Day 5 at Ko-Sa Beach – One Last Game Before We Head Back to Accra

Somehow, it was already the last day of our class trip. We still had plenty planned for the morning, but four and a half days of sunshine, adventure and very little sleep were beginning to catch up with us.

Getting out of bed at 6 am took a little longer this time. One by one, we wandered down to the beach for our last swim together. Once we got there, though, hardly anyone felt like getting into the water. What we really wanted was another game of volleyball. We’d well and truly caught the volleyball bug. At the start of the week, who’d have thought we’d get up that early by choice just to hit a ball back and forth?

We still managed to get wet. A spontaneous water fight took care of that, all before breakfast. Some people need coffee to wake them up. Give us a volleyball and a good soaking.

At 8 am, we sat down for our last breakfast together overlooking the beach. As we had all week, we took our time. We wanted to enjoy that view while we could. Besides, why hurry when you don’t really want to leave?

We put it to a vote. Who wanted to stay a few more days? It was unanimous. The only snag was that nobody had thought to ask our parents. What would they say? They must be missing us terribly by now. Then again, perhaps they’re enjoying the peace and quiet at home. We’ll soon find out.

After breakfast, it really was time to pack. Back in our rooms, we stuffed the last few things into our suitcases, tracked down missing socks and got everything ready for the final room check. We also wrote the last lines in our travel diaries and put together Friday’s edition of our class newspaper. We wanted to get the morning’s stories down before they got lost somewhere between the sun cream, the sand and the dirty laundry.

For one last photo session, we got out our own phones and headed into the Ko-Sa garden and down to the beach. We posed, laughed, took pictures and made quite sure everyone got to show their best side. Now we’ve all got photos of a place we’ve grown rather fond of in just a few days.

At 10:45 am, a little later than planned, it was finally time to go. We loaded our bags onto the bus, found our seats and took one last look at the beach. Goodbye, Ko-Sa Beach.

We’re about halfway back to Accra now, thinking back over the past four and a half days. There were the trips we went on, the games we played and the competitions we threw ourselves into. Then there were the meals we shared, the long conversations, the little challenges and the times we laughed so hard we could hardly stop.

Of course, we had our moments. We argued and sometimes got on each other’s nerves. We’ve still got a few things to work on, like being on time, thinking about the people around us and sticking to the rules we agreed on. We also stuck together, helped each other out and got through challenges as a team. Spending those days together gave us a chance to see sides of our classmates we’d never seen at school.

A special thank-you goes to Mr Thiems. Thank you for coming along, for lending a hand whenever we needed one, for all the laughs and, of course, for putting us through our paces. Whether we were playing volleyball, competing in teams or trying something new, you always managed to get one last burst of energy out of us. Our aching muscles can confirm it! We’re glad you shared this adventure with us. You knew when to help us out, when to make us laugh and when we had one more game in us.

We’re bringing home sand in our shoes, dirty washing in our suitcases and more photos than we can count. Most of all, we’re bringing home the memories we made together.

As the bus takes us closer to Accra, kilometre by kilometre, we’re pretty sure we’ll remember this trip for a long time.

As for getting up at 6 am tomorrow for another game of volleyball? We wouldn’t count on it.

We’ll be back one day, Ko-Sa Beach.