Monkeying Around Ghana!

Maadwo!

The past 2 weeks have been filled with travel, adventure, and incredible people! I spent last week in the Eastern part of Ghana right near the Togo border and the week before that I was on the Western side of Ghana 5km away from the Ivory Coast!

I only have 3 1/2 weeks left in Ghana so my time is short! I am going to the clinic tomorrow and Friday. Tomorrow I will be doing maternity and Friday I will be joining several of the other nurses on their outreach program. This is when they go out into the community and go to people's homes. I have been learning so much at the clinic and also growing as a person from my travels here in Ghana. I can't even begin to explain how amazing my experience here as been!

I have 2 weeks worth of diaries to share with you all that I have posted below!

Thanks for reading!

xox Sara :)

July 18th,

I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning and once I did all I wanted to do was go back to Cape Coast! The weekends always go by too fast! Our taxi driver couldn’t make it this morning so we went to the main road to get a car. It was rush hour so we didn’t get to work until 9. No one seems to mind though. Many of the people in our office are late everyday. Oh Ghanaian time!

We had a meeting at work with all of the other interns. The local interns of which there are 8 will be finishing next Friday so the meeting today mostly talked about how they would have to write a final report for friends of the nation. I didn’t realize they would be finishing a month before Caroline and I. hopefully there will be more work for us now though!

A woman came by today selling watermelon. She always brings her son with her on her back. He is soo cute but today he was very cranky. She let me hold him while she cut watermelon for everyone and I’m pretty sure everyone in the office could hear him screaming! I still want to keep him and take him home though!

On our lunch break Caro & I went for walk. Our friend Ivy has a new hair do! We love how every 4 weeks most of the women we know here change their hairstyles. I guess that will be me in 2 weeks time when I change my braids! Caro & I sat outside to eat our lunch today. The rainy season must be coming to an end because it has been sunny and beautiful all day today!

In the afternoon Caro & I met with our boss, Kyei. He asked Caro to travel to Half Assini which is in the western region of Ghana, 5km away from the Ivory Coast. He wants her to conduct interviews with several different people about a development plan they have been working on in the area and then write a report that they will use to create a presentation for future plans in the area. I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to go alone to this area so now I am tagging along for moral support!

Well I better go pack!

Bye for now!

July 19th,

This morning I got up and had breakfast and finished packing my things for Half Assini. I definitely fell asleep last night before I finished packing. Oops! Haha. Caro & I had to run a few errands and then we went to Axim station to catch a tro-tro to Half Assini.

The tro-tro ride to Half Assini only took about 2 hours so we arrived with plenty of time to start our interviews. We met Rhoda who is the deputy fishing officer. She is going to help Caro & I for the next few days by showing us where to find everyone we need to interview and by translating some of the interviews for people who don‘t speak English.

Overall we had a successful day. I was concerned at first because the first place Rhoda brought us to everyone who we needed to interview was gone for lunch and according to the receptionist none of them would be back until tomorrow. Lucikly we left there and moved on to other people we had to meet with. We ended up interviewing 2 assembly men, a fishmonger, the education rep. , the fishing officer, and the chief fishermen. There are a total of 19 people that need to be interviewed for Caro’s project so we will have a busy day tomorrow although we are thankful that we were able to get some of the interviews done today!

After the last interview was finished it was already getting dark outside. We found a little restaurant but it was closed so we walked along a long the road until we found some rice for sale. Then we scurried back to our hotel because it was pitch-black and not the safest place for 2 young white girls to be at night.

Davina, our site director, is leaving for Canada tonight. I can’t believe her 6 weeks is up already! That means I only have 6 weeks left in Ghana! Yikes!

Well I am going to go finish my supper!

Until tomorrow!


July 20th,

We were woken up by Kwesi at 10 to 7 in the morning. He just dropped by to say hello! I haven’t seen him in a few weeks so it was nice to see him but at the time I wasn’t very happy about it haha.

Rhoda came to meet Caro & I shortly after 9. It was quite a long day today. We walked all over the town and from 9-2 we had only found and interviewed 2 people. We took a break midafternoon and went back out around 5 where we were fortunate to meet with another person. After supper we went and interviewed Kwesi and Solomon since they have been very involved with the medium-term development plan.

