Anonymity

The anonymity associated with being home is going to be so strange. I think it will be a mix of relief to be able to walk along a street or use transport without constantly being called to, but the lack of attention may also be unnerving in a way. I will once again be swimming in a pool of people who look and think so similarly to me, or at least who are not surprised by my appearance. I will even buy my produce from a table in a store as opposed to choosing mango from the lady who probably grew it, and have her cut it up for me right there on the street. (Luckily we have such great markets in Nova Scotia that buying food from the source will not be that difficult; but then again, it won’t be mangoes either!).

Transportation is an area where one can clearly see major differences between Ghana and Canada.

When I get home, I will no longer tell my driver or mate directly where I would like to go on public transport: I will pull a rope that signals a bell which tells him instead. I will put my exact change into a slot at the front of the bus, instead of passing money to the mate himself and getting my change on the spot. I will read digital numbers which indicate the fare for a taxi ride, as opposed to negotiating the price in advance with the driver. It would seem as though human interaction in transportation has been replaced with mechanisms and machines in the West.

These mechanisms and machines contribute to the sense of anonymity that I now associate with the West. While there is a sense of community in many areas, it is just not the same. In Ghana, there is (somehow) a sense of community throughout the whole country; it is remarkable.

All this being said, I do not want anyone to think that I am not looking forward to coming home and using this anonymous system (believe me, some days it is all I want!). Also, I would not presume to argue that one way of life is preferable to another. I simply wanted to share my transit experience from the perspective of a Canadian living in Ghana, as I have found the differences quite stark. Perhaps when I get home other differences will dawn on me after living in Ghana, even though I have lived in Canada for so long.

A Harrowing Hike and a Breath-Taking View

 Wli Falls

And yet again, I fail to deliver on keeping this blog updated regularly. Alas!

Even though it is almost the weekend once again, today I write about what we were up to last weekend. Jessica and I set off to hike Wli Falls and Mount Afadjato last Saturday morning. We did not have to wait long before we were heading off down the highway (after spending an hour in Accra traffic, as per usual) towards the town of Ho-Hoe in the Volta Region. I was but minutes into my typical tro slumber when I was awoken by Jessica poking me and telling me to look out the window. At first I only saw trees, and was just about to give her a good little smack for waking me up, I saw what she was excited about: baboons! Here we were, less than two hours from Accra, and there was a large troop of baboons just right there on the side of the road. This being the first time seeing a baboon (or any significant wildlife in Ghana so far), I was very excited.
 
The five hour trip felt much longer. When we arrived in Ho-Hoe (pronounced "ho-hoy" for those of you wondering), we decided to just get out of the trotro and stretch our legs before beginning our search for a share taxi to Wli. Ho-Hoe itself is not much to write home about it seems, and before long we were done exploring and we headed back to the station to find a taxi. This was not difficult, and we were squished into the backseat of a well-loved vehicle with two lovely ladies to begin the short ride to Wli. 

Village of Wli

Wli itself was remarkable. It truly lies in a valley, and you can see the hills rise up out of the earth from all directions. These hills are not mountains by any means, but significant, majestic, rolling green hills that appear so lush and life-giving. Whenever we went anywhere through the course of the weekend I found myself stopping continuously to admire the views around me, and wondered how the locals could ever get through a day without doing the same. 

We stayed right in town at the Wli Heights Hotel (lovely spot - highly recommended). After not having had water for about four days at this point, the first thing we chose to do was shower when we got to the hotel, after which we read a bit and then headed off to dinner. There were other obrunis in the restaurant with us eventually, most from the UK. While I was feasting on absolutely delicious fried chicken and jollof rice, a very large horned beetle made its way into the room, loudly flapping its wings and scaring the life out of all the ex-pats in the room. June bugs are nothing compared to this lot! After a good chuckle about the bug (and the UK guests' reactions to it), Jessica and I settled down for a long winter's nap as it were.

We were awoken by the sound of the rain around 1am. When I say the sound of the rain, I do not mean a relaxing and peaceful drizzle tapping on my roof and walls. I mean torrential, terrifying, deafening rain and thunder, the likes of which makes one consider if Noah could even handle this level of moisture. Luckily our room remained leak-less and we considered sleeping. The rain was still quite heavy when we woke up at 6am - and again at 7am, 8am, and 9am. Around 9:30, we heard it come to a drizzle and stop; so by 10am, we hit the road to start the hike to the Upper Falls. 

Wli from above!

