totally love and that I don't want to lose as I grow older and wiser, after all I wouldn't be where I am now if I wasn't this way...I wouldn't have jumped on a flight on my own to Rio De Janeiro two years ago, I wouldn't have then spent six months travelling South America and South East Asia and realised that I have an inner desire to get to know this crazy World that we live in, I wouldn't have booked that flight to Frankfurt Hahn and then three months later one to Cambodia too! I want to live my life with no regrets and that is why I have these 'moments of madness' when I do dramatic and extreme things and chase the things in life that mean something to me, because those things come around so rarely and should be treasured when they are found! Next on the list...a skydive wherever in the World I end up after Ghana, which will no doubt be somewhere cold after all this time in 40 degree heat and somewhere I can ride a bike!

So back to the point...last week I undertook and passed moto training and again realised my need for speed, my complete lack of fear when it comes to trying new things and my love for extreme sports! The first day of moto training saw me hammering my Lifan bike around a playing field in Bolga and then throwing myself off my bike as I did my usual trick of getting too cocky and playing with the big boys instead of the sensible group of people who were really trying to learn things properly! I was dared to ride my moto through the end of a goal post, which had a triangular frame just wide enough to fit my bike, so in true Hannah style I took on the dare whole-heartedly...until I found myself riding towards the frame in third gear, braking slightly and changing down to second with the intention to come down to first just before I rode through, but instead as I neared my target I realised that actually my bike was not going to fit through the triangular frame at all! This is when panic mode kicked in and I decided the best option for me and my bike was to throw myself off taking the bike down with me too! Now I don't intend to scare you all (especially my parents) with stories like this so never fear because also in true Hannah style I was not injured and stood up giggling away whilst dusting myself off...oh and with a valuable lesson learnt! The boys were in hysterics as they told me that I had actually been hurtling myself towards the wrong goal post frame, which really was too small to fit my bike through, hence my last minute decision to throw myself from my bike was probably a good one!
 

Following the excitement of the first day it was time to get to grips with riding on the right hand side of the road when we headed out into the real World for the rest of the week! We spent around 15 hours of the next four days reaching speeds of 80kph and visiting some familiar places - Tongo Hills and Tengzug...

The road less travelled...?!

...and some not so familiar places - the border with Burkina Faso (yes of course we did step into Burkina for a short stroll)!

...and Paga crocodile farm where we rode crocodiles as a short break from riding our motos!

...and here is a list of some of the other animals who crossed our path along the way:

• Pigs with their many many piglets, 
• Sheep, 
• Cows, 
• Goats with their many many kids, 
• Guinea Fowl, 
• Chicken, 
• Dogs...it really was like riding through Old McDonalds farm!
  

...and now the time has come to meet my new best friend, which is yet to be named so all suggestions are welcome!

And finally to complete the moto story so far trust me to do this...most vols decide to take it easy when they first pass - not riding in the dark, not picking others, not riding too far, not drinking alcohol etc etc but oh no not me because at 4am this morning, having had my Ghanaian driving license only three days I broke two of those VSO Ghana recommendations when I took Abbie to the bus station to get her bus back to Wa! Which two I will leave you guessing, but the more genius readers of my blog (you know who you are) should be able to get it pretty quickly...!