Akwaaba! Well actually what I should be saying here is ‘welcome back’ and not just ‘welcome’ because once again, as was the case after my three week holiday to Cambodia at the start of the year, I feel I have somewhat (unintentionally) neglected my blog for the past two weeks as I’ve been off galavanting around Ghana! As this post will no doubt be a long one I feel I should just get to it and avoid all the rambling that I love to do on this thing! So here goes...
Day 1: Tamale
9am - Rachel rides me to tro park, but not without the first mishap of the trip...with Rachel sat on her moto ready to go I attempt (with my over-sized backpack and helmet on) to swing my leg over the moto to hop on behind her, but gravity has other ideas! As I unglamorously have my leg halfway over the bike the weight of my backpack takes me tumbling to the ground and leaves me lying there on my back unable to get up and in absolute hysterics! Eventually after several failed attempts to stand up Rachel hops off her bike to give me a hand and we are on our way...!
12:30pm – Meet Abbie and Nancy in Tama and head for lunch at The Crest! Spend the afternoon walking around the market, eating yoghurt and attempting to find some spots of shade or areas of Tama that are clean from trash!
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| Pineapple, orange and strawberry yoghurt - yummy! |
6pm – Dinner. G&T. Bucket shower. Early to bed!
Day 2: Tamale to Bimbilla
5am – Taxi to Metro Mass bus station to catch ‘regular’ buses to Bimbilla, but no buses are running as the road conditions are too bad!
Taxi to tro park where one tro is heading to Bimbilla, but only when full...
...two hours later the tro is nowhere near full, as we are still the only two people bwanting to go to Bimbilla!
Walk back to Metro Mass bus station where to our delight one bus is going to Bimbilla at 1pm! But as it’s currently 7am we grab a seat because we’re going to be here for a while...
12pm – Get a ticket. Scoff down egg ‘n’ bread lunch. Board bus. Away we go...
6pm – Arrive Bimbilla. Buy tickets to leave Bimbilla on first bus next morning. Check in at Jnr Original Guesthouse. Eat dinner. Shower. Early to bed!
5am – Taxi to Metro Mass bus station to catch ‘regular’ buses to Bimbilla, but no buses are running as the road conditions are too bad!
Taxi to tro park where one tro is heading to Bimbilla, but only when full...
...two hours later the tro is nowhere near full, as we are still the only two people bwanting to go to Bimbilla!
Walk back to Metro Mass bus station where to our delight one bus is going to Bimbilla at 1pm! But as it’s currently 7am we grab a seat because we’re going to be here for a while...
12pm – Get a ticket. Scoff down egg ‘n’ bread lunch. Board bus. Away we go...
6pm – Arrive Bimbilla. Buy tickets to leave Bimbilla on first bus next morning. Check in at Jnr Original Guesthouse. Eat dinner. Shower. Early to bed!
Day 3: Bimbilla to Ho Hoe
7am (lie-in) – Walk to bus station. Eat egg ‘n’ bread ( a recurring theme of our trip) breakfast. Second mishap of the trip (once again involving gravity)...as the bus pulls into the yard I decide it would be a good idea to head to the toilet before we embark on the five hour journey ahead! Now as you can probably imagine the ‘public toilets' here in Ghana are not the greatest! They are usually just a long drop hole in the ground, which require a good squatting position and if you’re lucky they have two walls on either side, but no door! So as I was pulling my trousers up ready to leave I accidentally kicked one of my flip-flops (my favourite (once white) Havaianas that I purchased at the very start of my travels in Brazil and have been all over the World with me since) down the ‘toilet!’ Now I know you’re all probably cringing at what might come next in this story, but rest assured I didn’t love the flip-flop enough to embark on a ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ moment, instead I limped my way back to Abbie who noticed my missing shoe and laughed her head off as I told her the story...
