Hi friends!
It is now Monday, and I had a fantastic long weekend in Accra with Team Ghana. I am so pleased I got to spent so much time with the rest of the team. Friday July 1st was not only Canada Day but also Ghana Republic Day which is a national holiday here, so there was much celebrating to be had. Sara and I left for Accra on Thursday, after I returned from Half Assini. Davina met us at the hustle and bustle of Kaneshi market, one of the larger markets in Accra, which also serves as a tro tro station. A tro tro is a mini van that has been customized to fit many people, and people hop in and out both in and between the cities. We stayed with Davina over the weekend, who has an apartment in Haatcho. We loved becoming familiar with her neighbourhood, cooking for ourselves, and taking tro tros around the city. On Thursday evening, the Canadian Embassy in Accra was hosting all Canadians in Ghana for a barbeque. It was very strange to see so many “obrunis” (white people) in one place! They served burgers, poutine, local beer, and even gave out Tim Hortons coffee as door prizes. I met many Canadians doing interesting things in Ghana- from volunteering, to working, to dancing. I even met a girl from Clinton, a town about 15 minutes from my hometown, and we knew some of the same people.
On Friday all of Team Ghana rose early in the morning a boarded a trotro to Boti falls, which are famous for being the tallest waterfalls in West Africa. It is also the site of umbrella rock and the three headed palm tree, as well as a very very large Ghana Republic Day celebration. To say it was crowded is an understatement. The words mosh pit, mob, and trampling come to mind. We went on a challenging hike to see umbrella work and the three headed palm tree. The landscape was challenging enough, but the real difficulty was that thousands of other Ghanaians were trying to do it as well. We were more pushing than climbing, and it was easily the most chaotic situation I’ve ever been in. That said, the landscapes and views were beautiful, amongst hills and mountains, lush and green. To heighten to challenge, Team Ghana and myself were the only obrunis there, and for the first time, we dealt with significant racism. I’m glad we went to Boti Falls, because we experienced the festivities of Republic Day, but we faced many of the difficulties of being a minority, and learned some important lessons about our own tolerance. In the end, we were unable to see the falls, it was too busy and we were feeling overwhelmed from our hike. In the busy city life, especially as obrunis, it is always easy to catch a taxi or trotro. Not on Republic Day! We were lucky that a school bus took pity on us, not knowing we should have booked a driver back, and we caught a ride back to the city and enjoyed a relaxing evening.
On Saturday, we again rose early to attend a yoga class, but it was cancelled—a blessing in disguise—as we instead spent our morning buying fruits down the street and making our selves a delicious birthday brunch. Davina’s roommate made us her famous delicious French toast (the secret ingredient is rum) which we topped with fruit and syrup. We then met up with Robin, Heather, and our new friend from France, Chloe, to go to Aburi, a town about an hour from Accra. On a side note, one of my favourite things about tros tros, and driving in general, is the array of products available for sale from women selling things in the station and on the road. They walk right up to the vehicle, products on a tray, basket, or crate on their head, and pass them through the windows. I commonly purchase water, plantain chips, gum, and snacks this way, though you can easily get minutes to top up a phone, toothbrushes, soap, razors, toys, bread, fruit- anything really! Sara was very amused by the inflatable beach toys being sold one day. Once in Aburi we went to a bicycle rental place and made went on a guided tour to a waterfall- we were thrilled that was an option and that we got to see one waterfall on our weekend. I enjoyed the mountain biking the best, but we also had some easier sections through fields and villages. We then parked our bikes and hiked the rest of the way to the falls. Once at the waterfall, we jumped right in and went swimming! We spent an hour or two taking photos, swimming, chatting, and relaxing in the beautiful area. A bike and trotro ride later, we were back in Accra finding the ingredients for Davina’s delicious avocado alfredo at the vendors in Haatcho. I even got birthday cake! We finished our day in Osu, a trendy part of Accra, having some drinks. It was a wonderful birthday, and I am so thankful to Davina and the rest of the team for preparing it for me!
On Sunday we slept in and took a very long trip back to Takoradi (Back to the Tak! As Sara and I say!) due to long weekend traffic.
I have several photos I'd like to share, and I'll add them as soon as I can, but my internet connection is not the best right now. Stay tuned!
I am hopefully pairing up with some othe interns at Friends of the Nation this week and surveying the ecology of Esei Lagoon. I’ll keep you updated!
I hope all my Canadian friends had a wonderful Canada Day and long weekend.
Caro
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