We took our first short trip outside of Abomosu. We were told by friends we should visit the town of Koforidua. Since we had finished meeting with our current loan recipients, and we are not teaching classes until next week, it was a perfect opportunity. We could get there by Tro Tro or bus…we opted for the bus. We were up at 4am and had to catch the bus at 5am. They sell tickets and though one would think when they sell enough tickets to fill the seats they would stop…no no no they just keep packing the people on. We tried to get some sleep but the roads are SO bad any time we would start to doze we would be thrown all over the place from the bumps. I grew up driving on a bumpy road which got terrible in the winter, yet they had nothing on the roads out here. On top of that people absolutely are fascinated to talk with us. We are constantly asked what our number is and told to come visit people. The girls are constantly being proposed to and Nate and I have had to step in as Pseudo husbands for the moment to keep the guys off the girls.
After the 2 1/2-3 hour bus ride I needed to relieve myself. I was pointed to a public restroom (looked similar to those in the US) except when I went in all there was was two cement spaces (about the size of a small closet). You just relieve yourself on the floor. I was happy I only needed a number 1! As I left a guy chases after me and tells me I have to pay for using it. He charged me 20 pesewas (about 10 cents). I was not about to be taken advantage of because I am an Obroni (white person). But Chloee was good to remind me to pick my battles and asked if it was really worth 10 cents. She was right. I paid it and about that time our ride arrived.
Previous to going we had contacted a guy on couchsurfing.org (If you are adventurous and like to travel I recommend checking it out). The site basically hooks you up with other people you can crash with for no cost. It is a great way to meet locals and make new friends. Thus far I am still pretty new to it but I have couch surfed in Rome, Scotland, Arizona, and now here (all of which have been great experiences). Our couch surfing buddy on this trip was Joseph. He is a 27 year old single guy who owns a number of businesses with his family. This is where our adventures began!
Joseph Joseph at one of his businesses
unlocking phones
He took us to a local restaurant called Linda Dor. We had the closest thing to American on the menu I am sure. It was an egg sandwich with carrots, cabbage, ketchup, and tomato (or a various assortment of such for each of us – seeing how am picky I got mine on the side), and a side of beans. They did not specify onions anywhere and I had to pick those off of mine! YUCK!
We spent the remainder of the morning being driven around to his different businesses and various family members homes (including his sister-in-law, parents, and a guest house his family owns – similar to a bed and breakfast). This is a picture facing away from Joseph’s house.
While we were out an about, and just before we got to his parents, the clutch in his car went out. We ended up taking a cab to his parents and were there for a long time. We just chilled until finally he was able to get a hold of another car. We left to explore the city some more.
As we were driving we saw this school of kids. We jumped out to take a photo of the paint on the school and as soon as the students saw we had a camera they swarmed out like ants. They all ran and gave Nate and I hugs. They were very excited to see us and get photos with us.
I had learned one of the dozen deaf schools in Ghana was in Koforidua. Joseph knew where it was and took us there. The students learn skills in textiles and then sell those textiles they make to help pay for their education. The girls really wanted to get some shopping in while there so they were excited for that.
When we arrived some of the students were making beautiful material in various sizes. They use wax to make the designs then color them. Most of them had sign language on them or some African design (animals, African women making fufu, and others). I bought a few because they were really pretty, I love the culture, and I fully support helping them get the proper education they deserve. In Africa, deaf kids are often outcast and considered cursed. Many parents will drop their kids off to school never to return and pick them up at all. I believe one semester costs about USD $35. Most people cannot afford that. I was happy to learn there are many organizations working with the deaf and the deaf schools in Ghana to provide these opportunities.
We were also able to visit some of the classrooms and I was able to sign with the kids. I loved it! I hope to go back and volunteer a day while we are out here.
They also had two classrooms of special needs kids. Some were down syndrome and others had various mental handicaps. They were loving and sweet and very excited to say hi to us!
One of the main reasons we came to Koforidua was to go to Boti Falls. We got there and were charged 10 Ghana Cedis. Locals are only charged 2 Cedis. A little prejudice I might say. They said it was because we are white. If we were Obibini (black) then we would not have to pay the high price.
Our tour guide was a 19 year old named Francis. He was quite the character.
The hike down to the falls was quite short. Francis said there were 250 steps. Nate counted just to be sure! We walked by this huge tree. How great would it be to have a tree house in this thing!? I loved it!