7am (lie-in) – Walk to bus station. Eat egg ‘n’ bread ( a recurring theme of our trip) breakfast. Second mishap of the trip (once again involving gravity)...as the bus pulls into the yard I decide it would be a good idea to head to the toilet before we embark on the five hour journey ahead! Now as you can probably imagine the ‘public toilets' here in Ghana are not the greatest! They are usually just a long drop hole in the ground, which require a good squatting position and if you’re lucky they have two walls on either side, but no door! So as I was pulling my trousers up ready to leave I accidentally kicked one of my flip-flops (my favourite (once white) Havaianas that I purchased at the very start of my travels in Brazil and have been all over the World with me since) down the ‘toilet!’ Now I know you’re all probably cringing at what might come next in this story, but rest assured I didn’t love the flip-flop enough to embark on a ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ moment, instead I limped my way back to Abbie who noticed my missing shoe and laughed her head off as I told her the story...
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| The surviving flip-flop! |
10am – Third mishap of the trip (luckily not to me this time)...the bus was finally ready to depart with all 100+ yams safely under netting on the top so Abbie and I decided it was time to head for our seats! As Abbie stepped up onto the bus she heard a loud rip as her trousers burst wide open at a rather unfortunate place! Being the good friend that I am, I decided that it was now my turn to laugh hysterically at her misfortune!
6pm – Arrive Ho Hoe after a slow yet beautiful bus journey through the North of the Volta region! As I was sat there half way through the journey looking out of the window and admiring the view I had a sudden feeling of peace (how cliche eh?!) where I decided I wanted to close my eyes and really make sure I captured that moment! Now this only happened once on the entire eight hour bus journey and it just so happened to be at exactly the same time that Abbie turned to me to unleash a four-letter-word rant about the bus driver who was driving ridiculously slowly and on some sort of power trip! Moment of peace and tranquility lost, but I did manage to make Abbie laugh when I told her what she’d just interrupted!
6pm – Arrive Ho Hoe after a slow yet beautiful bus journey through the North of the Volta region! As I was sat there half way through the journey looking out of the window and admiring the view I had a sudden feeling of peace (how cliche eh?!) where I decided I wanted to close my eyes and really make sure I captured that moment! Now this only happened once on the entire eight hour bus journey and it just so happened to be at exactly the same time that Abbie turned to me to unleash a four-letter-word rant about the bus driver who was driving ridiculously slowly and on some sort of power trip! Moment of peace and tranquility lost, but I did manage to make Abbie laugh when I told her what she’d just interrupted!
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| A passing tro, which made me realise how lucky I was to be able to afford a seat on the bus! |
Day 4: Ho Hoe
After checking in at Taste Lodge last night we decided today was a day of adventure and no travel, so what better way to spend it than at Tsatsudo waterfall...
After checking in at Taste Lodge last night we decided today was a day of adventure and no travel, so what better way to spend it than at Tsatsudo waterfall...
Day 5: Wli Falls
Today is Easter Sunday, a day that I would normally spend with my family, hunting down Easter eggs, enjoying a family lunch then scoffing chocolate in front of a DVD in the afternoon! However as I can’t do that, why not another waterfall! This meant that after a free breakfast of omelette, toast and milo we set off by tro to Wli Falls ‘the largest waterfall in West Africa’ (this status is yet to be confirmed)!
Today is Easter Sunday, a day that I would normally spend with my family, hunting down Easter eggs, enjoying a family lunch then scoffing chocolate in front of a DVD in the afternoon! However as I can’t do that, why not another waterfall! This meant that after a free breakfast of omelette, toast and milo we set off by tro to Wli Falls ‘the largest waterfall in West Africa’ (this status is yet to be confirmed)!
