We woke up on Friday and decided that we had been almost horizontal for too long so we decided to visit a local beauty spot called Wli (pronounced Vli) Falls. We had read somewhere (probably that Bradt Guide again!) that the Wli Falls were the highest falls in West Africa so it would have been a pity to miss them, wouldn't it?

This wasn't a long journey and we shared a cab with about three others so it was a very luxurious ride by Ghanaian standards. We were dropped off very close to the cluster of trader's stalls that marked the entrance to the attraction. It was just before 9:00 a.m. and we seemed to be the only visitors. We were shown great courtesy at the registration point where we paid 10 Cedis each plus one Cedi for the camera. They are funny about photography here in Ghana and seem to want to charge for every photo that you take. We were told that you should always ask permission to take photos anywhere, especially of people and we have found that there are areas where you simply sense that it would not be wise to take a photo. However paying my one Cedi meant that, at least here, I could take as many photos as I liked!

We were introduced to Mateus, our guide and set off into the forest along a well-trodden path. Mateus was an excellent guide and pointed out cocoa trees, Ebony trees, pineapples, Papaya trees, and even coffee beans, still green on the stem, and the narcotic Cola Nut which is chewed to give energy and for purification. We stepped over lines of marching ants, the occasional huge soldier ant and crossed nine bridges while Mateus regaled us with local folk history and the story of the discovery of the falls and the good fortune they had bought to the area. Eventually after a thirty minute walk, and with no warning at all the temperature suddenly dropped by maybe 20 degrees and we could feel a fresh dampness in the air. Mateus asked us to stop while he asked the spirits for permission for us to visit the falls. He shouted an Ewe (the local language, pronounced ee-hway) chant up to the massive rock face and waited for the echo. It was a very eerie moment and seemed charged with magic. He then told us that we had the permission of the spirits to do whatever we wanted at the falls. All we could do was stand in complete awe and stare at the breathtaking falls. And this was only 60 meters of the lower falls. We ventured as close as the noise and spray would allow us and amazingly very quickly began to feel quite chilled. Ten minutes earlier I would have dived without question into a chilled pool but it was remarkable how quickly the desire disappeared. Mandy asked if the spirits would object if we had a cigarette and Mateus assured us that we could do whatever we wanted, the spirits had granted permission.

A few minutes later we had to make a decision. Did we want to climb to the top of the upper falls some 85 metres above the top of the lower falls? We debated a while, me feeling my age a little and eventually Mateus suggested that for another three Cedis he would lead us up to a viewpoint from which we could see the upper falls. Well I've always loved a compromise, especially one which results in my survival so we agreed with Mateus to climb to the view point. This turned out to be an excellent decision and from the view point we could see the entire 150 metres of the falls. This was a truly spectacular sight. On the way back Mandy's feet seemed to become very attractive to ants and every now and then we had to stop while Mateus picked biting ants from between Mandy's toes. Dirty job but someone has to do it!

When we got back to the reception area we bought a lovely cold drink from one of the stall holders and unfortunately, as we were still the only visitors we were the only potential customers and we were offered cut price after cut price for the wide array of carved animals and beads. Eventually we purchased a little gift from one stall holder and upset all the others who had no hesitation in letting us know that they were upset! Oh how I wished for a compromise now!

We slunk away from the village and very quickly found a shared taxi back to Ho-Hoe and after about half a mile the driver stopped to pick up a girl of about 18 or so, this was a shared taxi after all. It seemed that the only place left in the taxi was sharing the front seat with me so I got out so that she could squeeze between me and the driver. Much to the delight of the other passengers, she looked me up and down with a look of utter distain and said "Don't you make no moves Yavoo!" (Yavoo is Ewe for Obruni, or White Man literal translation is "sly dog") Mandy muttered something along the lines of "she should be so lucky!" from her comfortable position sandwiched between a potbellied man with a stiff arm and yet another voluminous Ghanaian lady in full national dress.

We returned to Taste Lodge and later in the afternoon we visited Jojo and Master Richard to collect my shirt. Jojo was in very poor health so we settled up for the shirt, they only charged 8 Cedis for making it so a total of only 22 Cedis, about £9 including the material. Once again, What a Bargain.

I decided to dress in my new shirt for dinner and the entire Taste Lodge staff applauded as I emerged from our room looking truly African. Florence joined us for a drink before dinner and once again showed us that legendry Ghanaian hospitality. This was our last night at Taste Lodge and we were truly sad to be leaving.