We were the only ones there which was quite nice. I could have spent all day just relaxing and taking in nature. There are few things I love more than being in the mountains or in the heart of nature pondering and enjoying the beautiful creations God has given us. Places like this are what I may just call “my happy place.”
Unfortunately we were kind of rushed due to it being later in the day. We next went to Umbrella Rock. On the way there the roads were quite awful. As you can see from this picture we were able to have the worst of it on the right side, but those ruts worked their way back and forth across the road. I was pretty sure a few times we were going to lose the exhaust. Roads are bad like this all over out here.
At the beginning of the little hike on the way down to the rock we found this fun little school.
We also saw this cute kid. I always wanted to have my kids work on a farm during the summer to learn how to really work. I think I now want to send them to Africa instead!
Umbrella Rock is a rock formation that is shaped like an Umbrella (pretty self explanatory right?). I guess It is a pretty big deal out here. They said we need to tell and show all our friends and they will definitely want to come see it because it is so unique. I told Joseph he needs to come to Utah so we can show him Arches and Canyonlands. I am pretty sure he would get a kick out of that and LOVE the formations.
Again we were kind of rushed so we could see the trinity palm tree. This is one palm tree which has split into three heads. It was kind of cool to see. People kept charging us just to see these locations, even though we already paid the fee for Boti Falls. We ended up paying 50 Gp each (25 cents) for Umbrella Rock but we were not about to pay for the tree.
On the way out as we were about to head into town I got one of my favorite pictures from the trip.
Next stop was shopping! We all wanted to look for some material and various other things. We heard there was a great bead market as well. There are these two cute kids in our ward (Kassy and Jesse) who we pick up for church each week. They are taking the missionary discussions right now with the sister missionaries. I told them I wanted to get something in Africa for them and Kassy wanted some jewelry. I was able to find a really cute necklace made of handmade African beads.
We all also found great material at a pretty good price. I bough material to have a dress made for Clover. I hope she loves it! The tricky part is making sure to get her correct measurements because the dresses are all made custom to the person.
I love how easy and cheaply it is to get fresh fruit out here. My favorite is the pineapple.
I bought one at this little street stand.
A young girl was working the stand and if you look closely you can see her little brother taking a nap on the floor. You see stuff like this everywhere!
I still have yet to see one cigarette while I have been here. I LOVE THAT! I did come across this cigarette stand selling them. Read the packages and you can see that this may be part of the reason people don’t smoke. We should do this in the states.
I had to get a shot of this family doing bread deliveries. Probably wouldn’t pass in the U.S.
Later in the day Joseph took us up to a cliff which overlooked Koforidua. It was absolutely beautiful. Africans really appreciate what they are given. They value the land and are content with so much more than we Americans are. I have only been here a short period of time but am learning so much, especially how to really appreciate what I have. This is a panoramic view from the top of the cliff we were on.
(Sorry about the bad alignment on that one part)
If you look in the middle of the photo you can see a cliff. That is where we were standing.
Originally we had planned to go back after one night but we decided to stay another night. Joseph took us out to go dancing. We went to a “club” which was in a hotel. We arrived late and were the ONLY ones there. It was so much fun to just get out and dance. Later people began to show up and loved to watch us. It was great! Unfortunately these are the only two pics I got. Later, Nate had an African girl teaching him some killer dance moves. Chloee and Maddie had to be on guard because guys kept trying to kiss them.
All in all it was a fun experience.
We planned to take the 5am bus back but I woke up with a migraine. I sent the rest on their way and I stayed to take the 10am bus. Come to find out that bus does not run on Saturdays so I ended up waiting until 1:30pm. The bus was loaded with people and cargo. There were TV’s, computers, two refrigerators and all sorts of other various items. This was just what was where we were sitting. Who knows what was actually in the storage areas below the bus. While we were waiting this cute little girl (maybe 8 or 9 years old) was selling sachet’s of water (a picture of water sachet's is in my foods post). I decided to buy her out and give away water on the bus. She had 19 which I bought for 2 Ghana Cedis (about $1). I walked through the bus giving them out and a guy yelled to everyone in Twi (the Ghanaian language)I was giving away free water. You would have thought I was handing out $100 bills the way people were fighting to grab one. There was almost a brawl between an old and young lady when it was down to the last water sachet.
WOW!!!
I look forward to many more adventures out here and hope to keep the blog posts coming! ENJOY!