From what I have learned today the medium-term development plan that we are meeting with various people about to gather their thoughts and comments is a 5 year plan for the Jomoro district. It encompasses many different needs of community members such as health, education (libraries), fishing practices, etc. from the interviews that I have seen so far it is very interesting to see how the assembly men who have a higher living standard than the fishmongers and fishmerman view the plan. The fishmonger we met with yesterday felt that she was not being heard and that the needs of her community were not being addressed so it is very interesting to see both sides.

Well the power keeps flicking on and off which I think is my signal to go to bed!

Good night! Da yie!

July 21st,

I was very nauscious when I woke up this morning so I didn’t go with Caro. She went to meet with Kyei who had arrived in Half Assini earlier this morning. They attended a meeting and after the meeting Caro was able to finish all of her interviews. I rested up and enjoyed the air conditioning in our room. I also took a shower! This was my first hot running water shower in 6 weeks! At my homestay we do not have running water so we do “bucket baths”. You simply take a bucket of water from the well outside bring it inside and pour it over yourself. It is refreshing but after the hot water today I finally feel clean!

We went back to Takoradi in the early afternoon. A bunch of people from the office had travelled out to Half Assini this morning with Kyei so Caro & I were able to hop on the Friends of the Nation bus with them and take a free ride back to Tak!

We were thrilled to spend the evening with our host family! They were excited to see us and we had really missed them the past few days since our evenings in Half Assini were so quiet! The children were playing football when we arrived today and the cat, Chi-Chi was happy to see Caro! The dogs at the house weren’t happy though, I don’t think they are ever going to warm up to us!

Now I am going to have a nice cup of milo and go to bed. Its so good to be home!

Good night!

July 22nd,

Today I went to work at the office. I hadn’t been there for 3 days but it felt like much longer! I spent the day putting my presentation on flipchart paper. I drew diagrams and used fun coloured markers. I am really excited to present it at the school on Monday!

After work I went home and ..you guessed it… today was Fufu Friday!! Caro & I enjoyed a nice big bowl of fufu with soup. Then we packed for our roadtrip. At 4am Caro and I will be leaving to take a bus to Kumasi. We are hoping to sleep on the 5 hour bus ride and then have the whole day to explore the Kejetia market which is the largest open market in West Africa!

It is early right now, even the children are still awake but I am going to try and get some sleep before I leave to catch the bus!

Bye for now!


July 23rd,

Caro and I woke up at 3am and left for the bus station. We met a taxi driver named Frederick yesterday and conveniently he does night-time driving. He came to the house to get Caro & I and brought us to the bus station. It was very dark out and for a normally busy town where the streets are flooded with people selling different things in your car windows and cars and tro-tros racing up and down and beeping their horns, there was not a sound! I only saw 2 cars, both of which were taxis! The city probably came to life shortly after 5 though. All of the Ghanaians I know like to wake up very early!

Our bus left at 4am on the dot. I took a gravol and woke up in Kumasi at 9 feeling rested and ready to shop! Caro & I quickly went and got a room at a backpacker’s lodge, dropped off our things and went off to find the Kejetia market.

The Kejetia market was huge and was not easy to walk through! The entrance caro and I went in had shoes everywhere you looked. We kept walking until we entered fabric! That was exactly what we were looking for! Our poor seamstresses are going to be busy! After fabric we went into the food section. The second we entered that all I could smell and see was fish. There was also fresh fruits and vegetables. My most terrifying moment was when it was so packed with people that you couldn’t move anywhere and a man pulling a large wooden wagon with parcels pushed his way through and I got pushed backwards and almost hit backed up into a bucked of uncooked goat legs!

After an hour or so in the market we needed to get out of the crowd and get some fresh air. It was unbelievably hard to move. In order to get through there you actually have to push people, if not they will push their way through you. I don’t think it’s the ideal location for anyone who is claustrophobic!

After briefly seeing the Kejetia market we went to the culture centre. This place was much more peaceful but was definitely a tourist trap! It was an area of town with all kinds of artists and craftsmen who sell their paintings, sculptures, drums, etc. There was also clothing and jewellery. We saw lots of obronni’s there! Caro & I really enjoyed walking through and looking at all of the amazing crafts and paintings. We both ended up getting some souvenirs for friends and family. We also met our host mother’s sister, Christie who lives in Kumasi. She came over to the culture centre and talked to us for awhile. She was so sweet and looked a lot like my host mom! I was happy that we were able to meet her!

