10th updateOn the 26th of December I went to Ada Foah as planned. It wasn't as nice as expected - probably because I have been to the place (Green Turtle Lodge) already. It was cool the way this place is situated, however: Just by the Volta River Delta, so the beach resort was on a beach only 200 m wide with the Volta River on one side and the ocean on the other side. The resort itself and the food served there were not at all anything special, though, which is the reason why I stayed there only one night and then headed to Ada Foah town together with 5 Australian girls at my age. We had dinner together and shared rooms, which was nice. They were nice company but one and a half day with them all together was enough. Madelaine and Karishma were really nice but some of the other girls were a bit too much in the long run. Then it is good to travel on your own so you can leave when you like :)
On the 28th I travelled on my own to Ho, the capital of the Volta Region, which I am travelling at the moment. That place being the capital of a big region was really surprising; there is almost nothing there! In the afternoon I went to a close by place where they do the traditional Ghanaian Kente weaving which was very nice and colorful to see. A guy also let me try :) It will be easier to understand when photos come - the photo part is really difficult, however. The connections all around Ghana are so incredibly bad - I even consider heading all the way to Takoradi at the end of my Ghana round trip only to get to the great internet café there, where I can upload photos…Ho is so small that it was difficult even to find a place to eat - I was the only one at all the restaurants I went to! I ended up at a hotel restaurant where there later came three other obrunies with whom I had a drink afterwards.
On the 29th I went to a very small village (only 1.500 inhabitants) called Helekpe at the foot of Adaklu Mountain. My first day there was a bit odd. The guy who is in charge of the tourism part was not around but he would be back at around 2pm, I was told. Time passed 2pm. Time passed 4pm. Time passed 6pm. Still, he hadn't come. I got hungry. The guy I was waiting for was also the guy who should arrange food for me (there are no places to buy anything at all). During all my waiting I had been talking to a guy called Frank who brought me to his family which is the nicest family! So so friendly and hospitable - and they all spoke well English (even though Frank's parents are around 60 years old) and Twi, so we had no problems talking together (which is a problem elsewhere in the Volta Region since they speak Ewe here). They found out about my dinner problems and made me a lovely dinner - so nice of them, and totally free of charge :) After dinner I met Fu Della (the guy I had been waiting for) and we arranged a mountain hike the following day at 6am. So the day ended very well - after a day with lots of waiting time and no food: thank God for my rye bread and bananas!The following day it was mountain time, and the mountain was very steep! It was really a challenge with ropes and everything, but it was a nice challenge and good exercise: One and a half hour to get up - and it was steep ALL the way! I was sweating like crazy even though time hadn't passed 7am… It was unfortunately cloudy when we got to the top so there was no spectacular view, but the satisfying feeling of climbing the mountain was nice. The way down was less sweaty and hard but a lot more difficult due to the mountain being so steep. Unfortunately some stones were loose and I fell - it wasn't too bad luckily, but later I found out that I must have fallen on my beloved camera which is now broken :( I hate it. Me + cameras + travels = bad combination. I don't know what to do… Cameras are so damn expensive. The photo taking function still works but the screen is broken so I cannot see what I am photographing and I cannot see the photos until I get to a computer, but maybe it is good enough that way…? Crap!Anyway, after the climb, a shower and clothes washing it was time for more waiting… Fu Della had promised to take me on a walk around the village but he had left and people said he would be back around 2pm… Does that sound familiar??? So I spent the waiting time reading my (luckily) very good book for hours. When I got hungry at lunchtime I still didn't know how to get food… After several tries I finally succeeded in getting some fried eggs to eat with my rye bread, and at 3pm Fu Della came back and we went for the walk. On the walk we visited a Canadian missionary family who has settled in this small village for 6 years. There also lives an American family in the village. The Canadians invited me on dinner (wee - solution to food problem) so I went there later and had spaghetti for dinner with chocolate cake for dessert! :) and I also had an interesting talk with the mother. I cannot help having prejudices against missionaries - too much church to my taste - but this family was down to earth and nice to talk to, and they also help out the locals in the community in other ways than church. Interesting to choose to live in rural Ghana for so many years.My two days in Helekpe were overall very nice, I think. It was good to live a village life again around nice people, and it was some very inexpensive days as well (I spent less than 5 euros in two days!). The mountain climb and meeting Frank's family were the best parts :)
Now I am back in Ho and after this internet section I head to Hohoe further north in the Volta Region where the changes of meeting fellow travelers might be bigger than in Ho due to tourist attractions in Hohoe. If I don't meet any today my New Years Eve date will be my book which suits me fine - New Years Eve is nothing special to me, and my book is really good :) But of course it would be nice to meet somebody - time will show. I'll be happy whatever tonight brings - my expectations are low.In Hohoe there is a big water fall which I'll probably head to see tomorrow and after Hohoe I will work my way back downwards in Volta Region via the Avatime Hills. Here it would be nice with fellow travelers so I will hopefully meet some in Hohoe either today or tomorrow.
Happy New Year to you all! Best wishes for 2010.
Signe