Ghana be fun...

East of the Volta

This was the final destination for the weekend, a short over night stay in a lodge, a bit like World Camping Plus for those familiar with BA or Premium Camping for those who prefer Virgin Atlantic, and a trip to Wli Falls. But, I am a little ahead of myself here.

The weekend started with a traditional call to prayer. Ghana is about (or so I am told) 70% Christian and 30% Muslim. I am fortunate enough to be living in a house located between a mosque and a church, which means I have my choice of morning service broadcast at about 300 million decibels, and over a PA system first thing in the morning. The are a few positives I can see to this:

1. I don’t have to get up early to get to church

2. I can listen to a church service while wearing my pyjamas and reading the Sunday papers (online).

3. I don’t have to mouth the words to the hymns- if I choose to sing my neighbor will not be shocked and horrified at the complete lack of tone and tune I fail to produce.

Technically number two is possible in a church, just in my experience it is also frowned upon.

So, whether it was desired or not, I was up early and ready to leave by 9:00am on Saturday morning. David, the driver for this adventure had originally wanted to leave at 7:00am, so 9:00am was a definite improvement. The journey out of the city was fairly uneventful, the traffic was slow, as expected, and the fumes were cloying and chocking- again as expected. This is the country where all the cars come to exhale their dying exhaust fumes. There are tro-tros and taxi cabs ferrying people around that were manufactured before I was even born. When I imported my car from the USA to Canada in 2009 I was told it had to pass an emissions test, the Canadians it seems are more stringent on emissions criteria than the USA, what they would make of these vehicles belching black smoke is anyone’s guess; but I think it is safe to say that when cars are no longer road worthy in Europe or North America they are shipped here and put to work polluting the atmosphere 3,000 miles away. It does however make me laugh to see that they are still sporting German license plates underneath the new Ghanaian ones, or that I can clearly see the farm name and address in Idaho that shipped a truck over here.

Despite the traffic, the continuous stream of people and the sudden swerve to avoid the troop of baboons that wandered from the undergrowth into the road the journey went pretty smoothly. We didn’t have to stop for any police checkpoints, the 4 X 4 handled all the clay, mud and potholed tracks that constituted roads and there was a constant stream of people and villages to be passed by. I should point out that I am using the term “road” and “village” pretty loosely here. Road is merely an area of mud or land that does not have anything growing or living on it, (goats and chickens may skit and run across randomly and regularly) but can be moved on by repetitive blowing of the horn, and a village is a collection of people living in a area marked out by some form of wooden or mud structure. At some points, I really do think time travel is possible- some of these people really are living in huts made of mud and clay with wooden structures and not a sign of plastic, metal or electricity, and they often have the water pump wells stationed centrally. I can only assume that electricity must come to some points in the village as cell phone towers are still prevalent and dot the landscape at regular intervals. I may return to this thought later, but for now Wli Falls…

It is the highest falls in West Africa, although no-one seems exactly how high it is. Estimates range up to about 60 meters, but the general consensus seems to be about 50 meters. It is also located by the highest mountain in Ghana and for the most part of the weekend was surrounded by cloud. Unfortunately there is no proper path up to the falls, it is a real climb and therefore not encourage, in fact is closed, during the wet season; and guess what we are right in the middle of now. So with constant drizzle a climb to the top was not an option. Having seen what they class as safe and reasonable behavior here (motorcyclist wearing shower caps, four people and a shopping basket balanced on a 125cc, tro-tros carrying twice as many people as they recommend, and builders who throw bricks around with out regard for hard hats) I am not going to argue with anyone who tells me it is not safe. So looking from the covered drinks/ food area at the hotel had to suffice. That and a walk to the Togo border… which it turns out was less heavily defended than my house in Accra. The gates to my house are bigger, and greater in number; they are also closed unless someone is coming or going. The guard on duty is also in charge of the gates and has a guardhouse in which to site. At the Togo border they had a barrier, that was propped open (I’m not sure it was possible to close it) and a guard sitting in a shed who called you over as you walked past. If you choose not to go he shouted a bit louder and included a hand gesture; he had no inclination at all to leave his seat which left me wondering what would happen if you just kept walking… I’m fairly certain he wouldn’t actually make that much effort to chase you, just make a slightly more vigorous and possible ruder hand gesture.

The lodge was an interesting place to stay. Run by a German couple, who despite the odds managed to keep it incredibly clean, being rainy and wet meant there was clay and mud everywhere- but not any in the covered eating area or the sleeping area. They remembered which rooms all the guests were staying in (they did only have eight- but still impressive) and the food was nice. Given how remote the area was I am surprised they had most of the things in the kitchen, I certain wouldn’t relish the idea of driving for 90 minutes over some of those tracks to reach a grocery store equivalent. They did have lots of free-range chicken which is why I assume eggs where on the menu A LOT, and a parrot with a cough who was not on the menu at all. Lunch, dinner and breakfast were ordered all in one go at arrival and departure was agreed with the driver for 9:00am on Sunday. This did leave to my mortifyingly embarrassing moment of the weekend… I was up, had eaten my breakfast, had a cold shower (it really was freezing), brushed my teeth and packed my bag all by 8:45am. I was really quite proud of myself for being ready early- quite a novel experience for me, and thought I would wait outside until 9:00am. It was at this point that the owner appeared, saw me waiting and then proceeded to knock on the door of David’s room, while shouting, “Driver, driver, Madam is ready! She is waiting!” The poor man came flying out of his room with one shoe on and a mouthful of toothpaste. I didn’t know whether to tell him not to rush, or point out that I did actually know his name and didn’t expect him for at least another 15 minutes!

By early afternoon I was back in Accra, had a great lunch in Rhapsody, a South African based restaurant and headed out to do some light shopping…. Or in this case some dark shopping, the electricity seemed to spend more time off than on; interestingly tho the music carried on playing, the adverts and TV shows on the wall carried on running, and the internet didn’t go off. Back to Ghana wiring J Home Internet is great this week. New from Vodafone- Wi-Fi that streams at 3-4MB/minute… and touch wood, it has been working perfectly. I am very excited. I think that next week the challenge will be to see if my treadmill, set for delivery on Thursday, actually turns up. I have a few concerns… one is Africa time, and two is the fact that I don’t have an actual address, (the closest to an address I have is Aquatech Place, turn left, second right, house that looks like The Alamo, Abelemkpe, Accra) so I find it amusing that they even offer to deliver it. I will wait with baited breath…