The Volta Region

Time seems to fly in Ghana, despite it's slow pace. Saturday we left for the Volta region, in eastern Ghana which creates the border with Togo. It took FOREVER to get there (which is probably a bad sign, seeing as we're going twice the distance this weekend) because of bad traffic and sucky roads. Our first stop was Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary! We walked down a path, through the jungle to get to a little area where monkeys were known to hang out. And then we got to FEED THEEEM! They ate bananas straight from our hands! ...well... one stole a banana straight from my hand, luckily I had another half :) But it was sooo cool! We had to tear ourselves away from them after a while so we could make it on time to the waterfall. Apparently the gates closed early... but I don't believe it. So we got back on the bus, drove another hour and a half, and pulled onto another dirt road. We stopped at a little rest stop, but there was no waterfall in sight. Ahh yeah, like everywhere else awesome in Ghana, you have to hike to get there. But it was so worth it!

Wli waterfall is the highest in West Africa. there were a bunch of tour groups wading in and out of the water and after our hike, we didn't hesitate to join them. The water was definitely colder than they made it seem! we went all the way under the falls and messed around, climbing on the back wall and taking a million pictures.

When we got out, the hike back didn't seem so bad, but we were all hungry for dinner. Little did we know it would be another five hours before we could eat. We left the falls en route to Hohoe, one of the largest towns in the Volta Region. we found a restaurant for dinner around 7 and settled in, starving. After half an hour, I wondered what was taking so long. After an hour, I was looking at the table cloth, wondering how good it would taste with a bit of salt. After an hour and a half, I got crabby really fast. An hour and a half may not seem like a long time, but after a day of hiking and swimming with a couple crackers as a snack, I was HUNGRY. Finally the food came, and it was like.. half a regular portion!! I was like, what is this? The appetizer? So after I shoveled that in, we drove to our hotel. It wasn't a hotel really, but a guest house behind a giant church. I showered, turned on my alarm and crashed.

Sunday was a day of relaxation, kind of. We left later than usual, at 9 am, and decided not to stop for lunch, but at a gas station to get snacks. We drove back to Accra, the return trip always seems shorter, and pulled into our hostel at 3:30. After we settled back in, people were drawn to the living room, like every night. We sat, chilled, looked through each others pictures and called it a night!