Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – In Which Phileas Fogg Clinton Lewis and Passepartout Natalie charter a leaky boat, spend the night with monkeys, find themselves three on a motorbike, and bathe under waterfalls, and find the bag running rather short on bank notes.

For those of you of a literary bent you may be familiar with Jules Vern 1873 novel Around the World in 80 Days. It is one of the novels I brought with me on audiobook and I very much enjoyed listening to it. Thus, I thought I would pay it homage in my title, placing myself of course in the role of the inestimable, indefatigable, and ever English gentleman, Phileas Fogg.

This weekend proved to be a series of most excellent adventure, providing both myself and Natalie with many memories.

We began our excursion on Friday afternoon. The hospital kindly provided us with a vehicle and driver which took us the 30 minutes on gravel roads of varying quality (mediocre to terrible) to a little village by the lake. Here the driver informed us that there were no public boats going across the lake to Kpando our immediate destination. Thus, our only option was to charter a boat to take us across. After hailing an appropriate young man a price of sixty-five cedi for the journey was agreed upon, down from one hundred cedi. The boat upon first examination appeared to be quite serviceable - about a twenty-five foot aluminum fishing boat for the journey of some thirty kilometres. After the young captain carried the 40 horsepower outboard motor down to the boat, on his head the boat was placed in the water, the motor affixed, monies paid, and we boarded our vessel. As we pushed off through the shallow and wonderfully warm waters of the shore of Lake Volta there were certain cold fingers of trepidation caressing my spine as I considered the distance to be traveled and the in rushing of water from the multiple cracks, holes, and other assorted leaks in the aluminum. Of most significance was perhaps the fact that it was possible to see daylight through one of the holes in the bow. There was also a constant spraying at the bottom of the bow where two cracks, one on either side provided a rather merry little fountain display of water coming in. The right side of the bow, approximately half way up also had a 30cm or so long crack. Each time we would come over one of the waves (about 2 feet high but smooth and rolling) in the middle of the lake we would crash down and the water would spurt through this long crack like blood spurting from an artery. The purpose of the extra men in the boat (there were three guys as well as Natalie and myself) became apparent - one to drive, one to bail, and one to assist. From my description it may sound like this were rather dire. Much to the contrary they were absolutely marvelous! The day was warm (and overcast), the breeze was warm and the water was significantly warmer than any shower I've had in recent times. About an hour after we departed we landed at the little port on the eastern side of the lake (which has a most horrendous stench of fish) and walked up to procure a taxi into the town of Kpando proper.

Our enterprising taxi driver offered to take us to our final destination about 15km from the town of Kpando which was a small village with a Monkey Sanctuary where live several groups of sacred Mona monkeys. We set off in an Opel station wagon with the windows down along a road that was being reconstructed. The result was a smooth ride for a time and the taxi was absolutely filled with fine red dust that seeped into each crack, orifice, and seam. By the time we arrived at Tafi Atome my white shirt was sort of reddish pink and my mouth tasted like the road. Tafi Atome was a tiny village and they have developed the monkey sanctuary as a community development/ecotourism project. For a very small fee we got our supper, accommodations for the night, a tour of the monkeys in the morning, and our breakfast, all in all quite a good deal. However, once again the maxim "You get what you pay for" came rather forcefully to mind as we were shown to our rooms. My room had a fan which came to a height of about 6'3" which meant it was significantly dangerous to stand up straight. The room smelled rather musty and I must say it was one of the most uncomfortable beds I have slept upon in my twenty-three years here on the planet. The bed was composed of approximately five 1x4s and a 6" foam mattress. The boards were arranged rather unevenly and I kept finding my backside or hip falling into a rather large crevasse. Thus, it was not the best sleep I have had.

We were up and ready to go at 6am when our guide arrived to take us to see the monkeys, some of which were already playing in the trees over the building our rooms were in. We wandered to the area where another tribe lived and as we stood there and waited, and the guide called they soon came swinging out of the trees and watched us to see if we would feed them bananas. The guide had brought a few which if we held still the monkeys would come and eat out of our hands. After a walk through the bush and observing another group of monkeys we returned the house in the community where we had taken our supper (boiled eggs in tomato sauce with rice) for a light breakfast of bread and porridge. After showering in the ablution block and packing our bags up the next stage of our adventure continued.

