Counting Down the Days

Hey everyone!
I've been super busy here in Ghana, making the most of my time here. As time speeds by, it's hard to believe that I only have about 3 weeks left! Between now and my last post, I have traveled more and discovered even more of what Ghana has to offer. Classes are also over, they ended last week, so now I'm into about a month of finals/studying. For a quick overview of the past weeks, here's what I've been up to:

• Mount Afadjato: Highest Point in Ghana. The weekend of April 12th, my friends and I traveled to the Volta Region to hike and explore more of the area. The hike was really challenging because it was in the typical Ghanaian style, straight up. It took us about an hour to reach the top. The view was amazing and after we took another short hike to a nearby waterfall.

At the top, looking towards Togo

• Cape Coast Trip with CIEE: Near the end of April, I took a trip with the rest of my program to Cape Coast. We saw the Elmina Castle, which was erected by the Portuguese in 1482 and served as a trading post and a stop along the Atlantic slave trade route. The whole experience of touring the castle was something I'll never be able to put into words. 

Elmina

• During the weekend we also walked across the canopy bridges of Kakum National Park, which was so awesome! 

The start of the canopy walk

• The North!! This past weekend, my friends and I took our longest trip up to the north of Ghana. The trip started with a 14 hour overnight bus to Tamale. The bus ride was relatively easy, except for some classic Ghanaian dirt roads, preaching, and the blasting of Ghanaian dramas/soap operas on the tv. At about 4 or 5 in the morning, we arrived in Tamale to find a bus/trotro to take us another 2 hours to Mole National Park. This road was also an interesting experience, to say the least. When we finally got to our hotel, we were blessed with seeing the much anticipated elephants from our viewpoint of the hotel pool that looked down into the savanna. It was amazing! Since it was only about 10am, we spent the day lounging by the pool and catching up on sleep from the night before. The next morning we woke up early to go on the walking safari to see more of the animals in the park. While on our walk, we saw warthog families, a lot of antelope, and even more elephants bathing in a watering hole. Again, a truly awesome experience, that I wouldn't trade for anything. Later that day, we traveled 6km to the local village of Larabanga where we saw one of the oldest mosque in Ghana and in West Africa. The age is actually unknown, but from records and reconstruction, it is estimated date back from the 17th century. From there, we took another trotro to the town of Wa, and after a lot of traveling and meeting Ghanaian friends we luckily found a hotel to stay in for the night. The next morning, we woke up early again to travel in another trotro to go on a canoe ride and see hippos. The ride was another good exposure to northern Ghanaian roads, but we made it. We also go to take a tuktuk, which is basically a motorcycle with a crate attached to the back to the river. The canoe ride was really great and peaceful, and the hippos were huge. The river actually served as a border between Ghana and Burkina Faso, so we managed to head to the opposite bank for a little bit and I can now say I've been to two African countries. After this, we headed back to Wa and after a lot of confusion and frustration about the lack of transportation, we decided to take a trotro to Kumasi and break up the long journey back to Accra. We again managed to find a hotel with the help of a nice Ghanaian man, and the next morning we got breakfast before visiting the market and then heading the rest of the way back to Accra. Overall, the trip was so amazing and I'm really glad I got to see a different part of Ghana. What struck me the most about the north was how clean it was, but also the fact that traveling and transportation is a little more difficult. The people are also a lot less in your face and at times a lot more friendlier. I can safely say that without the help of some great Ghanaians, my friends and I would have been lost or stranded. 

Pool at hotel with friends looking at elephants 

Larabanga Mosque

Looking over the river at Burkina Faso

So that's what I've been up to, these next few weeks I plan to study for finals and do some last minute exploring. I can't believe how fast time has gone, but I'm also looking forward to coming home and sharing my experiences with everyone back home.

Love,

Audrey