Weekend at Ada Foah
Posted by Cassandra on May 13th, 2010
~This post was written Monday January 25th,2010~
So last Friday, at around 5pm we were all feeling a little defeated and really wanted to get out of the city and see more of Ghana. Jess and Nelly had decided that they were going to take a weekend trip to a place called Ada Foah, about 2 hours outside of Accra. I jumped aboard, so did Jackie, Inka and Marilyn (another volunteer who recently arrived). Bridget, a long term volunteer who has been living here for a while decided to come too and was our guide seeing as she had done this trip some months before. So eventually the group grew to 7. We left early
Saturday morning (7am) and went to meet bridget at the Tros-Tros station. I don`t know If I have explain the tros-tros yet but they are basically the public transportation system here in Ghana. They are these big vans (that look like they are breaking down…the door doesn`t really work properly) and they shove as many people on a bench as possible. The plus side is it is pretty cheap transportation and so you get used it. We arrived at the tros-tros station which is kinda like Ghana`s version of a Greyhound station. I think it might be called Lories? Not sure. But basically it was the craziest thing I have ever witnessed. These vans were EVERYWHERE and so were people. Stalls everywhere, markets down streets and in between the tros-tros.
Everywhere you looked there was someone balancing tons of merchandise precariously on their heads while holding some in their hands, and trying to sell it to us “Obrunies” (which is what they shout at us; translated it means “white person”). I had so many people crowding me and asking me where I was going that I couldn’t even answer, I had to just walk on. We eventually found this really nice lady who took us to the tros-tros going to Ada Foah. Once there, we realized that Bridget was waiting for us at ANOTHER tros-tros station beside the one we were in. So the lady again led us to the right place, weaving through noise, hissing, snapping , music and exhaust smoke. Finally we found where we were meant to be and we thanked the lady (with a hug and a couple of cedis) and boarded the tros-tros. It was actually a lovely ride. The scenery was beautiful outside Accra; the fields and little villages that we passed along the way were exactly how pictured Africa. This ride, in a way, was my wakeup call.
So we arrived in Ada Foah at around 11 am. Where we met some locals who were happy to take us where we wanted to go. Estuary Beach was our final destination. Bridget described it as paradise, and I have to say she was not far from the truth. The local brought us weaving through a very calm very nice little market, full of wooden stalls, and to a river where a boatman awaited. We negotiated a price (3 cedis) and hoped on. Boating down this river was absolutely gorgeous. On either side of us there were communities surrounded by palm trees. Never in my life have I seen so many beautiful palm trees. There were simple communities living mostly out of mud and grass huts, and there were beautiful beach homes (most likely privately owned property). The water was so clear and inviting, that is before we heard about the crocodiles (I did not see any but just knowing they were there was enough to deter swimming-let a long the warnings from my doctor). We arrived on the beach and there were rows of grass huts, a drink booth, and grass umbrellas near the water with lounging chairs underneath. Amazing.
It was called estuary beach because it marks the place where the ocean meets the river (or sea? I heard it being called both). We were basically on a small strip of island, and on one side was the river by which we traveled and on the other side was the Ocean. Literally right there. I had never really been in the ocean before so that alone was amazing. The sky was so blue that if you stood on the hill it was hard to see where sky ended and ocean began. The waves crashed so ferociously yet somehow, it was calming…. ok, I am being a little romantic with my writing now but I have to say, having hardly been around oceans, this was amazing. We “swam”, if you can call it that. There are no life guards in Ghana and the tide looked very dangerous so we slowly edged into the water and let the waves push us onto the shore. As we got braver, it got more fun. Afterwards we napped in hammocks under some coconut trees (cliché but it had to be done) and I got a tan! YAY.
The food was really good, which was a bit surprising considering we were quite literally in the middle of nowhere. No washrooms except a grass outhouse, no shower, but good food.
As the day wore on crabs came out of their millions of homes on the Ocean beach and danced around our feet. They were so cute! I also spent half the day picking seashells.
When night fell a giant bonfire was prepared and to our surprise and pleasure chairs were placed around the fire and we were graced with traditional African music and dance! There were a group of very good drummers, lots of signing and some cowbell! The dancers were like nothing I have ever seen. They were so fast and agile (especially considering they were dancing on sand), and the crackled of the fire behind them made it all the more mystical. After about an hour of strait dancing (and in this heat!) they invited us to come and try our hand at it, or rather or hips lol. What a workout! I am definitely taking up African dance when I come back to Canada, 10 minutes and you have lost 20 pounds and your abs are screaming for a break. I loved it.
Afterwards I retired to my grass hut on the beach. I know, cool right? There was no light and it was my first mosquito net experience… there were 3 pounds of sand in my bed but aside from that I slept well.
The following day was just as good. I walked to beach when I awoke and there were around 15 men pulling at a giant rope from the Ocean. Curiosity pricked me so I went to check it out. They were fishing! This was not fishing like we are used to it. This is HARD work. I decided to help… 2 hours of constant pulling in the African heat and still they had not pulled in the net yet. Basically, there is a giant net that they (somehow… I think by boat) cast into the ocean. At each end of the net there is a long stretch of thick rope. There are two groups of about 15-20 people each who grab each end of the rope and stand about 50 feet or more away from each other to pull it in. It took me a while to realise that the two groups were pulling at the same net. I have never sweat that much in my entire life (and I can say that in complete honesty.) The fish was meant to feed the entire village. I was soon distracted, however, by a GIANT sea turtle which had washed up on the shore. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. The turtle was dead… belly up but still so big and beautiful. The feeling of seeing it there for some reason filled me with so much sadness. The turtle was easily half the length of me and probably twice as wide. One thing I should note is that the pollution on the beach is unbelievable. All of the garbage from Accra gets washed up on the shore in Ada, and pollutes the peoples land and animals. Apparently, a mile or so down river there are no washrooms for the people, and so the ocean it is. I am SO glad that I learned this after I swam. There are volunteers there who are currently in the process of building toilets.
So we made our way back around 3 pm and it was a wonderful weekend all in all. We caught a tros-tros all to our selves, and some of the people who were at the beach accompanied us back to Accra. It felt really good to shower.
So this afternoon I am supposed to be moving into my new Hostel with Jackie-looking forward to having a place to settle into.
Tata for now!