After the culture centre we kept up our fun-filled shopping day by going to a nearby town named Kofofrom. We had read in Caro’s travel guide last week that they have many brass co-operatives in this area that make beautiful sculptures and that they offer workshops. We went all the way to this town to find out it wasn’t what we thought it was. It was one road with hardly anyone around. We found 2 stores that make and sell little brass sculptures but they no longer do the workshops. The brass sculptures were amazing though! They were so detailed! We enjoyed looking around and then took a tro-tro back to Kumasi.

Once we got back to Kumasi we went to our lodge and put down all of our things that we bought. Then we went to Vic Baboo’s café which is a popular restaurant that has western style food! Dinner was delicious! We skipped lunch and therefore had a huge supper! Mmm I am still so full!

This evening we sat outside at our lodge with our new friends Julia and Rebecc from Germany, as well as Simon from England and Clarence from Austria. We all had a few cold Ghanaian beers and talked about everything under the sun. It was really nice and relaxing! My friend Simon is here working on his PHD which he is doing on sanitation. He is an older man and was telling us about his life. He has worked extensively in Africa and has travelled to many African countries to do his research. Talking to him really made me want to see more African countries, I guess I will have to come back someday!

Overall it was a great day! Kumasi is a too busy of a city for me but I am very happy we made the trip out to see it!

Bye for now!


July 24th,

This morning we were woken up by some fog horn that was blasting out in the street for awhile. We went and had a cup of tea and decided what we wanted to see before leaving Kumasi. Since today is a Sunday many things were closed but we had heard about a sword called the Okomfo Anokye sword that is stuck in a rock and has a legend to it. We decided to go for an adventure to find it before leaving.

Our lodge wasn’t serving breakfast this morning because the cook had to go to church but we ended up getting a fresh loaf of butter bread from a lady selling it on the street and laying on the grass at the culture centre while eating the whole thing!

Then we kept on our mission of finding the sword. We had a map of how to get to it from Caro’s travel guide but her guide never mentioned anything about a hospital. Once we got to the hospital we were sure we made a mistake somewhere, especially because we hadn’t seen a single sign about the sword which is supposed to be a popular place for visitors to go to. We went through the gated entrance to the hospital which was a bunch of different buildings all over the place. It was very open concept so there would be chairs outside as a waiting area and then a building they would go into to be seen. I enjoyed wandering around the hospital and seeing it but people inside kept telling us to go different directions to see the sword. They all promised us it was on the hospital grounds though. We eventually found it after we cut through the eye clinic. It was in a small building and there was a man inside. He told us the story of the sword and let us look at it. This sword is an Asante legend. They say a traditional priest who was very high up in the Akan kingdom captured it from the sky and drove it into the ground with such force that it has remained there ever since. The sword symbolized to many people the unity of their city. Many people had tried to remove the sword, especially when they built the hospital but no one could. Even Muhammad Ali tried to remove it when he was in Ghana back in the 50’s or 60’s! I removed it though, piece of cake… just kidding! I have no arm strength whatsoever! It was funny once we found the sword because I was expecting it to be like a cartoon I remember from when I was little where there is a rock and the sword is sticking in it slightly but you can still see the blade. With this one the whole sword(or so they say) is in the rock so the only thing you can see is the handle. After seeing the sword we made our way back to the lodge. We got slightly lost along the way but we got there eventually! We had lunch and took a tro-tro back to Takoradi.

To get to Kumasi we took a bus but we wanted to tro-tro back so we had to find the station. It ended up being very hectic because everywhere we walked taxi drivers kept approaching us and begging us to get in the car. People kept telling us different directions to go in and I definitely got one too many marriage proposals for one afternoon! After making our way through the crowds though we found the station and made it back to Takoradi all in one piece.

Now I am going to go fetch water from the well and do laundry. We are having fufu for supper tonight! I am going to miss this food when I go back to Canada!

Talk to you soon!

