Wli Waterfalls and a Monkey Sanctuary

I am so blessed. I kept realizing this as we drove to the Volta Region for our field trip this weekend. The Ghanaian countryside is unbelievably gorgeous. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. The closest I can get is a mixture between the Hill Country in springtime and Colorado in summer, but on a much grander scale. It's lush and green with such a variety of plant life. Absolutely breathtaking. At one point, we had to slow down because there were some men shepherding cows and sheep alongside the road. One guy was even holding a baby lamb! Also, most people in the area lived in thatched-roof huts. I wish I got a picture.

Anyway, we had a lovely 2-hour bus ride to our hotel, an early lunch and then off to the waterfalls! We took a 40-minute hike through the rainforest where it started pouring on us about 10 minutes into it, which is why I have very few pictures. We pretty much got soaking wet simply walking there. Had some fun singing songs from musicals and such and splashing each other by jumping into puddles. My tennis shoes are muddy and disgusting. Once we get to the breathtaking waterfall (the tallest in West Africa!) we all pull off our already soaking clothes and jump straight in. The water was freezing, but it was pretty shallow so I could walk to the falls. We ended up getting really close to where the falls hit the water, but had to walk backwards to it b/c the spray kept getting into our eyes. We probably spent about half an hour playing in the waterfall pool (I don't know what else to call it) before hauling our freezing selves back to somewhat dry land. It sucked having to put our muddy, wet tennis shoes back on to walk the 40 minutes back. Sherrick, Holly and I had a great time reminiscing about our favorite Thanksgiving foods. Mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pecan pie... yummmm. After we got back, we had to board the bus and had a cold, wet hour and a half drive back to the hotel. I ended up getting a hot shower FINALLY.

The next day we all woke up early and jumped in the pool at the hotel. It was hot and sunny outside so the pool felt GREAT. Got some sun. :) Then went back and had the best shower I've had in 7 weeks. We had lunch, then went to the Monkey Sanctuary! At the Monkey Sanctuary we went near this "sacred" forest and fed monkeys bananas. They got so close to us and actually peeled the bananas as we held them in our hands! Such precious little things. There are hundreds of them in the forest. There were also a ton of baby goats running around so our tour guide caught one for Sasha so she could pet it. I have never heard something sound so awful as it screamed. :( Evelyn has a picture of me on her camera pouting as I pet the terrified thing. After the Sanctuary, we had a fabulous 3 hour drive back home. At one point as we were driving, our driver slowed down b/c there were monkeys in the road! They were a different species from the ones we fed and it was about 2 hours into the trip. Soooo cool.

I am absolutely loving this country. Everyone is so nice and there are so many different things to do here! Next weekend we're going to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. I know we'll be going to see how kente cloth is created, but I'm not sure what else. It'll be a loooong trip. 5 hour drive at least... and we'll be going with the CIEE kids from Legon. Greeeat.

I also had some Ethiopian tea tonight. It was really good, but must have some caffeine in it because after I drank it, I became really hyper. Which is why I'm in the Internet Cafe at 11:45 p.m. No worries, I'm not by myself. I still have common sense... ish. :) Ghana is amazing and everyone should come and experience something like this in their lifetime.

Tidbit of the day: There is a really big Lebanese population here. Most restaurants that serve a variety of food have a pretty sizeable Lebanese section.
The whole thing about there being a dry season and rainy season is complete crap. Ghana weather is like Texas weather. It rains whenever it pleases, no matter what season it's supposed to be.

Love from Accra!!