 The first part of the journey was flat and enjoyable. We felt lucky to even be able to do the hike at all since it had rained so much, but Godwin, our guide, assured us that it would not be too slippery. We walked for about 45 minutes before we saw the very steep and sudden incline that marked the beginning of the real hike. Walking sticks in hand, we tackled that hill valiantly but cautiously. I will not try and fool you into thinking that it was easy - it was extremely physically demanding and time consuming, but quite worth it for the views! You could see all of Wli village nestled in the hills from above, and it was amazing.

The Lower Falls

We walked down to the source of the lower falls and were so pelted with water I thought we may never be dry again. Normally, according to Godwin, people actually take a refreshing dip in the pool beneath. However, this was absolutely not possible when we were there! The rain had made the falls so powerful and windy that the drops that reached us were almost painful - and I could not stop laughing. 

Beginning one last brief climb and descent absolutely drenched was both refreshing and challenging, since our clothes were so laden with water that they made us heavy. But before too long (though admittedly it seemed like an eternity at times), we were walking back towards the visitors' centre, wiped out but pleased with ourselves. We ate a good meal and put ourselves to bed in no time.

In the morning, the original plan was to hike Mt. Afadjato; however, this did not pan out. We only had so much time to get there and back before check-out, and it was raining again when we woke up. Hopefully we will still be able to do that hike before we leave. Of course, the second our tro to Accra pulled out of the station at Ho-Hoe, the sky turned an absolutely brilliant blue and it turned into a gorgeous hiking day. C'est la vie!

It was so nice to get away and see some more amazing sights. This weekend we plan to enjoy Accra (probably our last weekend to really spend in Accra as we will be traveling the last few weekends), and relax a bit. Hard to believe there are only 29 days left! The whirlwind begins as we try and do everything we want to before going home - it should be fun!

A Trip to the Bead Market

After a week battling a cold (quite unpleasant when you are around so many people all the time; I feel bad for those sitting next to me on the small trotros!), I was so ready for a relaxing weekend. All of us had an exhausting week, and so we decided to do a relaxing day trip on Saturday since Leah was off. The options were to bike ride through the Aburi Gardens (after us all recovering from illness), or to visit a bead market in Agomanya which we had heard about. Since we were feeling slightly lazy, we decided to go to the bead market and I am so glad we did!

Agomanya is about two hours away from Accra including the city traffic. After what felt like a very short trip, we arrived in an extremely busy area quite unlike Accra. The main street was jam-packed full of tros, taxis, and people, and honestly we were not even sure of where we were when the tro stopped! Luckily, as always, we were not out of the tro for more than five seconds before someone offered us help. We followed a young man into the market who led us through winding pathways dotted with stalls filled with anything you could ever desire - everything from fabric, to fish, beans, grains, bowls, and produce. Before long, we arrived in the bead section of the market (which I am sure we never would have found without help). It was as if we stepped into a whole other world; stall after stall was lined with the most vibrant and varied colours I have ever seen. Large, small, round, square, opaque, translucent, patterned, plain, you name it. If you could dream it up in your imagination, you could find it in this market. 

The men and women selling the beads were just as bright, colourful, and fun as the goods on display. The would chat with you and try and sell you all kinds of colours and shapes, but in a good-natured way. They were also very helpful in helping you decide which colours went best together! We were even lucky enough to find one table that had a large selection of brass jewellery, from pendants to necklaces which all of us had a lot of fun looking through.

Each table had a different selection of beads, and we all went rather crazy trying them all out. The prices, as all are outside of Accra, were also very reasonable if not low for the quality and quantity we were able to secure! We spent a couple of hours browsing the wares, chatting with vendors, and admiring each others' purchases. When Jessica, the sickest of us all, looked like she was beginning to fade, we decided it was time for lunch. We stopped and looked at the expansive market in front of us, but remarkably we struggled to locate an area with a chop bar, or at least a stall with rice and beans or some other basic dish. In search of food, we head off through the labyrinth of aisles that each housed different items. (We all struggled a bit with our senses when we went through a huge fish market - it was a very hot day and it seemed as though half of the sea was in our sight). After recovering from the fish experience, we stumbled upon a chop bar and a place to buy drinks - an oasis with the heat and hunger wearing us down! The rice was delicious and we sat for some time re-hydrating and comparing our purchases.

After lunch we went back through the market for round two (carefully avoiding fish whenever we could) and enjoyed a long second look at the market. Personally, I liked just looking around - all the hanging beads in their infinite rainbow of colours dazzled the senses and it did feel as though we were in a treasure trove. I would have liked to take more pictures, but I was honestly a bit over-whelmed with it all! We finished at the bead market before too long and started the trek home, arriving at our humble abode just after dinnertime. 