July 25th,

Today was a very confusing day at the office. I was supposed to go to the Salvation Army primary school and also to the junior high school to do a talk on malaria and then one on STI’s. there was no one around the office and I couldn’t get a hold of any of the other interns who I was supposed to go with to the school. I was disappointed but hopefully I will still be able to do it another day. I ended up getting in touch with one of the interns, Steven and he was at a meeting. Apparently everyone was but Caro & I. I am not sure what the meeting was about or where it was but it made for a really long day and I felt really upset because I came here to volunteer and to be involved in the community but my experience at the office has been very quiet and there hasn’t been much to do. They told Caro and I last week that the original project they had for us got cancelled. I am thankful that Kwesi set me up at the clinic though because I would be disappointed if I spent 5 days sitting around the office begging for projects.

Anyway I will just be persistent and hopefully this presentation will still happen. I might just have to contact schools myself and travel to them and then just let the office know. People at the office have tried to schedule this a few times and then it keeps getting pushed back and cancelled.

On a happier note I brought some of the fabric that I bought on the weekend in Kumasi to my seamstress Janet. I have lots of fabric so I will have to go see my other seamstress, Georgina as well! Janet is making me a romper which she thinks is a silly looking outfit but I promised her they are popular in Canada!


We had boiled yam with pallova sauce for supper. The yam tasted similar to a french fries but not as greasy. Then the pallava sauce contains spinach and other vegetables. There was a bit of fish in it as well, I’m just not sure what kind. You dunk the yam in the sauce and it is delicious! I absolutely love Ghanaian food!


I am going to the clinic tomorrow for the day. Afterwards caro & I will be leaving for Accra. We are travelling to Ho in the Volta region which is on the eastern side of Ghana to meet with an organization called Sight for Life. We are going to go spend a few days with them to see what their projects are like and to see if it would be a good match for QPID to send cooperants to next year. It is a far trek since Caro and I are in the western region so we are going to split it in half by going to Accra and spending the night with Heather and Robin and then we will leave early Wednesday morning for Ho.

That’s all for now!

July 26th,

I got too see many things at the clinic today! When I first got there were quite a few people waiting to have dressings changed so I assisted one of the nurses, Isabella with those. Unfortunately there is only one kit of tools for dressings otherwise I could have sped things up for her. One of the dressings was on a young boy and he had a big open sore on his forehead. Luckily this boy didn’t kick us and runaway like the one a few weeks ago! The most memorable dressing for me was for a man who had a huge sore all around his foot. Its going down in my books as the biggest dressing I have ever been a part of! It looked unbelievably painful though. Each swipe we took at it with the gauze to clean it I could just see him cringing. He was relieved when it was over. I am worried about his foot though, I would hat to see the infection spread further.

For the most part everyone that was coming in today had malaria or a chest infection until we suddenly had a woman come running in with her twin babies in hand. She was speaking fante so I could not understand but she was speaking so quickly and the only word I picked out of the conversation between her and the head nurse was kerosene. Surely enough everyone dropped what they were doing and ran with the twin babies to the ward (they have a small ward at the clinic with 3 beds for patients requiring IV’s or who are extremely ill and need to be seen right away). The nurse had the babies drink “peptic” which induced vomiting and lots of it! We all kept busy with the mop today! The babies kept closing their eyes and their breathing was so rapid that it was scaring me. They were 13 months old. Once we got control of the situation and re-hydrated the babies and gave them an electrolyte replacement I was able to get the story from the mother. She said the babies were playing and then she went in the room to find them both on the floor with a kerosene lamp. She said they were alternating feeding it to each other. She picked them up and brought them to the clinic right away. When I left today the babies were still there but they were doing very well! They were sleeping and their vitals returned to normal. I am not sure if they will send the babies home or if they have someone on the ward at nighttime because I am worried about them and feel that they should be closely watched in case the kerosene is still in their system. This was my first “emergency experience” and I was overwhelmed.. Geriatrics is definitely still the pathway for my future in nursing! Haha!

I was thrilled to go to the clinic today! Since I was in Half Assini last week I wasn’t able to go and the nurses were worried that I went back to Canada since they hadn’t seen me for so long! To make up my absence I sang some popular Ghanaian raps songs for them haha I am probably an embarrassment to Canadians! We had a great day and I definitely learned a lot!

After the clinic I met Caro & we took a tro-tro to Accra. We got there around 8pm and we met Heather at a pizza place! I was craving pizza and I am jealous that Heather and Robin live so close to a pizza place! We had a cheese pizza with pineapple, corn, and green pepper. We were all very hungry and excited about the pizza and believe me it didn’t take us long to finish it!