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| Me infront of the waterfall before donning my bikini to go into the pool! |
At the falls we met four Canadian guys volunteering in Tama through ‘Engineers Without Borders!’ They had planned to camp overnight at a site one hour away from the falls, which Abbie and I thought would be great fun, but there was one drawback...we had already checked into the beautiful Waterfall Lodge in Wli! So the six of us plotted our great escape from the Lodge and then we would ride three on each bike to the camp site where we would have a much cheaper night under the stars! However as with all good plans, we couldn’t check out of the lodge without paying for the room we hadn't even been into yet so ended up arranging to meet the EWB’s at our next stop in Ho instead...
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| The view from our room at Waterfall Lodge! |
Day 6: Ho Hoe to Ho
8am – Tro from Wli to Ho Hoe.
10am – Tro from Ho Hoe to Ho.
12pm – Check in at Mayflower Guesthouse.
8am – Tro from Wli to Ho Hoe.
10am – Tro from Ho Hoe to Ho.
12pm – Check in at Mayflower Guesthouse.
2pm – Bump into Adele, Kelly and Jacky from ICT. Head to Talk of the Town spot and chop bar for lunch.
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| The sky after lunch, but it did not rain or storm at all! |
7pm – Meet two of EWB’s at Queens View for beer – Club and dinner – ‘Cow’ Kebabs, Banku and Tilapia.
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| The dreaded banku with yummy tilapia! |
Day 7: Ho
After our late night last night we decided it would be a good idea to wake up at 6am to go climb a mountain today! Adaklu mountain is 15km south of Ho so what better way to travel there than three on a moto – the rider, Abbie and I!
After our late night last night we decided it would be a good idea to wake up at 6am to go climb a mountain today! Adaklu mountain is 15km south of Ho so what better way to travel there than three on a moto – the rider, Abbie and I!
Our three hour hike up the mountain can only be summed up like this...
Harder than the Inca Trail. Rock climbing. Cave writing. Stings. Ropes. Abseiling. Falling. Crawling. Barefoot. Slipping. Sliding. Mud. Scratches. Water. Breath-taking views. Happiest moment in Ghana. Teenage boys. Machettes. Stupid. Reckless. The most adventurous trek of my entire life.
Harder than the Inca Trail. Rock climbing. Cave writing. Stings. Ropes. Abseiling. Falling. Crawling. Barefoot. Slipping. Sliding. Mud. Scratches. Water. Breath-taking views. Happiest moment in Ghana. Teenage boys. Machettes. Stupid. Reckless. The most adventurous trek of my entire life.
And the adventure can only be shown like this...
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| Abbie and I after the short trek up to the starting village...wewere puffed after that let alone what was to come! |
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| Adding my name alongside those in the cave! |
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| Me embracing the dirt after falling or sliding in the mud hundreds of times! |
With breath-taking views at the top like this...
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| My excitement having reached the top! |
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| Abbie and I looking down at the village where we began the trek 3 hours earlier! |
After all this we then grabbed a quick lunch, showered and hopped in a tro to Atimpoku...
Day 8: Atimpoku and Akesombo
After persuading Abbie that we should splash out at the end of our trip and spend 40GHC instead of our usual 30GHC on accomodation we checked ourselves into Aylo’s Bay last night and woke up this morning to a yummy breakfast by the lake, which was definitely worth the extra 5GHC (£2) each!
After persuading Abbie that we should splash out at the end of our trip and spend 40GHC instead of our usual 30GHC on accomodation we checked ourselves into Aylo’s Bay last night and woke up this morning to a yummy breakfast by the lake, which was definitely worth the extra 5GHC (£2) each!
We then headed to Akesombo Dam, a tourist attraction in Ghana and one especially favoured by engineers for it’s genius mechanics!
So after being less than excited by our trip to the Dam we did what we do best and headed back to the lake, markets and for a drink!
Now as beautiful as the lake is, we both agreed that we needed some city life for a few days so jumped on an afternoon tro headed to Accra, the big Capital City of Ghana...
