You know that deserted, sand-strewn paradise that the marketing gurus unabashedly exploit to get us to invest/sip/stuff/spend (
feel free to substitute your favourite consumer behaviour)? Well, it exists in Ghana. And the best part? So long as you can get yourself there, rent on the place--which includes hammock, basic shelter, tanning chairs, and your choice of the deafening awe of the Atlantic, or the warm waters of the Volta River--is merely the price of a cold, 1.5 litre bottle of Voltic Ghanaian mineral water and a Star beer! For the record, the proces were a little inflated, so the drink bill was just over three Ghana Cedis (equivalent to the same in Canadian dollars!).
For our first trip outside of the city, and into Africa, we decided to drive into the Volta Region, named for the river and lake. Within about an hour and a half, we had covered a lush landscape, spotted with mighty Bao Bao trees, to arrive at Ada, a small community on the banks of the Volta River. We saw poverty and environmental prosperity as we travelled. I cannot help but wonder and worry about what the future holds both for the people and for the landscape.
The Volta River stretches between the base of the lake, and the Atlantic Ocean. The Volta Lake was created when the Akosombo Dam was built, which was yet another of the many projects of the biggest of Ghana's "Big Six" forefathers, Kwame Nkrumah. Today, it is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world and it nourishes roughly seventy-percent of Ghana with its reach. It is also a great source of income for Ghana as they sell electricity from the dam to neighbouring Togo and Benin (this does not mean, however, that power outages are not common!). We hired a boat (45 Cedis return fare for seven--we took Douglas, the driver, as he is the son of farmers and wanted to go on the boat--and for a tour of the estuary region) that took us out to the massive sand dune that is the Ada Foah Estuary.
On our way out to the estuary, we passed a number of fishing villages. Both the people and their boats were of great interest as we moved past. It felt as though we were intruding for a couple of moments as the river serves as a natural bathhouse, particularly at the end of a long day of hauling nets!
Ada Foah Estuary...Paradise Found!
There are a few makeshift resorts there, but we were honestly alone. You can rent a small hut, complete with queen size bed and mosquito netting, for around 10 Cedis a night. They also have bonfires, music and dancing when people want it and when the sea turtles arrive to to leave their eggs in a couple of months, they wil wake you in the mroning to witness the spectacle. As an aside, I love the wry symbolism (intended or not--though I'd like to think intended!) in the picture above of the tattered Union Jack flapping in the ocean gusts above Cohen's head as he combs the river bottom for shells and crabs. We filled many contaners with shells, including a small conch and a sand dollar.
All in all, it was a wonderful day and we will not soon forget it!! I have a hunch it is just the sort of day that will set the bar for all of our future excursions.
As our year in Ghana begins to draw to a close, we are trying to check off a few last destinations before we depart. This past weekend we loaded up the kids and we drove to Ghana's Wli (the Ghanaian pronunciation of Wli is actually vlee so the Beverly Hillbillies allusion works), said to be West Africa's tallest waterfall. Like many things in Ghana, this "fact" comes straight from the unsubstantiated authority of the guides at the falls, who have seldom, if ever, been to another waterfall in West Africa. As the falls are situated amidst the elevated forests of the mountains (that partly form the border with Togo), I think tallest is referring more to their elevation above sea level than to the distance from top to bottom. Whatever the case, grand claims cannot diminish or heighten the awesome spectacle of nature that is the Wli Falls. 
The drive to Wli took several hours (including several stops and shops) and took us through the beautiful hills of the Volta Region. We stayed at a decent hotel in Hohoe, and made our way to the falls in the morning. The trek into the falls took about forty-five minutes in (uphill) and more like thirty minutes out (downhill and we were hungry). The hike in reminded us of many we had taken on Vancouver Island, and while the pathway steadily climbs, it is relatively cool, breezy, and clean. We crossed nine bridges along the ample footpath on the way up. The counting kept Materia more than amused while Finn kept himself and his parents thoroughly occupied by threatening to fall into the water through or off of those rather dodgily constructed bridges.