Until next time!

July 27th,

Gerhard, the director of sight for life called Caro at 5:49am. He is excited that we are going to meet him and spend a few days at his organization but we weren’t happy about the early phone call haha. Oh well it forced us to get out of bed and start travelling! We made our way through the traffic and commotion of Accra and took a tro-tro out to Ho.

We arrived in Ho around lunch time. We went to a street vendor and bought chicken and rice. We kept trying to phone Gerhard to let him know we arrived but the network was down so none of our phones worked. We found a taxi driver who said he knew where sight for life was so we went with him. Unfortunately he overcharged us and brought us to the wrong place. He took us to “Unite for Sight”. The people at this organization were very confused but told us not to worry they knew where sight for life was. They told us to go to barrack and we will see it. We found another taxi and told him barrack. We thought they meant Barrack street but we ended up at the army barracks! We went in and walked all around the compound but had no luck. Eventually a man in uniform came runinng up to us demanding to know how we got in. we told him we walked right through the gate haha. Caro & I started laughing because Friends of the Nation which is the small NGO we volunteer at has a security guard outfront but the army barracks of all places doesn’t have anyone! The man told us he knew where sight for life was. He told us to go to the hospital and that their office was in there. We found that strange but since it is an NGO that works with eye health we figured we might as well try it out. We made our way to the hospital and found an eye clinic but it was not what we were looking for. It was a hilarious afternoon of wandering all around but our phones started working right after we left the hospital grounds. Gerhard came to meet us outside the hospital and we went with him to a school. They had done an eye screening program for the children at this school earlier in the day. By the time we got there the children were leaving but we at least got to see some of the children and learn about what sight for life did while they were at the school today. We will be spending all day tomorrow and Friday with the organization.

Gerhard set up accommodation for us at a teachers conference hall. Me, Caro, and Robin put our things there then went and grabbed chicken and rice for supper. We went out for a drink after supper with all of the workers from Sight for life to talk about their organization and to make a plan for tomorrow.

Well we are going to go have a nice cold beer! Its still happy hour right?

Bye for now!

July 28th,

This morning we met up with everyone from Sight for Life and went out to a rural community called Saviefe Gbedome. When we got there the people of the community welcomed us all by having a drumming and dancing ceremony. We all danced and sang. I got a kick out of an elderly woman who was dancing up a storm in her traditional African dress. I could tell she was older but later on in the day I learned she was 105!! She looked like she was 70 and here she was dancing all over the place! So amazing!

After the welcoming ceremony Gerhard who is the director of sight for life gave an introduction to what the organization does and what we came to do in the community. He also spoke about proper eyecare, cataracts, and glaucoma.

After his talk we each went to our different stations. Bob did registration and took everyone’s names and gave them a slip of paper that would be filled out at each station. Then Cynthia & I took blood pressures. Robin & Believe did health history. Gerhard and Edom are optometrists so they did eye screening and testing. Then Millicent and Caro distributed glasses and eye drops to those that needed them. We had a good system going and we really felt that the organization made good use of Caro, Robin, and I.

I had a lot of fun taking blood pressures with my new friend Cynthia! In the Volta region of Ghana they speak Ewe (pronounced ay-way) which is different from Fante and Twi. Cynthia taught me some phrases and I made a script that I could say to everyone. Now I have three languages on the go!


After the eye screening ended we ended the day by having another drum and dance ceremony with the people of the community. The dance that they were doing was very hard! It requires coordination otherwise you look like a chicken! They somehow move their arms, hips butts, and chests all at once really quickly! It was hilarious and we had so much fun! There were several women who loved getting Caro, Robin, and I to dance! My favourite is still the 105 year old woman!

I met a man named Daniel today and he gave Robin and I “akpeteshie”. This is gin that according to Daniel is almost 100%! I took half a shot and my lips were on fire! This might just be my new tequila! Robin didn’t find it too bad, although I think secretly he did! We also tasted palm wine which is really delicious!

Once we finished work we went into town for supper. Guess what we had? - Chicken and rice! Rice here is so good though! My favourite is called Jolof rice. It is spicy and has green peppers in it.

