Wandering In Winneba

Africa » Ghana » Central » Winneba
March 13th 2008

Published: March 24th 2008

Adventure

Adventure awaits us
And misadventure too
Daily life debates us
Challenging us to do
That which we cannot bear

That is unless we dare
To cross over borders
Transcending disorders
Defying our own past
To find the now at last

Adventure awaits us
And misadventure too
But destiny fates us
To do what we must do
To get from here to there

And where is there? To be
Within the now and free

~Steven Curtis Lance

This last weekend we dared, I and four of my friends went on our first Ghanaian adventure. In true adventuring style we went fourth with little to no planning, just a general direction backpacks, water bottles and plenty of water. Also in true adventuring style we planned to leave at 8:00am and didn't actually hit the road until about 10:15, yes family I know that you probably think that I was the cause of this delay, wrong! I was so excited I woke up and was ready by 6:30! The delay was merely the result of trying to get five people together and out the door. My companions were my house-mate Kelsey the Wild Wisconsinite, Gentle Lindsay from Georgia, Jordan 'The Dancing Queen' from Texas, and Rama-lama Rachel from Indiana. Trucking up to the tro-tro stop right by our house we met up with one of our Ghanian friends, Nana(which means chief or elder in Akan) who helped us catch a tro to La Paz where we then caught another tro headed towards Cape Coast.

Tro-tros are strange beasts, sometimes you will hop in to find your self sandwiched next to two very large very friendly old ladies who call you sister and ask you cheerful questions about everything from what foods you like to eat to your religious beliefs. Or it could be a taciturn tro full of younger men, tired and dirty and just waiting to get home who sit silently next to you as you wordlessly exchange dirt and sweat and crash into each other when the roads get rough. There is always the change that that same guy, or one much older than you, or one sitting right next to his wife will smile and tell you how beautiful you are and would you be his wife? It is hands down my favorite mode of transportation ever. The stark difference from public transportation in the states is that everyone is cheerfully in everyone else's business. People don't always look away and pretend that the they are completely alone, they will want to know about who you are and why you are here. They will tell you about their day, their week, their entire life if they have the opportunity, and just by showing a little compassion and kindness you have made a friend who will make sure you get where you need to go. It is always amazing who you will meet and what you will learn.

After about an hour and half we decided to get off at Winnaba a small town not too far from Cape Coast. Bargaining with the taxi drivers who swarm around us cheerfully bickering over who should get to take us into town we ally ourselves with a tiny old man and all five of us pile into his four seater taxi. We ask him where we should go to eat but he seems to be at a loss, quick as a whip Lindsay pulls out her (as we later found out 'out-of-date') travel guide and directs the driver to a place called Maurice's. The taxi bounces down an unpaved road and we get our first glance of ocean. In our euphoria we pile out pay the driver and just look at the scenery as he pulls away. The ocean is a deep clear blue seen through the waving stalks of palm trees and the glare of pure white sand. Eventually we look around to find that Maurice's which we thought would be a hotel with a restaurant is really just a rather small hostel with a tiny convenience store. Baffled we ask the lady in the store where the restaurant is, she is confused and goes to get the manager of the hostel. Re-examining the guide we realize that it is indeed out of date and we are far from the center of town. Half crazed from hunger we can't seem to decide on a course of action when the manager comes up with a menu and a smile. It turns out the hostel has a chef and a limited menu! Gratefully we order and sit in this adorable little pavilion on a bed of seashells.

Now here I think it is good to deviate with a small aside. Kelsey's parents both served in the peace core and lived in Africa for many years, Chad, Rwanda, and Mali to be exact. Eventually they added Kelsey and her sister to the crew and made some of the happiest memories of their lives. However a Kelsey's father soon came up with a rather apt acronym to deal with the ironic or less pleasant aspects particular to this part of the continent~ West Africa Wins Again, or WA-WA. This epithet is now used by many on the program as in resignation to things we have no control over. Like the sometimes madding ability of Ghanaian restaurants to take over two hours to prepare 1 egg salad sandwich, 3 tuna sandwiches, and a plate of chicken and rice.

