Wait...

Did that just happen?

Just got back from the most whirlwind weekend in the Volta region and I can’t wrap my mind around all that happened. And by whirlwind, I don’t mean at all stressful or frustrating, just an amazing blur.

Melissa, Nikki, and I set out from Archeampong Junction around 6:30 and got a trotro to Madina where we walked to the station there and found another one going to Hohoe. And this is where our knowledge of where we were going, ended.

So we climbed into the back of the trotro and told the mate that we were going to Wli, which is where the highest waterfalls in West Africa are located. There was some discussion between the Ghanaians about where we should get off and where we were actually going but in the end they understood and we began our four-hour trotro ride into the Volta Region.

Speeding down the road, avoiding the holes, roughing it through the dirt, wind blowing wildly through my hair – this was the fastest trotro, making it to Hohoe in exactly four hours. Once we got off a woman helped us get a taxi to our hotel, though we weren’t sure our driver actually knew where that was. He had overheard that one of us had to go to the bathroom so we stopped at a wash area where it cost 20 pesewas to use the toilets, if one could really call them that.

Back into the taxi we went blasting “I love my life” (a Ghanaian song) along the way. We made it to the hotel around lunchtime, got a bite to eat, and then headed to the waterfalls. There we were told that because we had come later in the day we would be unable to do the upper falls, which would take longer to hike. At first I was a little disappointed but decided that it was unreasonable to be and that I would enjoy the lower falls. However, once we got to the split in the trails, we asked what was up the mountain and Innocence, our tour guide (who told us he wasn’t really a tour guide but a student who worked there occasionally) told us that was the way to the Upper Falls. So we asked if we would have time and he said we could try it. Along the way to Lower Falls we had encountered a woman who had asked if we were going to the Upper Falls and when we asked her how the hike was, she replied, “a bit challenging.”

Nothing about that hike was “a bit.” It was a steep incline up the side of a mountain with just enough room for one person to move. We started off at a fast pace, quickly moving up the mountain, and then we realized the going up part, wasn’t ending. Mental check. Innocence gave us breaks along the way, making sure that we were okay, and at one time asking if we should turn around. Although none of us said anything then, we all admitted later that we were all thinking about going back, that we had made a mistake. I jumped in and said “yes” we should keep going (clearly not thinking as my legs became wobbly and I hoisted myself up using my walking stick and grabbing onto a tree root). Let me just say, that walking stick was the reason I made it up the mountain.

We made it to the highest point on the trail and the view was breathtaking. Far off in the distance you could see HoHoe, the border with Togo, and the Upper Falls. I kept thinking to myself, “I can see the waterfalls but how are we going to get from here to there? It’s so far away.” We got closer and closer until suddenly we were standing right next to it looking up at the water cascading down. Walking into the water and looking up was breathtaking. I’ve always thought that’s a cliché way to describe something but that’s what it was – water rippling towards the bank, swirling by me in the wind, blowing me backwards, taking my breath away.

Then it was time to head back down the mountain. Carefully placing one foot in front of the other, not really looking up or straight ahead, but concentrating on where we were stepping. A few slips here and there but we made it to the bottom where we even had enough time to go to the Lower Falls. The Lower Falls were equally amazing and the hike to get there is much less strenuous. However, all of us agreed that the hike (if that’s even the correct word to describe what we did) was something none of us thought we could do. To me this shows how mental things can be. Our bodies were physically able to handle it but our minds weren’t, we had to push them, not give in to our weaknesses.

On the way back it was starting to get dark and the bugs were coming out so we did a little jogging back to the entrance. It was actually nice to be moving our muscles and we think that’s why none of us woke up complaining of being sore this morning.

The next morning we got up to try to find a way back into HoHoe. We walked into the center of Wli, a very small town, and stood by some posts. There were no signs of any vehicles and it being a Sunday, I was skeptical of whether we would be able to find a way back. But within five minutes we were in a taxi and on our way to HoHoe. There we found a trotro going to a junction near the monkey sanctuary. We were told that once we got off there we would have to go by motorbike to get to the monkey sanctuary. I must have had a scared look on my face because then the man in front of me assured me that we would also be able to find a taxi. Once we got off at the junction, motorcyclists were waiting to greet us. To my surprise, we all jumped on the back of one of the motorbikes and took off for Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary.

There we were, on the back of motorbikes in Ghana, riding to see the monkeys, with not a worry in the world, actually. After waiting for a little while, we set off with a guide and some bananas to find and feed the monkeys. We walked for a few minutes and then began to see them in the trees. Before I knew what was happening one had jumped off of the tree onto my back. The guide gave us each a few bananas to feed and the monkeys jumped from tree to tree, from Melissa to Nikki to I, and peeled the bananas with human-like precision. I’ve never experienced anything like it.

So far, so good – so wait, how do we get back to Accra? Good question. After asking a few of the Ghanaians we decided, with the help of my motorcyclist Emmanuel that we would wait on the side of the road back at the junction for a trotro to Accra. We were hopeful that they would have room for three and that we wouldn’t have to go back to HoHoe (which was in the wrong direction) to get a trotro. Within an hour we were on our way back to Accra after getting picked up on the side of the road. The ride back was a little more difficult; we hadn’t eaten a meal that day and were beginning to feel the wear of the weekend. I think I was probably the crankiest one, but put in a much better mood once someone selling FanIce came by the trotro at one of the stops. Then we were back in Accra and got off at the Accra Mall. Although we weren’t sure about the trotro situation getting back from there, as we had tried it the other night and it hadn’t worked, we were able to quickly get into a trotro and head home.

The amazing thing about this weekend was all that we did without any concrete plan. Without any expectations, any plans, any knowledge really about getting from place to place; with only the help of Ghanaians and our positive attitudes that things would work out – it all did.

Now for the fourth night in a row I am without power. But as I sweat writing this in the dark, I am thankful to be back in Accra and for all of the people that are thinking of and praying for me as I travel around and live in Ghana.