Tomorrow we are going to a different community with sight for life. I am looking forward to it! I had such a great day today! It was incredible to meet the people of this community and they were so welcoming. When we first got there they put a string with a beautiful bead that they made from clay around our wrist and made a line with baby powder down our arm (apparently this is how this community welcomes people). All of the men and women were wearing beautiful traditional African wear and were thankful to have sight for life among them for the day.

Well I am tuckered out!

Good night!

July 29th,

Today we went to a different community which was far away from Ho. It was called Adlaku Sofa. Caro, Robin, and I helped out with the same stations as yesterday. This community also welcomed sight for life with drumming and dancing. Their dancing was a bit different than the community that we went to yesterday but we picked up on it eventually!

The people in this community really had a good laugh when I would try to speak Ewe. Cynthia helped me translate what I wanted to say to people about high and low blood pressure in Ewe. I memorized it and then I recited it to everyone as I took their blood pressure. It was a lot of fun! All of the staff at sight for life have been very welcoming and friendly. The work has been fun as well. I think it would be a unique project for QPID cooperants next year.

One of the people in the community gave me a fresh coconut to eat. It was so good! Then we danced and sang! There was a man in this community who was albino. He was whiter than me but you could tell he wasn’t a white person because of his facial features. Caro has seen a few around Takoradi but I am not sure how prevalent it is.

It was sad to leave the community today and say goodbye to all of our new friends from Sight for Life. We enjoyed meeting and working with them! We went back to Ho with everyone from Sight for Life. They dropped Caro, Robin, and I off at a tro-tro station. The ride back to Ho was pretty nauseating because the van had no windows and we had a whole pile of people squished in. also it was hot so we were happy to get out and get on the tro-tro.

We travelled to Peki. Heather had arrived there long before we did but we made it eventually! We are staying at Roots Yard which is a place run by a young couple. They have two cabins and tents that they rent out. They don’t allow any meat or meat products on the premise so all of the food they serve is vegan. They also only support locals so the food is bought from local farmers and the coffee is also natural and from locals. I just had a hot chocolate made with real cocoa and soy milk! It was very sweet! We are staying here and camping tonight and tomorrow night. I think we are going to have an awesome weekend!

Bye for now!

July 30th,

We woke up to the most beautiful scenery in the world this morning. It was dark when we arrived last night so we weren’t able to see much. We are surrounded by mountains and beautiful green crops of corn. We are unable to get reception out here for our cellphones so we are actually disconnected. Gone “into the wild”.

We had a delicious breakfast: toast with pineapple jam. The jam is homemade with ginger and fresh pineapple chunks. I will have to remember to get the recipe! I also had a tea which was really strong but also really good!

The couple that owns the place we are staying (Roots Yard) are very nice. There is Bob who is a Ghanaian with a British accent as he lived in England when he went to university. Jackie is his wife. She is from England. Together they have 2 children. The older one is 3 going on 4 soon and is at the stage where he will repeat everything you say. His name is Solomon. They have another son named Marcus who is just over a year old. They also have a big dog named Kebra. They have a beautiful home right on the property and then they rent out the tents and cabins. They just opened recently but they seem to be doing very well!


There was a group of volunteers staying at Roots in a cabin. We met them at breakfast and decided to travel with them since they were also going to Wli (pronounced Vlee) Falls. All of the people in this group were from different places but they were all in Ghana volunteering with projects abroad. There was a girl from the Netherlands named Anna, Marvin from Germany, Meagan & Cassidy from Calgary (yay Canadians!), and Laura from England. There was a girl from Germany as well but I can’t remember her name!

Roots yard is in a small town out in the middle of nowhere so it took us awhile to find a tro-tro but we managed! Our first tro-tro broke down so we had to take another one to the town of Hoehoe. Then from there we had to transfer to another tro to go out to the falls. This tro-tro kept stalling. There was one time where the driver kept trying to rev it to go and as he was doing that we were slowly going backwards down a hill. Heather and I put our heads down because we didn’t want to watch ourselves back right into the traffic of the busy road. Somehow we managed to make it to Wli Falls accident free! I guess our tro-tro choices weren’t the greatest today!

