Ghana Days 1 & 2

Ghana started much like my time in Morocco, hopping on a bus and driving deep into the country on our way to the Tafi Atome Monkey sanctuary. I must admit that my first impression of the country was mixed after we walked off of the ship into a crowd of  merchants using pushy sales tactics to offload bracelets and paintings onto students while we waited for our shuttle to arrive.

Any fears I may have had were laid to rest the second we made it out of the Tema/Accra area where we docked and got on the road. Our first stop was for lunch right on the green shores of a river whose name I do not know. I had a local meal of Yams and chicken which was incredible, and make note, this is the start of a theme here. Almost all of the food I had in Ghana was memorable.  We continued driving for most of the day, stopping here and there in attempt to find what seemed like the one and only MasterCard ATM in the entire country. We passed basket after basket of treats carried on the heads of women weaving between cars to make a sale. I personally spent the time getting to know the other people crammed into the bus beside me. In the evening we stopped at what was a missionary built in Amedzofe some time ago that houses visitors to help keep the doors open. The dinner that night was the best I have had on this entire trip so far (currently writing this after leaving South Africa). It was simple, some chicken and tomato/vegetable based sauce over rice, but made to perfection. It was cooked by three ladies operating out of what looked like a closet that happened to have a rice cooker and a stove. After dinner, was sleep in long sleeves and pants. covered in bug spray.

Day 2 -

My second day in Ghana was an adventure. We woke up bright and early around 5am for breakfast before most of the group went off to hike over steep, moist and mossy rocks to see some waterfalls around the village. Given my colorful orthopedic history, I decided to stay behind with a friend who was on crutches and figure something else out. We ended up recruiting the three women who had also cooked us breakfast in the morning to play some card games. This relaxing morning of coffee, card games and conversation ended up being something much more enjoyable for me, especially after seeing the rest of the group returning an hour and a half later exhausted and covered in dirt and sweat. Besides, the next stop on our trip was a much, much bigger waterfall.

Near the Tafi monkey village where we would be spending the evening, we parked the bus  at a small market that was about a 45 minute hike away from the waterfall. This hike had us passing through the forest by bamboo shoots, under pods of cocoa beans and over trickling streams. You hear the roar of the waterfall before you see it. I also heard the gasps, ooohs and awwws of the other hikers in front of me as they emerged from the dense foliage around the path and the waterfall came into view. It is an absolutely stunning sight to see, with the waterfall emptying from over one hundred feet above our heads into a shallow basin below, making anyone who stood near it look downright tiny. To make it a little more interesting the cliffs on either side of the fall were lined with thousands upon thousands of fruit bats. I don't know how it happened, but at some point while we were at the fall they got spooked and took to the skies in unison. It's a sight I'll never forget, with them almost covering the sky in a way that pictures will never do justice. You are just going to have to come to Ghana and see for yourself.

That evening we spent in the village nearby. After another unforgettable home cooked meal made with the simplest ingredients we went congregated with some of the villagers in front of their church. They brought in chairs, lamps (as there are not street lights in the village) and drums from houses all over the village and set up a drumming and dancing workshop of sorts for us. They started with a slow shuffle in a circle in front of the drum section, chanting low and slow to begin the evening. With each new song, the tempo and theatrics of each picked up as well. A well trained eye could pick an entire story out of each of the dances but for me I just sat back and enjoyed. After their demonstration it was our turn to try, though mercifully it was only the slow shuffle that we had to replicate. When the drums stopped beating for the evening, it was time for some well deserved sleep.