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Published: February 25th 2009
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Wli Falls
The stunningly beautiful lower falls of the largest waterfall in Ghana Hey All!
I've adopted a new policy...well, actually it's not really new, I've just finally given word to my strategy while abroad. Weekdays belong to the University, but the weekends belong to Ghana! That being said as soon as I got back from Dreamland, I began to plan my next trip... Yeah, maybe a little eager...just a little. After surveying beaches, I thought it was time to head north. So myself and three others departed for the Volta Region of Ghana, using the town of Hohoe as our adventuring headquarters.
We left Accra late Friday afternoon by bus, arriving at the sleepy town of Hohoe around half past eight. We stayed the night at the humble Matvin Hotel...which was...well, it was no Dreamland Beach Resort, but hey, it was a place to rest up, grab some food and plan our next move.
The next morning we mapped-out our plans over an egg and toast breakfast, deciding that the day would be spent spelunking the ancestral caves of Likpe Todome. Before we could start cave diving however, we needed to drop off our luggage. We took a taxi out of Hohoe past the hamlet of Likpe Bakua, to the
Hiking in Todome
Ropes...I love ropes, they make everything so much more fun...and safe village of Wli, where we got a room at the beautiful Waterfall Lodge. Once we had ditched out bags, we departed on foot for Todome, after all it was only seven or eight kilometers away, how bad could it be? Idiot. The Volta region is riddled with hills, so even though it was only three to four miles... in direct sunlight, lugging multiple water bottles and a travel book, and going up and down steep dirt roads... well, it was basically a warm-up hike... for the hike. Yippee.
After about an hour and a half we arrived in Likpe Todome...which is all the way at the top of a giant hill... and proceeded to the tourist center for the village. We were guided on our four hour hike by a man known only to us as Boss. He was awesome; very helpful, very insightful, and a lot fun. He provided the extra color commentary and interesting facts on both the forty-five minute hike to the caves and during the tour of the caves themselves. We actually climbed through a series of six caverns, each different in shape and size. While a couple of them were fairly small and not
Mount Afadjato
Very beautiful, very big, totally awesome! too tremendous of a climb, there were definitely a few caves that demanded a straight-up vertical assent. Those who suffer from claustrophobia and/or vertigo, I don't recommend that trip. That aside, it was definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done! The last half of our hike was devoted to Wajakli Falls. A beautiful waterfall with ice cold water that demanded travelers to put their tired hot feet into! It was a great ending to a great, exhausting, but great hike. We traveled back to the village and eagerly awaited a taxi or Tro Tro to arrive to take us back to the Lodge.
Sunday was kicked off with a leisurely walk through the forests on the outskirts of the lodge. Our destination? The tallest waterfall in Ghana, Wli Falls. Unfortunately this trip has both a good part and a not so good part. The not so good part was that because we had to check out at elven o'clock we were only able to view the lower falls. Actually, it really wasn't that bad, because even the lower falls were spectacular! It was so amazing, words cannot do it justice, so I won't even try. We all definitely jumped in and swam. It was so refreshing! Hopefully I didn't pick up a parasitic worm in the process... oh well, it was worth it! (famous last words) Any way, It was about a forty five minute hike there and forty-five back, making our timing exceptional as we arrived back at the lodge with fifteen minutes to spare. We checked out, grabbed a Tro Tro and made our way back to Hohoe headquarters.
After walking around Hohoe for about an hour and a half, visiting three different hotels and finding no rooms available, we finally located some cheap accommodations - the Taste Lodge. After dropping off our bags we once again grabbed a taxi and headed south to the village of Liati Wote and the tallest mountain in Ghana, Mount Afadjato. We set out with our guide to the base of the mountain to begin the assent. Now, let me remind you all that for over twenty years of my life I have lived in either Manhattan or Emporia, Kansas... I've been to Colorado once... I had heard this mountain only takes two hours to climb, down and back...I thought it wouldn't be too bad... I thought wrong. I am an idiot, a silly Kansas idiot. I haven't sucked so much air in years. I thought I was going to die...well, vomit, and then die. I cannot even begin to describe how bad I felt attempting to climb that...... thing. But it was worth it. It was totally worth it! The view was incredible, the feeling? Sensational! A true feeling of accomplishment. It was an incredible experience... that I won't be doing again for a couple of weeks... months... distant futures. The reward afterward though was a plunge into Tagbo Falls. Stunningly beautiful and ice-cold refreshing. The perfect combo. We hopped onto a taxi back to Hohoe, ate an enormous dinner and caught some major Z's before checking out of the Taste Lodge at the hideous hour of three o'clock in the morning. Had to catch the bus...
It was a long uneventful bus ride back to Accra, and believe me, my Hostel has never looked better. I'm tired and sore all over. Classes are gonna be a welcome vacation from this excursion! So in review - six caves, five different villages, three waterfalls, two mountains, and one exhausting but incredibly awesome weekend! Not too shabby, not too shabby at all.
I miss you all tons and hope life is still on the up and up for all. It's great hearing from you all, sorry if I don't write you back. I'll try and get better about that. Until then, get pumped for Gallery 4!
Stay Frosty gang,
Jonathan
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Ashley
non-member comment
Sorry
I would love to stay Frosty for you Johnny but sadly it's 73 degrees here today and I just can't seem to feel cold.. XD! Keep exploring Johnny! and have so much fun that when you come back you'll decide to be a biology major! ^_^