Arriving in Ghana, I was amazed by this country’s beautiful landscape and friendly people. We start teaching our course on Monday, so with our few extra days, the university gave us the opportunity to explore the Volta region in Ghana. Our 7-person team shared a family room at Mountain Paradise in Biakpa, where the view was beyond breath-taking because we were so high up the mountain. The ride up was quite bumpy since this country’s infrastructure is still developing and many roads remain unpaved, but it was definitely worth it. There were only two other people staying in the same place as us, so it was really peaceful.
The next day, in the early morning, we trekked through the jungle for an hour and a half to get to the waterfalls. The hiking trails in Ghana are very different than the ones in Canada. These trails were slippery, rocky, and to be quite frank – rather dangerous at times. But it was a lot of fun and we got to see how tropical fruits like pineapples are grown, as well as cocoas beans! The cocoa beans were a lot fruitier and sweeter than I expected. When we finally got to the falls, the water couldn’t be anymore refreshing.
Here is a video recap of our first week in Ghana:
That afternoon, we also visited the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary, where we got to see monkeys in the wild up close and feed them bananas. The monkeys were very peaceful and clam, although the tour guide told us the history of how wild monkeys used to be quite vicious.
On the road, I noticed that there are a lot of fruit vendors and people selling food items placed in bowls balanced on their heads. I couldn’t help but wonder if they are able to make a living and feed their family by selling these small items on the road. I winced with grief when I saw kids pressing their items for sale against car windows, urging the people inside the car to buy their products. It made me feel fortunate and spoiled for my upbringing in Canada, and I couldn’t help but ask myself what the possible solutions were to helping these people.