Day 9: Accra
9am – What would be the first thing two country girls from Ghana’s Uppers (Abbie Upper West, Me Upper East) do when they find themselves on Ghana’s Atlantic Coast...yep you guessed it, we rush straight for the beach...La Badi Beach!! We spend five hours baking ourselves in the Ghanaian rays and avoiding the rough and tumble of the Ghanaian waves!
6pm – Burger and Chips dinner with Adele at Semi’s spot and chop bar.
9pm – Massive thunderstorm. Early to bed.
9am – What would be the first thing two country girls from Ghana’s Uppers (Abbie Upper West, Me Upper East) do when they find themselves on Ghana’s Atlantic Coast...yep you guessed it, we rush straight for the beach...La Badi Beach!! We spend five hours baking ourselves in the Ghanaian rays and avoiding the rough and tumble of the Ghanaian waves!
6pm – Burger and Chips dinner with Adele at Semi’s spot and chop bar.
9pm – Massive thunderstorm. Early to bed.
Day 10: Accra
The big day that the whole World had been waiting for...the Royal Wedding had arrived! I watch the special occasion on a dodgy Ghanaian TV with tears in my eyes and a longing for home! But after a few texts back and forth to loved-ones I soon man-up and do what all vols do best when in the Capital...shop! Abbie and I hit Osu aka ‘Oxford Street’ to buy cloth and enjoy some much missed smoothies! We then tro it to Accra Mall where we purchase chocolate, oil, nuts etc and treat ourselves to a 10GHC lunch while watching CNN report on the wedding highlights!
7pm - we eventually stroll home just in time to shower and get dressed for Adele and Irene’s ‘not the royal wedding party’ where actually what we end up doing when numbers start to dwindle is play Pictionary into the early hours and realise just how bad each other’s drawing skills are!
The big day that the whole World had been waiting for...the Royal Wedding had arrived! I watch the special occasion on a dodgy Ghanaian TV with tears in my eyes and a longing for home! But after a few texts back and forth to loved-ones I soon man-up and do what all vols do best when in the Capital...shop! Abbie and I hit Osu aka ‘Oxford Street’ to buy cloth and enjoy some much missed smoothies! We then tro it to Accra Mall where we purchase chocolate, oil, nuts etc and treat ourselves to a 10GHC lunch while watching CNN report on the wedding highlights!
7pm - we eventually stroll home just in time to shower and get dressed for Adele and Irene’s ‘not the royal wedding party’ where actually what we end up doing when numbers start to dwindle is play Pictionary into the early hours and realise just how bad each other’s drawing skills are!
Day 11: Accra
Our last day in Accra we manage to fill with pizza, pizza and more pizza!
12:30pm – 2-4-1 pizza lunch at Paloma Hotel with Adele and Irene.
4pm – Arrive at STC bus station for 5pm bus to Wa.
5pm – Bus to Wa is delayed until 11pm.
6pm – 2-4-1 pizza dinner at Paloma Hotel.
9pm – Leave Paloma Hotel to return to bus station for 11pm bus to Wa.
9:02pm – Bump into Aiden, Irene and Anthony outside Paloma Hotel.
9:03pm – Walk back into Paloma Hotel for a beer while the guys enjoy 2-4-1 pizza.
9:45pm – Leave Paloma Hotel for the third time today to return to bus station for 11pm bus to Wa.
1am – Bus to Wa finally leaves after eight hour delay!
Our last day in Accra we manage to fill with pizza, pizza and more pizza!
12:30pm – 2-4-1 pizza lunch at Paloma Hotel with Adele and Irene.
4pm – Arrive at STC bus station for 5pm bus to Wa.
5pm – Bus to Wa is delayed until 11pm.
6pm – 2-4-1 pizza dinner at Paloma Hotel.
9pm – Leave Paloma Hotel to return to bus station for 11pm bus to Wa.
9:02pm – Bump into Aiden, Irene and Anthony outside Paloma Hotel.
9:03pm – Walk back into Paloma Hotel for a beer while the guys enjoy 2-4-1 pizza.