By the time the food arrived we had almost expired from starvation, but the wait was wort it. The food was delicious and probably the most healthy meal consumed in Ghana to date. Afterwards we wandered down to the beach which was absolutely beautiful; white sand stretching off into the distance sparkling blue water with fishing boats bobbing gently about a mile out. Unfortunately as inviting as the water looked the slope of the beach was almost vertical and promised almost certain death to unwary unsupervised swimmers.

With a sigh and a longing glance we meandered back to the hostel and asked the very friendly cook where we should go for a good beach. Following his directions we catch another taxi and make our way to the Magjoy Royal Beach Resort, an establishment not mentioned in either the up to date travel guide or the earlier copy. With out looking much further we just walk down strait to the beach directly in front of the hotel, which to our disappointment is no beach at all with the high tide and a rather sinister cluster of rocks. By this time the light is fading and we decided to put off our hunt for a beach for a hunt for a bed. The owner of the 'Resort' which to further observation revels its self as 4 two roomed bungalows allied with a series of charming pavilions right on the water, offers to call us a cab so we can check out some of the guide recommended hotels. As we wait we make friends with Owner who is half Russian half Ghanaian and looks like he could be related to Che Guevara. He gives us a pamphlet about his hotel and tells us that his brother is the cab driver he called. He is sad to see us go but is insanely nice about it.

The driver arrives and we trundle to one of the hotels listed in the guide as Hunters Lodge. When we arrive we see that although the rooms are very nice it is isolated and lacked the charm of the Royal Beach Resort. Embarrassed we sheepishly asked the driver to take us back to his brother. When we get back our new friend installs us in a bungalow, one room with AC and the other without for about 24 dollars a night. Kelsey and I take the non-Air Conditioned room while Rachel, Lindsay, and Jordan share the Air Conditioned one. The night is filled with a delicious dinner followed by cookies, camp songs, and friendship- or should I say adventure-bracelet making.

The next morning we get our first real glimpse of the surroundings, the resort sits at the mouth of a river that empties into the ocean, what we didn't see before is that the beach after the river mouth stretches off into the distance like a post card. From the owner we learn that there is a fishing village along that beach that has a whale shrine. Thats right Whale Shrine! And in the mornings when the tide is low you can walk across the river mouth easily. This was too good to pass up so we decide to adventure out that way after a terrific breakfast right on the water watching the fishermen at their work.

Setting off we see that the river and the spit of land right next to it is a-swarm with children. They are splashing in the water, playing football and running about with the unsupervised abandon of kids anywhere. As we get closer courses of Oboruni greet us as the kids stop to see what this troop of white girls could be up to. We start to cross the river and everything is going well until suddenly it gets much deeper than we anticipated laughing gleefully the kids rush to our 'rescue.' Grabbing our hands by the fours they haul us across while those who were not lucky enough to get to hold a hand splash us helpfully from behind. When we once again have reached dry land the kids are thrilled to have their pictures taken and rush to be included and then howl with laughter when they see the results on digital screens.

The walk down the beach is glorious with the sun sparkling off the water and the cool waves lapping at our feet, people from the distant village walk their wares down the two mile stretch of beach to Winneba proper. They balance large buckets of fish on their heads or tote buckets of live specimens. Everyone greets us and welcomes us to their home. It is a far cry from the almost uncomfortable clash of modern and traditional that you find in the cities. This is the way people have been living in Winneba and other villages just like it before western prerogatives arrived to reshape culture, economy, and landscape. The only thing to mar the simple perfection of this place was the trash that lined the shore. Most of the water drank in the cities comes in plastic sachet bags, it is certainly the safer choice in water but the bags do not go in trash cans because there are no trash cans to be found. They are thrown on the ground and then end up on the beach. It is so sad to see, and I know my mother the Naturalist would be seething. We arrived in the village to find men fixing boats and women and children preparing fish but a general lack of whale shines. I would have loved to stay longer but we needed to head back and check out of the hotel.

There is more to the weekend but yet again I run out of time to write it!!! I do apologise for how long it has taken to get this entry up, frequent power and internet failures have thwarted me at every turn. But I promise more about this trip and the trip of this easter weekend to Ho in my next update hopefully to be accompanied with pictures! If you would like a preview feel free check out my friend Kelsey's Blog!!
http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/KelseyD/

I hope everyone is healthy and happy as I certainly am!

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