This stage was the journey to Tafi Abuipe a village where everyone is a weaver. It was about a 10km trip which we conducted on a motorbike...three of us on a motorbike, a driver, Natalie, and myself. It was certainly cozy and the rack at the back of the bike does not provide significant amounts of padding but we made good time and soon arrived in the next village. One of the Ghanian cultural artifacts is Kente Cloth. This cloth is made by weavers in strips approximately 6" wide. These strips are then sewn together to make cloaks, etc that are used only for ceremonial or special occasions as the traditional cloth is all woven by hand. We visited this village and observed people from children of about 10 up to older adults weaving on fascinating looms that are set up in little sheds constructed from bamboo (with thatched roofs) as well as in a large shed funded by the government. After touring through the village where the sound of the wooden shuttles click clacking filled the still air we got on another motorbike which took us the 5km to the main highway. After being unceremoniously dumped on the roadside we wandered into the nearest town and waited for transport north towards our next destination Hohoe. We waited only about five minutes before a car (maybe a taxi, maybe not) pulled over and took us part way to our destination. Then we hopped in another taxi and soon found ourselves in Hohoe.

Hohoe is a rather quite town and after finding some lunch in a relatively 'western' restaurant (I had a club sandwhich - the closest western comparison would be a chicken salad sandwich) we looked for a taxi to our final destination. Our afternoon destination was the Wli waterfalls, purportedly the highest in West Africa. After making our way to the Lorry Station and finding a taxi we waited about 25 minutes until it filled up with passengers. Then we got underway. In order to maximize the profits the driver managed to pack 6 adults, himself, and a child into the taxi. Suffice to say it was very cozy with four adults in the back seat. I have become quite close to Natalie in the past weeks as we have traveled, as well as to a number of African individuals. The child, about 18 months old was a bit grumpy so her mother sort of reached under my arm, around her child, pulled a breast out, and the child began to feed. However, the angle wasn't really ideal for the child so she pushed off against my legs to try and readjust - thus one travels in Ghana. However, the journey was not long and within 30 minutes we had arrived at Wli.

I think that the Eastern Region of Ghana is my favorite so far. It is magnificent mountainous country with misty mountains on the horizon that offer immense opportunity for imagination. Wli is in a mountainous valley less than 1 km from the Togo border. We procured accommodation in a very pleasant guest about 150m from the entrance to the waterfall visitor centre. After dropping our bags we set off with vigor to see the falls. We paid our fees, were assigned a guide and launched forth up the trail. On the trail I got to 'check' one of my 'goal boxes' for my time in Ghana. We saw cocoa growing partly in the wild and partly in a rough plantation! The cocoa grows in large pods on the trunks of the trees and I was most excited to see it. I find it fascinating how few chocolate products I have seen thus far in Ghana although in the past it has been one of its most significant products.

We charged up the track, gaining some elevation but nothing too extreme, crossing small bridges over streams and then we heard the squeaking. There are thousands of bats that roost on the rock cliffs around the waterfall and you can hear their sound from some distance. We soon reached the absolutely beautiful falls. They plunge from a significant height into a pool of cool clear water in a clearing at the base of large cliffs. After some time there we set back down the track to our guest house. After a shower we had one of our better meals in Ghana. I enjoyed a tomato and cucumber salad with macaroni and cheese and roasted chicken - it tasted marvelous.

After a very restful evening we began our return this morning. Thinking that our previous days taxi load of 8 had been impressive we found another share taxi only to have our previous conceptions dashed to dust. In the Opel station wagon we found ourselves sharing the taxi with not 8 but 11 people, 10 adults and 1 child of about 10. It was very cozy and it seemed almost necessary to synchronize breathing, however, several people soon got out and a more realistic number of people (eight) were left in the taxi. Due to our inability to find a functioning ATM in Hohoe on our journey to the falls our funds were becoming rather scarce. However, after asking around we found that there was one bank in Hohoe with a functional ATM where we could top up our bank notes. This can be a real challenge in this country as the economy is almost completely based on cash. Debit cards are useless and credit cards almost equally so. Thus, it requires the carrying of significant amounts of cash after one finds access to international funds. Our banking accomplished we caught a tro-tro to Kpando and then another to the port. We found ourselves there much earlier than necessary but we decided we could not afford chartering a boat again so it was necessary to ensure we did not miss the ferry.

After some hours resting in the shade we boarded our ferry. This 'ferry' was in fact a large pirogue some 50' long and 6' wide. There were about 30 people, 10 chickens, several bicycles, and various other assorted luggage. One and a half hours after we set off in the blazing sun we arrived at the other side where there was one tro-tro and a taxi or two waiting. We made sure to get to the tro in good time and got ourselves squashed in. As we departed we counted 20 people inside of the 16 person van, along with backpacks, suitcases, chickens, roosters, and fish. Then the 21st person hopped upon the roof with some of the luggage. About 40 minutes later we arrived safely at home in Donkorkrom.

I've enjoyed a quiet afternoon, getting some laundry done and preparing for the week. It is hard to believe but I'm in my last full week here in Donkorkrom. I believe I will be staying and working this weekend here at the hospital and then the plan is to leave the Afram Plains next Wednesday. It is difficult to believe how rapidly the time has passed and the many adventures with it.