We deliberately tried to get to the falls before the rainy season sets in as the power and the spray of the falls makes it more difficult to hike in or even get close to the falls. We did not brave the popular hike to the upper falls as it is much more demanding and we were not up for carrying the two little ones the distance. Apparently there is also a pool at the top that is beautiful for swimming. The area at the base of the falls was one of the first where we actually imagined ourselves having a picnic and we were invited to join a Ghanaian family that had hauled in lunch with them. The kids played in the shallows at the base of the falls and explored the rocky pathways leading to the mountain wall, and we all enjoyed the fresh, misty spray from the falls. This is one of Ghana's most popular tourist destinations, and it is pretty obvious as you drive through the village responsible and it is easy to see why! 
This region seems to be known for traditional bead-making and had we taken a different route, we would have taken in Cedi's Bead Factory. The unit of currency used to be the small cowry shell, called a cedi, hence the origin of the name today. We stopped at a spot where there were a couple of market stalls run by the women who made most of the jewelry they were selling. We can quickly get overwhelmed by sellers who pick up the kids, place clothing on them or give them toys or souvenirs, depending on the market, but this one was unique in that we were allowed to browse. For about ten Ghana cedis, we bought two bracelets, two necklaces, and two key chains. To be honest, I think we overpaid, but that is a relative matter of perspective. Cuyler even selected a bracelet and then proceeded to change his mind roughly 70 times in the span of a minute and a half. Below are brass pieces that would be more in keeping with that which was worn by the Ashanti people, though they used gold, not brass.
The turnaround point for our journey was the Akosombo Dam in the tourist village of Akosombo. The village itself was a pristine, gated community that is thought by many in Accra to be a jewel in Ghana's great crown. The village was originally built as a home for the hundreds of workers who constructed the dam. One is left with the impression, rather ironically, that for many in the surrounding villages and rural areas the dam is a rather cruel and constant reminder of the power shortages they face in the long shadow cast by hydro towers that don't seem to be there for their benefit. With an election on the horizon (more about this in a later entry), this is a significant issue. We saw more than a few makeshift, roadside signs that declared: No lights, no vote! This might explain why those in rural areas are a little less quick to boast of the splendour of the dam.
The dam is an impressive monument to industrialization and development in much the same way that the Hoover Dam is. We spent the same duration admiring it as we did at the U.S.'s version--roughly the amount of time it took to snap the above picture. The region is (admittedly) a finer, greener tribute to what is one of Kwame Nkrumah's greater contributions to Ghana. One cannot deny the impressive, sustainable impact that the massive Volta Lake has had on agriculture and development in much of Ghana. Below is an example of the Volta's ecoregion and a section of the largest manmade lake in the world. 
By the time we had arrived and looked around a little, the day's heat (and the earlier explorations in Shai Hills Reserve) had taken their toll. As has become our custom, it was time to seek a poolside refuge to quell or spirits and our imaginations. Worthy to the task today was the Afrikiko Resort, a little south of Akosombo. It cost a mere 12 Ghana cedis for all of us and we had, as the picture foretells, the entire pool to ourselves for the afternoon. The pools in Ghana almost always have a kiddie pool and I must say that each time we dip our toes into a tropical oasis such as this one, our family's sanity--always in jeopardy on a heat-infused roadtrip--is immediately restored. All of the children are becoming pretty darn comfortable paddling around in the water. Of course Cuyler and Materia have water wings or a life jacket, and at least one parent within arm's reach. 
The hotel was reminiscent of something one might find in the Lake District (without the dreary rain, damp cold and whopping prices!) and one could once again imagine spending entirely too much time here. On the way home, we enjoyed a round of Fan ice cream which comes in a little pouch that you bite the corner off of and then squeeze out the creamy deliciousness. The sellers ride bikes that cannot resemble Dickie Dee sellers so closely by coincidence alone. They don't have bells but they do have a little clown car horn that sets us to Pavlovian drool in a highly vulnerable hurry! As we had a late lunch and no supper, we also gobbled up a couple of bags of plantain chips, another family road trip favourite that has become the African version of Twizzlers or Old Dutch Popcorn Twists. Hmmm...if only I were paid for such blatant product placements. Who among us doesn't have a craving at this very moment?
