Christina and I left from Cape Coast, and we arrived early in Accra to meet with Cora and Bethany. After some difficulty getting in touch, we were on our way east in my very first trotro ride. However, I was spoiled: It was not too crowded, and it was air-conditioned!
What is a trotro? Essentially, imagine a 12 passenger van that is gutted and refitted with multiple benches, typically filled to the brim with passengers that are added and dropped off sporadically along the bumpy dirt road.
We arrived to Waterfall Lodge in Wli around 6pm that day. My first FanIce, Ghanaian ice cream, was marvelous after a long day of travel. The lodge is a great spot to relax, and all visitors seemed to take in the calm atmosphere with conversation around the dinner table and quiet reading afterwards. I slept well that night in our tent, only to be woken up around 8am by the sound of two lizards scurrying across the top of the tent.
Saturday morning we headed out early for Wli Falls, believed to be the tallest waterfall in Ghana. The hike to the lower falls was about 45 minutes. Along the way, our guide pointed out wild pineapple, cocoa pods, and coffee cherries. He broke open a cocoa pod and we all reached in and grabbed multiple seeds, each covered with a sweet, yet bitter, moist skin that we enjoyed. But chocolate is Ghana is literally bittersweet. While Ghana produces wonderful chocolate, all of it is exported; and the citizens of Ghana only have access to their own Grade D chocolates.
After avoiding multiple lines of biting ants along the way, we finally got to the lower falls. We waded in the pool at the bottom of the falls, and slowly made our way back to the waterfall. As we got closer, the falling water felt like sharp, tiny needles, forcing us to walk backwards with our eyes closed.
After we got back to Waterfall Lodge, we left to go to a kente weaving village. When we asked a passing trotro if it was going in that direction it said, “Yes, we just need to turn around ahead.” Little did we know that it meant the trotro going to about 4 villages before turning around. So, an hour later, we were headed in the direction that was planned. However, on the way, we were close to a guarded gate that said, “Goodbye, Republic of Ghana.” Togo! We asked the guards if we could step across the border. And after yelling at us to not take pictures of the incriminating act, they let us hop into Togo.
After another hour or two of traveling, and realizing that it would be too difficult to try and get to the kente village, we headed straight to the location of our housing for Saturday night, Mountain Paradise Lodge. Our tent this time was much larger, practically the penthouse of tents! I had my first fufu for dinner. Fufu, as defined by Wikipedia, is “a thick paste or porridge usually made by boiling starchy root vegetables in water and pounding with a mortar and pestle until the desired consistency is reached.” And for clarity, the “desired consistency” is slimy. During that dinner, we were joined by Joup, a Dutch volunteer based out of Accra, who would sightsee with us the next day.
On Sunday, the very nice, accommodating owner of Mountain Paradise Lodge, Tony, drove us to a monkey sanctuary in Tafi Atome. At first, we had difficulty finding the monkeys as they move around the forest throughout the day. After a short wait, the guides led us to a different area of the woods. Shortly, we found ourselves surrounded by monkeys, Mona monkeys, on the trees all around us. A couple of the bolder, older monkeys came down and ate bananas out of our hands. I just wish I could have gotten a picture of it! It was a lot of fun - they peel the banana as you hold it!
After our visit to the sanctuary, we headed back for Cape Coast. While we waited for our trotro to fill up in Accra, I couldn’t help but think that the trotro market in Kaneshi, Accra, would be a great place to teach a seminar on Introductory Economics. For instance, Christina and I were “willing to pay” 3.5 cedis for one taxi, but not 5 cedis for another. However, the opportunity cost would be waiting at least half an hour for our trotro to fill up with passengers. We also recognized the great supply and small demand for many of the goods and food that passing vendors were selling. Women (who balance their products on their head) would run in order to surround a stopped trotro, trying to sell their food. Food and snacks off the street are especially cheap. You can easily fill up for under $1!
All in all, the weekend was incredible!
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