Sunday this week truly was a day of rest - we attempted to sleep in (to little avail; getting up at 6am each day has ruined me), read our books, and were generally leisurely. Later in the day we decided that pizza was absolutely necessary and so we went all the way to Eddy's Pizza on Ring Road to finally experience its culinary delights. Jessica and I drive past this place everyday on the way to and from work and dream about pizza, and so finally getting to go inside was very exciting! The restaurant was actually quite fancy, as was the service! I began my meal with a hot towel to wash my hands and everything - very decadent. The pizza was to die for and we would argue that it is the best in the city. Despite stomach problems off and on for the last week, I polished off my pizza with no trouble at all and even had a FanIce on the way home! When it needs to be, my stomach is quite the champ.

Only six weeks left on this amazing adventure - excited to go on more adventures, but also very excited to go home! 

I. Am. Ghanadian.

So yet again, it has been some time since my last post – I must get better at keeping this blog updated!

Since last weekend in Akosombo, much has happened. On Thursday, we went to the Canadian High Commission to celebrate Canada Day in style. We sat by a pool, listened to (somewhat terrible, but comfortingly familiar) Canadian pop music, and ate. Oh, how we ate. First off, there was free popcorn so I was all over that. And then we also ate hotdogs and poutine – yes, you read that right! I was actually able to enjoy Canada’s greatest accomplishment while here in Ghana, and let me tell you it was worth the two cedis. There was also a really delicious cake at the end of the evening which was also free of charge. Only problem with the cake? Instead of saying “Happy Birthday, Canada”, the message on top read “Happy Birthday Sweetheart”. All in all a humorous mistake, and somewhat appropriate as at this point we are feeling rather fond of our homeland!

Enjoying some poutine!

            We spent the whole evening meeting and talking with other interns from Canada who were placed all over Ghana. It was really interesting to hear what other people our age were doing here, and what experiences they were having. I got to have some conversations that I will not get to have when I get back to Canada – I bonded with these Canadians over trotro etiquette, the amazing food here in Ghana, insects/creatures we had encountered, etc. It was fun to talk to other Canadians about cultural differences and good-naturedly complain about the less than ideal experiences we have had; at the same time, we all know how lucky we are to be here and we definitely bonded over that fact as well.

            On Friday, our Cape Coast counter-parts were in Accra again, and so we went to the Paloma to stuff ourselves full of western food and proceeded to spend the next several hours experiencing the nightlife Accra is well known for shall we say! We wandered around Osu, looking for the best places to be and were given great suggestions along the way. We went dancing at a couple of places called Container (literally a container with tables set up outside and a very exciting atmosphere) and Duplex (a nice night-club with outrageous prices but great music). I would say that this was one of the best nights I have spent here in Accra – everyone was so friendly, and willing to teach us dance moves, and we met so many people! A fun way to spend a Friday night (and part of the morning!).

           

After a day of rest and shopping on Saturday, we went to Cape Coast for the first time on Sunday. It is a beautiful area, and very different from Accra. Things generally seem to move at a more relaxed pace than in Accra (mind you, we were there on a Sunday and then a public holiday). We almost felt as if we could (literally) breathe easier, with less traffic and thus less exhaust fumes in the air. Accra is a wonderful and exciting city with a great energy, but it was nice to get away again and head towards the ocean! The other thing that surprised me about Cape Coast (though again, we were there on a long weekend when many were travelling to the area), was the number of obrunis in the town. Almost everywhere you looked, you could see groups of 2, 3, sometimes even 20 obrunis walking around! Very strange when we are used to seeing maybe one per week in Accra. Though, it was nice to once again meet people from other places and compare work placements and experiences!

           












After exploring Cape Coast for a bit, we decided to do a tour of Cape Coast Castle, a tourist must-see. Seeing the castle and physically standing in small, dark rooms where 200 people were stuffed for months, left to rot in their own excrement, was a very powerful and emotional experience; even more so than I expected. We read about the slave trade in school and in the museum I was familiar with the characters and practices of the trade. However, actually standing in a building that was so active in the slave trade and seeing the shackles that people were forced to wear was very haunting. We walked through the Door of No Return (as thousands once did), and you could see nothing but open water which was the burial ground for a staggering number of individuals. We lingered around the castle for some time, thinking and taking pictures, reflecting on the significance of the castle and all it represented to the people of Ghana. It was a difficult, moving, and necessary experience to have.

            After the castle we went back to Oasis Beach Resort (which might as well be called Obruni Beach Resort!) and chatted for an hour before dinner. We feasted on red red (typical for me) and pizza, and then were joined by Amber, who is from Acadia, and some of her friends who were all very nice. We chatted and laughed and danced for a few hours, and then settled into bed to prepare for our next day of adventure – Kakum Canopy Walk!

