Steph in Africa: Ghana

*DISCLAIMER* this is a really long post, I sort of apologise, but really if you don't want to read it all, just scroll down and have a look at the photos!

The first weekend in May I took the opportunity to go to Ghana. The Ghanian border is only about a 20 minute drive from the ship, and many of the crew have been to visit at weekends and ship holidays. So at 17:30 on Friday 30th March we disembarked the ship and headed to Ghana. We got across the border smoothly and found our taxi driver (who we had phoned to book during the week) easily. The taxi had been used by another Mercy Ships group over Easter, and was very nice by African standards, we all had our own seats and there was space for our bags! So at 19:00 we started our journey up north along the border to Wli Waterfalls. Shall we say the journey took a little longer than expected, or more accurately 2 hours longer than the 3 we were expecting (although in hindsight I think three was over ambitious anyway). We travelled along the roads stopping at many customs checkpoints where men in military style uniforms shone torchlight on the windscreen and looked in the footwells and the boot and then proceeded to wave us on our way. We picked up a couple of men, and dropped them off and then picked up another three men, who piled on top of each other in the front two passenger seats. We dropped them off and then eventually arrived at our hotel at midnight, pulling ourselves out of the car to the sounds of loud singing and drumming as a funeral celebration progressed in the village. We grabbed our bags, paid the driver and got ourselves into the rooms and into bed, and attempted to sleep despite the noise and heat.

Very early the next morning we were awoken by cockerels! After trying to sleep for a few more hours, we emerged from our beds and made our way out for breakfast. Excited at seeing porridge on the menu, we waited for our breakfast to arrive and enquired about the guide we wished to use to take us to the falls. The manager of the hotel was very helpful and sent one of her staff off into the village to find our guide! (He doesn't have a mobile, you just go find him.) In the meantime our breakfast arrived, however, unfortunately my porridge was rather salty and burnt, and even with honey to try to hide the taste it wasn't so palatable, but never mind. We stocked up on water and headed to the village centre (a few little wooden stalls) and the entrance to the waterfall area (which was a table with a couple of men sat behind!) to find our guide. We paid our entrance fee and we were off on our adventure.

Unfortunately on the journey up to the hotel I had become rather dehydrated, partly due to my water bottle being under my bag on the floor and partly due to the desire to avoid the inconvenience of needing the toilet on a long journey at night in Africa, and in my infinite wisdom had not thought that it would have been a good idea to drink more overnight to replenish and re-hydrate myself. Hence within half and hour of setting off I was starting to find things hard. About an hour in, the incline had got rather steep, it was rather hot and despite drinking nearly a litre of isotonic gatorade I was feeling terrible. The views were incredible, but all I wanted to do each time we stopped was crumple into a heap. The fluid I had drunk was starting to make me feel sick and the prospect of spending another 5 hours hiking was looking distinctly unappealing, yet I did not want to let the others down or spoil the trip by turning back. In my mind I cried out to God, 'I can't do this, you have to get my through, you need to give me the strength to keep going'.

A little bit later we stopped and again I crumbled into a heap in the tiny patch of shade behind a tiny tree. I was feeling light-headed and weary, and rather sick. I didn't know how I was going to find the strength to even get up let alone carry on. I could barely hold a train of thoughts and literally was sat with my bag still on my back, leaning backwards up the hill and staring into space. Then it just occurred to me, clear as anything, that I needed to eat a little alongside drinking. So I somehow mustered the strength to pull my bag around and pull out a peanut butter and jam (yes being around this many americans is having an effect on me!) cheese roll I had made the previous day. I felt so bad that it took me about two minutes to chew and swallow a small bite and I only managed to eat three bites, but it was enough. Over the course of the next little stretch the sick feeling I had had deep in the pit of my stomach that had gradually been working it's way up to my mouth started to disappear, and I felt able to talk to people. When we got to the next stop, I ate a few more bites of my roll, and really started to enjoy the incredible views out across Ghana. Out in front of us was a steep drop down to a plain which seemed to stretch for miles with a thick covering of lush green plants. We kept going up and up, and then rounded the corner to an incredible view across from the waterfalls. It was beautiful, but we still had quite a way to go.

As we neared the upper falls we had to cut through a wooded area. We scrambled up and down a thin path, over and under fallen branches, holding onto vines as we slid down. I could hear the waterfall, it sounded so close, yet the vegetation around me was so dense I just could not see it. I got to the end of the first section of the path and was sent on my way along the last section down to the waterfall. I knew it was close and started to move faster, until I realised I was on my own. It was the first moment on my own in a long time. So I paused to savour the moment, and in doing so noticed the beautiful red flowers which just managed to push themselves out by the path, and the unusual butterflies with long tail like protrusions at the bottom of their wings. Eventually I rounded the corner and I was there. The waterfall was right before me crashing down into the pool.

After spending a little time eating, and swimming and relaxing, we started the hour hike down to the lower falls. The first part was horrible. The glorious downhill stretch we had to the upper falls was now a strenuous uphill climb until our path split off from that we had used to the upper falls, where it started to go downhill again. Some of the drops were steep, and the drop to the side of the path was even steeper. We clambered down, clinging to vines and branches along the path. At one point we came up to a couple of tree trunks. The first I climbed over, and then stood in between the two to tell the people behind me where the 'hand holes' were, and then proceeded to slip right under the other one knocking my head in the process. I wasn't hurt at all, just in slight hysterics at having just disappeared under the tree.

The further we went down the track the more we separated into smaller groups. Lindsay (who is my wonderful bunk mate) and I made our way down the now more level path, exploring the hut in the thick of the vegetation as we went. After a while we decided to stop for a few minutes for a drink. After being there a minute we heard this great noise as what looked like a flock of birds took off from the lower falls, but as we peered through the perfect gap in the trees above us we saw a colony of bats, who live hanging onto the rocks around the lower falls, taking off for the evening. After marvelling at the wonderful view of these bats we continued on towards the falls, until we eventually emerged from the track, and found the hoards of people at the lower falls, it was a public holiday in Ghana and many people had taken the opportunity to visit the falls. We stopped at the entrance to the lower falls, not having the energy to battle through the people and waited for the rest of our group. Once we were reunited we made our way back gradually to the hotel and had a shower ready for dinner.

After a relaxing dinner and celebration of Alana and Naomi's birthdays (with candles!!! big excitement when you can't have them on the ship even if I can't remember the last time I actually had candles for my birthday!) we turned in for an early night all fairly exhausted from the lack of sleep and the long hike. The next morning we headed back down to view the lower falls which were beautiful, and so much more serene without the crowds of people. After a spot of lunch our taxi driver arrived and we headed back home, arriving back just in time for dinner and a shower.

All in all it was an incredible weekend and a real blessing.

(Credits for the following photos go to Alana, Linda, Naomi, Miriam, Hannah, Tatiana, and Lindsay with one of mine for good measure, thanks girls for an awesome weekend)