9:45pm – Leave Paloma Hotel for the third time today to return to bus station for 11pm bus to Wa.
1am – Bus to Wa finally leaves after eight hour delay!
Day 12: Wa
2pm – Arrive Wa. Taxi to Uplands Hotel. Shower. Stand under a/c. Watch CNN.
3pm – Lunch with Damien and Jackie
7pm – Dinner with team TENI. Early to bed to watch CNN.
Day 13: Wa
TENI meeting on public holiday – dedication to the cause!
2pm – Arrive Wa. Taxi to Uplands Hotel. Shower. Stand under a/c. Watch CNN.
3pm – Lunch with Damien and Jackie
7pm – Dinner with team TENI. Early to bed to watch CNN.
Day 13: Wa
TENI meeting on public holiday – dedication to the cause!
Day 14: Wa to Bolga
3:20am – Wake up. Shower. Pack.
4am – VSO car to Metro Mass station
6:30am – Board bus. Cat fight between two Ghanaian women on bus. Moto accident outside. Man with head injury taken to hospital.
7am – Leave Wa heading for home.
2pm – Arrive Bolga.
2:30pm – Home with stories of adventure to tell and laundry to do! Roll on the next vacation in July to Togo and Benin is all I can say...!
3:20am – Wake up. Shower. Pack.
4am – VSO car to Metro Mass station
6:30am – Board bus. Cat fight between two Ghanaian women on bus. Moto accident outside. Man with head injury taken to hospital.
7am – Leave Wa heading for home.
2pm – Arrive Bolga.
2:30pm – Home with stories of adventure to tell and laundry to do! Roll on the next vacation in July to Togo and Benin is all I can say...!
WOW!!!! The pics are amazing! And what an incredible view at the top of that mountain!!! What an adventure! I have lots of stories from Russia, will hopefully skype with you soon! No machettes, sliding or mud though... more museums, cathedrals, stunning architecture and vodka!!!
ReplyDeleteBig hugs xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Did you only look at the pics Annie and not read the content?! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe views from the top of the mountain were indeed stunning, which made the hard work of getting there very worthwhile!
Can't wait to hear about Russia, especially the vodka part! And your birthday too, hope Steven spoiled you rotten the whole day long and you got some lovely pressies!
Let me know when's good for Skype...
Loves, hugs, kisses and misses
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I think I probably do the opposite to Anneka, I read the words and glance at the pictures. I hope mummy doesn't read it too closely, she'll probably have a heart-attack. Certainly beats the british 'staycation' !
ReplyDeleteThat makes a change for you, well done!
ReplyDeleteWhy would she have a heart-attack? I didn't put that I nearly died in there this time!
xx
She will most definitely worry about the following:
ReplyDeleteTeenage boys. Machettes. Stupid. Reckless. The most adventurous trek of my entire life.
Excuse me people, this lady definitely reads the words!!!! How else would I know about the machettes and all the mentions of 2-4-1 pizzas??! Tsk! xx
ReplyDeleteHannah this sounds absolutely amazing - you are so brave for completing that trek and very patient waiting hours for all the buses! Gutted about the flip flop incident, any excuse to buy some new shoes eh!!
ReplyDeleteMissing you lots troll! No major news from me - work is busy and Russ and I are off to Malta in a few weeks so im very excited! The bikini diet starts now! (well.. maybe tomorrow...!!)
Annie and I are also going to start training for our 5k in July! worried were going to collapse in a heap otherwise!
Speak soon - maybe i could skype with you too? xxxx
Bubs,
ReplyDeleteSO lovely to hear from you, although I do know I have an email from you that I MUST reply to when I get chance!
Very quickly...I've got a Skype date with Annie tonight at 8pm your time, 7pm mine...you in?
If not I'm in Tama this weekend, but could do an evening next week for sure...! Would be good to catch up before you and Russ jet off to Malta (seriously jealous about that by the way)!
Huge Loves as always!
Mwah
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