Thursday, February 24, 2011

Volta Region Weekend Trip

This weekend our ISEP group headed out to the Volta Region of Ghana which is a few hours east of Accra towards Togo.  I was so happy that I was able to get out of the hospital in time on Friday to leave for the trip Saturday because originally the doctor said that I wouldn't be able to leave until at best sometime on Saturday.The ride there was slowed down by the constant stream of bathroom stops that had to be made. And don't expect "bathroom stops" in Ghana on bumpy dirt roads largely in the middle of no where to actually include any form of a restroom.
We arrived first at the Monkey Sanctuary around noon and were lead through the village that the sanctuary has been created, which was amazing to think that these people get to hang out with the monkey's all the time! We were told to be quiet as our guide started doing his "monkey call" and we began to see about 5-10 monkeys start to come out of the trees, but because there were so many of us they were pretty shy and most of them didn't really come down except to get bananas from us.  Then our guide said there was a bigger group of monkeys in another area of the sanctuary so we rushed over there and found about 20 or more monkeys just hanging out (pun intended) in the trees. They were adorable and pretty friendly but I would love to go back again in a smaller group because then they wouldn't have been so overwhelmed and may have played with us more.
After the monkey's we rushed back to the van to head to the Wli waterfall which is the largest waterfall in West Africa and was about an hour away.  To get to the waterfall we went on a beautiful 30 minute hike through the lush tropical forest and I knew we were getting close when I heard the thunderous noise of rushing water.  As we approached the waterfall I literally was in absolute awe by the size and natural beauty and how HUGE it was. I've never really seen a legit waterfall in person and this was by far one of the most beautiful natural wonders I have and may ever see.  It almost looked like something straight out of a National Geographic magazine.  Once we all got over our initial shock we headed into the water, which was surprisingly cold but refreshing, and went straight towards the bottom of the falls.  The water was incredibly powerful but we still managed to climb up some of the rock base behind the fall before getting pelted with its force.  As I stood there under the waterfall I was so humbled by how small I felt being in the presence of something with such natural power and beauty and it felt almost as though I was completely in God's presence.  I almost wish I could just go back and sit there and just simply stare at the waterfall all day.  We also learned that just on the other side of of the waterfall is the Togo border because apparently Ghana and Togo had a fight over who should get it and obviously Ghana won.

On Sunday we made our way over to a Kente weaving village/ecotourism center.  Kente is a beautiful type of fabric that if woven to made gorgeous dresses, bags, etc. and is a staple of traditional Ghanaian fashion.  The center was filled with about 20 looms where the local workers do their magic and create the Kente clothe.  Each of us got a chance to try out weaving one of the very simple patterns and I was feeling pretty good about how easy it seemed once I got the hang of it, and then I watched one of the guys do it and realized that he was doing like 5 colors at a time and going at lighting speed...I was also able to buy a beautiful purse that was made there, and it was just a very neat experience to get to see first hand out this beautiful clothe is made.
When we got back to Accra Sunday afternoon some of us decided to go out and try to find a Mexican restaurant that I had seen on one of the main streets downtown.  I assumed it had Mexican food because it was named El Dorado's and it had a character with a sombrero on the outside.  Apparently all of those clues do not mean anything in Ghana because when we got there we discovered that it was a gambling/roulette lounge...yeah that makes a lot of sense. What was even more disappointing is the fact that apparently there are no Mexican restaurants in all of Accra, so I'm thinking after this semester I should def. open one up here and bring much needed mexican food to Ghana!

4 comments:

  1. please bring mexican to ghana:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. "I've never really seen a legit waterfall in person"

    You live that close to the mountains and you've never seen a real waterfall? When you come up for the Tech game (where we're going to win!) we'll go to one really cool waterfall. It's called the Cascades!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great post, Casey! Always nice to see the Volta Region getting a shout-out :)

    Students on ThisWorldMusic's UMASS accredited Ghana program (http://bit.ly/Ghana-Study-Abroad) live and study at the Dagbe Cultural Institute & Arts Centre in the village of Kopeyia, studying traditional West African drumming, dancing and singing with local artists.

    Did the Kente weaving village/ecotourism center in the Volta Region happen to be on the road to Ho, close to Denu? If so, you were literally right down the street from us the Dagbe Institute!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Also, be sure to check out student reviews of the ThisWorldMusic/UMASS Ghana program on Abroad101, a great new site that universities and study abroad providers are now using to collect their study abroad program evaluations:

    Study in Ghana reviews - Abroad101.com

    ReplyDelete