Volunteer Turned Tourist

This week I was able to spend some time seeing other parts of Ghana, a very nice change of pace. Thursday we found out that the cement delivery for the day was not going to happen so we didn't work. Honestly I was relieved because after 3 full days of moving bricks, shoveling and mixing concrete in the hot sun my body ached. I was going to go back to Good Shepherd but my host mother told me that since there was no work she was going to take me to her hometown, Keta.
Keta is only about 20mins away but it was great to see another town. Keta a "sea town" and the beaches were beautiful. As we drove into town there were many fishing boats along the shore. The problem with Keta is the sea erosion, many buildings have been destroyed and the residents have had to relocate. When visiting family I noticed that many homes are now made of palm leaves instead of concrete like Denu or Alfao. The most interesting part of the trip to Keta was Fort Prinzenstein, a Dutch fort used during the slave trade. Ghana was one of the primary countries where Europeans captured and enslaved Ghanaians to sell overseas. This is one of the forts where they would bring the slaves before they were sent across the ocean. It was amazing to be able to hear the history retold and to stand in a room where slaves were once held. This is something I can't even put into words. The fort is only partially there now as again sea erosion has damaged the majority of it, but to hear history from the other side was pretty incredible.
Yesterday, I went on an adventure with Bless to the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary and the Wli Waterfall-both big tourist attractions in Ghana; how do I know - white people, everywhere (Bless kept calling them my friends and asking me if I knew them :) I'm pretty sure this monkey is thinking “holy crap white people!” but who knows :)

The Monkey Sanctuary was a lot of fun, I got to feed a monkey a banana right from my hand, I mean I held it while he peeled it and then ate it!! They come right up to you but as soon as your banana is gone so are they. After this we went to the Wli waterfall which falls from the highest mountain in Ghana. It's about an hour hike in through the rainforest. As I walked I just kept looking around among the bamboo, cocoa trees and coffee plants I never thought I
would actually have a chance to walk around a tropical rainforest, though I didn't se any animals I could hear many calls from birds that probably stay away from the trails.

and coffee plants I never thought I would actually have a chance to walk around a tropical rainforest, though I didn't se any animals I could The waterfall was roaring I took some photos but it was so strong everything was wet even when standing pretty far away, so we didn't stay too long especially since it started to thunder. Remember when I said rainforest...there's a reason it's called that because in an instant the sky opens up and downpours!!!! Everything was soaked, luckily the inside of the camera bag stayed relatively dry, but we were soaked and looked like we actually went swimming. I felt so bad for our driver who was going to stay back and we convinced him no too. With the rain comes mud and the little taxi cab that brought us there almost didn't take us out. We had to get a group together to push us out and then ride 4 hours home soaking wet. When we got home and were freezing Bless asked me if this how New York is...Cold?

Even with the rain I had a great time. It was nice to see the difference is climate that Ghana has to offer and with this the different ways people live. Many houses in the northern part of the Volta Region (which is where I am) are made with mud bricks and grass type roofs also instead of palm leaves for fencing they use the bamboo because it's readily available. There is also a lot less trash maybe because there are less people in one given area. It was a nice weekend trip and I can't wait till I get to see more of Ghana in a week! Oh yea I'm at the half way point of my time in Ghana, time is flying by! Till next time – Miadogo! (till tomorrow)