Up at the crack of dawn (well, 7am) our first issue was with the toaster… Which was broken! So it was digestives for breakfast, but at least we had hot showers. Kujo arrived once more, but Adolf had also decided to accompany us. We set off, more awake this time and raring to go.
Unfortunately, we failed miserably with our car shopping en route. We wanted some bofrot but everyone selling it was far away from the car… Until finally there was a lady on our side of the road. Result! Unfortunately she put her box down as she walked to us and by the time we realised that “Do you have bath rolls?” meant bofrot and she ran off to get them, our minibus had already moved away! Nooo!
Finally we managed to get some, but they weren’t as hot or as nice as before. They were still good though (carb overdose) and we were munching when we picked up Mabel, a student who spoke the local dialect of where we were going.
After a long drive we reached the Akosombo Dam, but we weren’t allowed in until we’d bought tickets, so we had to go back a few miles to get them, stopping next to a bus of Nigerian school kids who we managed to beat to the toilet! Everyone else got a snack and the car was full of the smell of monkey nuts – yuk!
Water, water everywhere!
Back at the dam, our guide Colin told us that no photos were allowed, but he might let us later… of course nobody paid any attention, so we sneaked a few here and there. One man was taking hundreds, but loved my phone case so much that he took a selfie with it and ‘his new friend’.
The tour was very interesting and there was so much water – generating the majority of Ghana’s power. It was very impressive, but the school kids stopped taking notes after the first ten minutes and just took photos!
The Nigerians were joking that Ghanaians could keep their light because Nigeria had all the gas and didn’t want to share!
Aunty Jo, one of the teachers at the school asked for a photo with me and Frenchie so we linked arms and suddenly about 7 of them joined us for a photo! Then at the end of the tour, one of the girls shyly asked for a photo with me. I obliged and then her friend wanted one. And suddenly the entire school was crowding around me wanting a photo! I felt like a celebrity!
Staying alive, staying alive!
Adolf was rushing us, so we waved goodbye to the students and piled back into the minibus ready for some lunch! We pulled up at the Akosombo Continental Hotel, had fun in a swinging chair and with some unusual looking lizards and then feasted on Alvaro (a non-alcoholic fruit drink), jollof rice and chicken stew. It was nice, but quite expensive.
Then we arrived at Boti Falls and – once we’d climbed down 250 steps – we stood in awe. They really are beautiful! Two huge cascades of water tumbling down the cliff, with a rainbow in-between them. It was tranquil and magical… Except for the sign that warned “Do not swim. Stay alive!” We did have a guide with us, but we were too mesmerised by the water to pay him much attention!
A short drive away was the Umbrella Rock, which was not only a bizarre rock formation, but also a useful viewing platform for a stunning gorge. It was so peaceful – nobody but us and the lizards! We even jumped from rock to rock, swing our legs over the edge and balanced precariously on the edge of the precipice!
After that we strolled around the jungle to the three-in-one tree. Unsurprisingly, this is a palm tree with three trunks. It just grew like that near some bizarre symbols found carved into some rocks. Obviously we climbed into the tree and took many photos.
We also met the family who lived near the tree, who showed us how to make fufu (mashed cassava). We took a Polaroid snap with them and gave it to the little boy who was fascinated by it!
Then it was back into the car for the long ride home. The music was groovy, so we danced along, but after a while I started to feel sick, but luckily made it home just in time!
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