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Published: April 5th 2009
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Hey everyone!
Wow this has been a pretty long week looking back on it but it seems to have flown by! Last Saturday was a really good day. we went into Osu, which is a part of Accra that is quite touristy and I got a pizza from the food court...let me tell you now...after not having any dairy for 3 weeks that cheese was heaven!!! In the afternoon we all went to Accra stadium to watch the world cup qualifier between Togo and Cameroon! Apparently Togo can't play their home matches in Togo because there is too much fighting so they have to play them in a neutral ground which suits me down to the ground!!!! The atmosphere was brilliant and each team has a band with drummers and singers and trumpet players and clappers that play all the way through the match without stopping!!! It was a real party atmosphere! Togo ended up winning 1-0 and Adebayor missed a shocking penalty which would have made it 2-0. Et'oo played for Cameroon but didn't play very well and I didn't know any of the others but it was a pretty good standard (No England vs Ukraine though!) When Togo
won everyone went mental and they were all partying out on the streets...two random guys even asked if they could take photos with us! That evening we were all pretty tired and we were getting up early the next morning so we all got an early night.
We woke up at 6 Sunday morning to leave at 7 for the Volta Region. This is an area about 4 hours north of Accra with the biggest man made lake in Africa (or so they tell me!) We got a nice air conditioned tro up there which was a refreshing change from the stuffy cramped ones I'm used to! On the way there we drove through the Shai Hills where there is a forest reserve and our tro tro had to slow down for a baboon to cross the road!!! We got off in a village just south of Akosombo because one of the lads had a friend who worked up by the lake so we met him for lunch at Aylo's Leisure Spot. I'd heard good things about the shrimp served here so I couldn't resist! They weren't lying...the shrimp was beautiful and so fresh...caught off the river that morning!
Alex's friend then took us up to the Volta Hotel where we got an amazing view of the Volta Dam and the Lake before getting in a stuffy tro up to HoHoe (pronounced HO HOI) We got to our hostel about 5pm and went straight to find some food! We ended up eating dinner at the Grand Hotel and all 3 of us ordered mac and cheese....what came was a plate of pasta in a creamy sauce with a triangle of dairylea broken over the top! It tasted ok though despite the lack of good cheese! We were so tired from the traveling that we all went to bed at about 9pm. It was a pretty good job though because we were up again at 6 the next morning to go to Wli falls. Wli falls is supposed to be the highest waterfall in Ghana. We set off from the hostel at about 7 and sat in a shared taxi for an hour waiting for someone else going in that direction (soooo annoying!!!) Anyway finally we got away and it was only about a 15 minute drive to the park where the falls are. We paid our money and our
guide took us on the 45 minute walk to where the waterfalls are. On the way you have to cross the river 9 times...unfortunately for us one of the bridges was getting repaired so we had to tightrope across on one thin plank of wood! We all made it without falling in though and it was definately worth it when we got to the falls cos it was beautiful! We made straight for the water (which was absolutely freezing!) and waded out to go underneath the falls. It was seriously like getting hit by hail underneath but it was really refreshing and as we were the only people there it was quite relaxing too. We had a nice swim then sunbathes for about an hour before walking back to the entrance. We then had a 5 hour tro tro ride back to Accra which wasn't the most pleasant experience! Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the time we got home!
Tuesday was a nice relaxing day. Its terrific tuesday in the pizza inn in Osu where they do 2 for 1 pizzas...u know me...I'm not going to pass up on a deal like that!!! After pizza I
just sunbathed at the compound all afternoon!!! I couldn't sunbathe much up at the academy so it was nice to just lay out and work on my tan a little (I did feel totally white compared to the other lads!).
Wednesday morning I got up early to watch the english lads play footie against a local Ghanain side. They haven't been doing too well recently so I thought I'd give them a bit of support and they actually won 5-3!!! After that we went to the Accra stadium to watch a Ghanain Premier League match between Hearts (who are 1st) and Lions (who are 3rd). If you're now thinking Man U vs Chelsea scrap that from ur mind because the standard was terrible!!! It was like watching Histon vs Forest Green! Even watching Sheffield Wednesday was better than that!!! If I hadn't paid just 4 cedi (about 2 pounds) I think I would have demanded my money back!!! Anyway Hearts won 1-0 with a scrappy goal but I think we were all more entertained watching the bands and the concession sellers (who walk about the stands with their goods balanced on their heads). In the evening we attempted to
watch the England game but apparently Wales vs Germany is a much better game and was shown in every pub! At least England won!!!
Thursday was sooooo boring! There is only 4 of us left at the compound so we just sunbathed and read our books or listened to music. Went to Osu in the afternoon though and got a smoothie...Mixed Berry, Pineapple and Paw Paw mmmmmmmmmmm! 😊
I got up early again on Friday to watch the boys play football thinking that I was their lucky charm or something....yeah they lost 8-1...ooooops! Guess it wasn't my influence then!!! Went to the craft market in the afternoon which was really cool. There is some gorgeous stuff there all hand-made (I know cos I saw them carving it outside their shops!) I wish I could have bought it all but unfortunately as I'm not going home I couldn't buy anything. It was a bit annoying though because all of the stall holders grab you and try to pull you into their shop....saying "no thank you, I'm just looking" was a bit repetitive after the 50th time I said it! The lad I went with ended up buying all his
presents from a lady who just sat in her shop and let us browse without forcing us to buy anything!
In the evening we met up with some of the old guys who had got back from traveling and went to a bar called Next Door which was right on the beach. It was a really nice to just chill with a beer and listen to the ocean! I only had 3 pints but the next morning I felt terrible!!! Probably not enough water when I got home! Anyway to kill my hangover I had an all-day breakfast at a bar called Honeysuckles. It was just what the doctor (well me, the physio) ordered! Then I had a day of footie...Blackburn vs Spurs, Newcastle vs Chelsea, and Fulham vs Liverpool!!! Good times!!!
Today was another nice chillout day. Woke up early and sunbathed for a few hours til the sun got too hot then we went back to Honeysuckles to watch Everton vs Wigan and Man U vs Villa (what a game!!!). Tonight is movie night and they're all watching Gladiator while I'm writing this. I'm pretty tired though so I might go to bed.
Not sure when
my next entry will be because I'm flying to Zanzibar at the end of this week and I don't know how the internet set-up will be there...I can't believe I've been away for over 4 weeks now! It seems to have flown by!
Hope everyone is ok and I'll try to write soon! Keep me updated with your goings on!
Miss you all.
Lots of love
Jane xxx
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Cally
non-member comment
YES IT IS
Yes, it used to be the biggest man made lake in the world, now I believe it is the 2nd. But it is definately in the first 2! Biggest in the WHOLE WORLD!