Sorry its been so long since we’ve updated this. A lot has happened and its been a long time
away from our normal Peace Corps lifestyle.
We’ve been all around this country in the past month or so. We’ll start from the last post:
We learned that there wasn’t going to be a chance to take
Kevin, Phyllis, and Jake up to see our site.
This saddened us immensely. So
many people in the village were preparing for them to arrive and were asking
about when we were coming back. Sadly,
for a long time we had to tell them we didn’t know.
In the meantime,
the Panzers arrived and Sarah went to go pick them up at the airport since
there wasn’t room for Kels and I. We
were all so happy to see family again.
For a few days we “eased” them into Ghana life by staying at Hotel del
Murphy and we took them around Accra a bit.
We then met up with the car that we would be using for the next 10
days. We had a driver and a guide, and
we were only expecting one person. Well
it was early in the trip and we were trying to be flexible…no big deal. We headed off to Volta Region. The first night we stayed at this really
awesome place called Roots Yard run by the nicest couple and their 2 sons. The place was very low-key and chill. They allowed us to bring food to eat if we
chose, as long as it was vegan. All the
food on their menu was vegan and delicious, so I think we ate there both nights
we stayed there. The first day we went
on a hike near the lodge and tried to get high enough above the trees to
overlook Lake Volta. Unfortunately, we
never got there. Sarah and Phyllis
headed back a little earlier and Charles (our Ghanaian guide), Kev, Jake, Kels,
and I continued on. Regardless, it was
beautiful to be in the mountains and jungle at the same time. Then on the way down we walked through the
small village and Charles asked if the women sitting there had seen Sarah and
Phyllis. They said no one had come
through there. Uh oh. So Charles went back to look on the trail and
with one cell phone and Kels, Jake and I walked to the road to see if they had
just slipped by. Luckily, they had just
taken one wrong turn and weren’t too lost.
The next day we
drove to the Lake Volta shore and paid for a man to take us out to an island
called Doty Island. We thought “we’re
all decent paddlers, we shouldn’t need that motor for the canoe.” Good thing we brought it, cuz with the weight
in the canoe, the weight of the canoe itself, the small size of the 4 paddles
we had for 9 people, and the large waves we were going against, make it a near
impossibility for us to make it out to this island in one day. Once we got out there, we walked around this
large island and climbed up a hill to give some great views of the lake around
us. Then we buzzed back to the shore and
spent the rest of the night relaxing at Roots Yard. The next day we headed out with our new
friends Francesco from Rome, and his girlfriend Ricky, from Denmark. They ended up tagging along with us for the
next couple days as well. We arrived at
Mountain Paradise Lodge and found some great, high-elevation views out our
front door of the mountains. Our first
full day, we found a nice loop hike that hooked up right at the hotel. The hike was a lot of fun with a mid-hike
waterfall that was swimmable. The water
was perfect and it was a great cool down before finishing the hike at the back
door of our hotel. This was also the
first chance the Panzers had to try yam fufu with groundnut soup. Admittedly it wasn’t as good as Fulera’s from
our village, but it was still quite tasty.
Then our last day in Volta, we travelled to see Wli Falls (the tallest
waterfall in West Africa) and to climb Mount Afadzato (the tallest mountain
from base to peak in West Africa). First
was the mountain hike. The guides said it
was a 45 minute hike. We found out the
reason a big mountain hike only took 45 minutes was because it pretty much went
straight up, instead of slowly going up the mountain side. It was a little slick with rain from the
morning, and that made some of the sections pretty tough. Several times, we had to use natural
hand-holds and trees or vines to pull ourselves up. Once at the top we look around and a nearby
peak was obviously higher than us.
Apparently the distinction was that those peaks, if you measure them
from their base to peak, were not as tall as our mountain. It was quite impressive regardless. Next we went on to Wli Falls. After a much less strenuous hike crossing
several streams, we reached this very impressive, giant waterfall. We were also allowed to swim in this fall, so
of course we seized the opportunity. The
closer we got to the actual base of the falls, the more the water drop falling
from the sky felt like sleet and actually would cause pain when they hit
you. The safest place was actually under
water. Down there it was peaceful and
quiet, but above was loud waterfalls several hundred feet about our heads. We took some great pictures.
After there we
headed out to stay one night in Kumasi.
Then on to Mole National Park! After
the rough ride in, we settled in and in the morning we went on the walking tour
around the park. Usually the big climax
is seeing elephants, and we almost didn’t see them at all. Until the last 25 minutes, when we saw a
group of about 7 big males. It was
great! Then the minute our time was up,
we had to leave them. Later in the
afternoon, as we were taking naps, a commotion stirred us all awake. Apparently a big male baboon had entered a
girl’s bunk room and grabbed some food!
We look out the windows, and a whole troop of them is encircling the
whole place! They were wild to watch,
and they entertained us for over an hour!
We also saw many deer species, warthogs, and another species of
monkey. It was great!
Then we made our
way back down to Accra before heading to Cape Coast to see some other
Volunteers. We toured the Cape Coast
Castle and learned about the history of the slave trade in Ghana and Africa. One of those nights we got a surprise showing
of an incredibly talented young drum and dance group that put on a show at a restaurant
called the Oasis. It was simply
amazing! Then we headed to the Green
Turtle Lodge on the ocean. We stayed
there for 4 nights and hiked over to our friend’s place in the southernmost
point in West Africa, Cape 3 Points.
Then we caught a ride back part way and went searching for lobster. We were unsuccessful, but the food was still
really good. We spent a portion of every
day playing in the ocean waves and doing some body surfing. Won’t get to do that again! And then we were heading back to Accra. All but me got out of the bus in another
Volunteer’s site, Jim, to witness his village’s festival. After some eventful and uneventful days there,
they met me again in Accra for the last day before they flew out. The Panzers arrived safely home, hopefully
with some new culture under their belts.
With only a few
days left of the Panzer’s travels, we found out we were allowed to return to
site. Sarah and I needed to stay to do
some mid-service medical appointments.
Run a few tests, go to the dentist (I had a cavity, darn!) and now we on
our way back to our excited village! It’s
been some crazy weeks for us, but at the same time, we were missing our
responsibilities at our home here in Ghana.
After talking to my counterpart, Osman, tonight, hearing the excitement
in his voice and talking to his daughter (my pretend 2nd wife) on
the phone, reminds me we have something very special awaiting our return.