After our long journey we finally made it to Wli Falls. The falls are supposed to be about an hour away from Roots Yard but it took us 3 hours to get there with all of our tro-tro troubles. Wli Falls is the tallest waterfall in Western Africa. Our tour guide, Frances showed us the way to the falls. It was a 45 minute hike through a beautiful rainforest where we saw cocoa beans and even pineapple plants. There are 9 footbridges that you have to cross to get to the falls so we used that as our marker to know that we were getting close! I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful the waterfall was. I tried to take pictures of it but you just can’t capture all of it. From where I was standing at the bottom it was huge plus there is an upper fall beyond what we could see! We all ended up going for a swim! The water was cold but it felt good! The mist from the falls ended up ruining my camera which was sad. I was fortunate that I took tons of pictures before that happened. The screen is a giant purple blob. I was hoping I culd fix it once it dried out!

Frances was a legendary tour guide and gave us a shot of akpeteshie to warm up our bellies after the swim. I definitely don’t have to worry about picking up a parasite from the water after having a shot of that gin! After we swam and relaxed by the falls we hiked back.

Then the real hilarious part began. We had met people at the falls and joined them for the hike so our group got even bigger making finding transportation for all of us even harder! I don’t know how we ever managed this but we taxied back to the main tro-tro station. It was roughly a 25 minute ride. We took 2 taxis. My taxi had 10 people (including the driver) in it and Caro’s had 8! Don’t ask me how we piled this many people in a small car but believe me it happened! My car had a hatchback so we were able to squeeze a few in the trunk and pile everyone else on top of each other in the back! There are many police barriers in between towns but luckily we didn’t pass any on our ride! The best part about my taxi ride was that we were all hiper and the radio was broken so we decided to serenade the taxi driver with a popular song called Waist & Power. The song is hilarious!

After the taxi ride we found a tro-tro all the way back to Roots Yard. We were all tired and it was already dark! The whole group of us sat outside and had supper. I had spicy tomato soup, jolof rice and a choconanna milkshake! Life is good!

I kept playing with my camera and now it is finally turning on! Woohoo!

Good night!


July 31st,

My camera turned on this morning and I was able to take pictures. They were a bit blurry at first but eventually it worked as good as new!

I filled up on pineapple jam again! I also had a chai latte. Heather has been ordering them this weekend and I never did because I figured I would crave them once I had one. It was delicious so I don’t regret it but I do wish I could find chai tea in Takoradi! A chai latte and an ice cap will be my first drinks back in Canada!

It was sad to leave Roots Yard. We really enjoyed camping there! I am going to miss Solomon. He was so funny! My favourite thing was when Caro asked Solomon when his birthday was. He replied its not today and she asked well when is it? Then Solomon answered its another day. Kids are just too cute!


Before we started our long journey back to Takoradi we went to the Tafiefe Adome monkey sanctuary. Our tro-tro brought us to the village and dropped us at a sign that said 5 km to the monkey sanctuary. We thought we could walk it or hop in a taxi. There were no taxis around and we figured it would be too long of a walk since we had to start heading home to Takoradi. There were 4 men along the road with motorcycles and they said they would bring us to the sanctuary. We figured oh why not! The motorcycle ride was fun, especially when it started to pour rain!

The monkey sanctuary was incredible! We bought a bunch of bananas and went out into the forest. Suddenly adorable mona monkeys appeared everywhere! I had heard that you could feed them the banana but I didn’t expect them to come jump on us and chill on our arms while they ate! The monkeys really liked Heather! It was so neat to watch them eat the banana. To feed them you simply cut a banana in half but you don’t peel it. Then you hold it tightly in your hand. Eventually a hungry monkey will jump out of the tree and sit on your arm. His little hands quickly peel the banana and then they eat it and sit with you but if they are timid they grab the banana and run away! I wish I could have taken one for a pet. I’m sure my parents wouldn’t mind me bringing one back to Canada!

Leaving the sanctuary was hilarious because we ended up meeting our friends from Roots Yard there and becoming a huge group again. The guys with the motorcycles had it all figured out though! They decided oh 2 people on each motorbike! Do you think we were crazy enough to do that? … of course we were! Caro & I got on a motorbike together with our giant backpacks and zoomed down the bumpy dirt road! It was a blast!

After a morning of adventure we took a tro-tro to Accra and then another one from there to Takoradi. It was a long trip but Caro and I slept and read.

We are now back in Takoradi. I am looking forward to spending some time with my host family tonight since we have been away a lot the past 2 weeks!

Until next time!