            We set off early for Kakum in order to get there as close to opening as possible – even so, we were definitely not the first ones there! Kakum National Park, where we did the Canopy Walk, is definitely a tourist hot-spot and there were also many school groups present as well. It was very busy, but very fun! We embarked with a large group led by a fantastic guide, Naomi. Members of our group seemed to find us just as thrilling as the walk to the canopy bridges as our pictures were being snapped with our tour-mates all along the way! The walk up was steep and quick through the forest, and we climbed up I do not know how many wet and muddy stone stairs. We reached the first platform to board the first bridge (of which there are seven). The total distance of the walk is 350m and we were suspended up to 40m above the rainforest – much higher than it sounds! I was the excited kind of nervous at the thought of walking across slippery wooden boards bordered on either side by rope netting, but once I got up there and past the first step, I loved it! I did look down once or twice, only to see nothing but the lush forest beneath (no glimpse of the forest floor whatsoever). I have to say, I felt pretty brave and adventurous, and my only complaint about the walk was that it was too short! Even though we lingered on each platform in between bridges to enjoy the views, we had crossed all the bridges before we knew it. The views from that high up were spectacular, even through the misty fog (which actually added to the effect). And it even started to rain a bit while we were in a rainforest, which seemed appropriate!

            After Kakum, we made our way to the Monkey Forest Reserve, an animal sanctuary only 3km from Kakum that is run by a Dutch couple and has been in operation for 9 years. The couple turned an area entirely made of brush into a haven for sick, injured, and orphaned monkeys, snakes, alligators, turtles, and some species of cat and mammals, many endangered, that I had never seen nor heard of previously. We had found out about this place from the Bradt guide, and the admission was most certainly worth it as it all goes to feeding the animals. The idea of the sanctuary is that those animals which can be rehabilitated and released back into the wild are, and those that were too young when rescued and did not acquire survival skills often become permanent residents of the sanctuary unless they are adopted by others of their species. The woman who owns the sanctuary (who had a Dutch name which I completely forget) was, excuse my language, a total badass. She was older and very tough; but she was also very passionate about the work she was doing. All of the animals had names and were clearly treated very well. She explained to us the difficulty that they had been having trying to fight the environmental changes as the forest swallowed up parts of the sanctuary; it has eaten paint of off walls, and crumbled stairs unless they were made of specific stone. She is constantly trying to update, expand, and improve the facilities so as to better take care of the animals, and this was made clear throughout.

            One of the best parts of this experience was the most unexpected (as everything great has been in Ghana!). We were climbing what seemed like a million stairs, when suddenly we got to the top and looked out to see the most spectacular view of the rainforest. The sanctuary overlooks Kakum National Park, though while you could once see the bridges from the trees, now the forest has taken over and blocked the view. I joked that when we lose sight of things at home, it is because we have built enormous buildings, not because the environment has taken over! Then came the best part: turtles. There was a relatively small enclosure at the top of this hill which housed several land and river turtles. They were maybe 6 inches across and 8 inches long, and they were wonderful. Our guide took two of them out of the enclosure and sat them on the ledge while he explained the qualities of their species. I definitely was not listening to any of this information, as I became fixated on getting to hold one of these turtles, and was going over in my head reasons why I would not be able to (of which I could come up with none). So, when our guide asked if any of us wanted to hold one, I was beside myself. I had always liked turtles, it is true; however, I was unaware of how much until I got the opportunity to hold one. The turtle squirmed a bit as I held her, and I just stared at her as I could not believe my good luck. When I went to pass her onto Jessica, she pinned my finger to her little belly. While this was meant to be an aggressive or defensive move I am sure, I of course took it to mean that she loved me and wanted to come to Canada with me. First order of business after graduation – acquire a turtle to share my life with.

            After the reserve, where we also met the most adorable monkeys ever, we went back to Cape Coast and virtually passed out from exhaustion in Baobab’s restaurant. We had not really eaten breakfast and it had been a hectic few days, so we barely made it through lunch awake! The food was great and we decided being sleepy was a good thing as we had a moderately long tro ride ahead. The ride was great for a while, and then to avoid traffic around Kasoa, our driver decided to take the bumpiest back roads in existence. This would have been funny save for the fact that I had a bit of a dodgy tummy anyway, and so it was more unpleasant than amusing. Regardless, we made it home safe and sound and proceeded to pass out.

Thus ends the saga of a very fun weekend in Accra and Cape Coast! More to come, and I will try to post more frequently so as to avoid these marathon posts. Cheers for now!