Day 57 (saturday) The adventure!

The first of 3 waterfalls.

A look at the third waterfall from the top.

The first one from a different angle.

The third waterfall from the bottom.

Me at the base of the third one.

The bridge that leads to nowhere.

Me and some of the passengers walking away from the "broken down" vehicle.

The driver trying to fix the vehicle.

Me standing with some of the children at one of the villages we passed through.

This little guy got pretty close to us at the monkey sanctuary.

 

This morning I woke up around 4 o'clock in the morning (I seem to have a way of waking up just before I need to with no alarm) and was naturally a bit tired but when I tried to rest for another hour, the rooster next door was making sure that this would not be possible. It's ok though, I was going to be up by 5 anyhow as I was awaiting Ben's arrival at 5:30. I got ready really quick and was ready to go and Maureen informed me that Ben would prefer if I just met him at gates (he lives right there) so I grabbed all of my stuff (including some pb&j's that she made) and set off for gates. From there we left for tech junction and then went to the metro mass station (the same incredibly uncomfortable service I had used while traveling to Cape Coast) but found out that there were no buses to Kintampo.  From there we connected to kejetia but no one was going to Kintampo so we had to check a few different places out. We finally found a mini bus (about the size of a tro tro) that was headed to Kintampo. We waited for the bus to fill up before we could leave and then headed for our stop. They stopped a few times to let people off along the way and to urinate on the side of the road (something I'm still not as comfortable with) and then we moved along. There was a guy sitting in front of me that was obnoxiously loud on his phone for the duration of the trip. He was the last to get on and almost ran somebody over running to the car. Fortunately I had headphones and some music to listen to but I could still hear him over everything and he demanded that the driver turn his music down. All in all, it was pretty funny I guess but there was a sigh of relief when he finally got off. When we got out of the car, I had to find a place to go number 1 so we looked around for a bit and Ben said I could use a restroom (the urinal was 4 shaky pieces of tin nailed together with a little opening and a concrete floor) that some people said I could use (they were being hospitable and I appreciated it) but then Ben suggested I just go near a fence but people were out and about and then he changed his mind and said it might create more attention. We walked to a little rest stop and restaurant and I finally found a place to take care of business (it was a similar set up as the previous one with a concreted floor and a small drain hole). We went to the restaurant (there were two places right next door to each other but different establishments) and all I wanted was some rice and some tomato sauce or something similar so we made it clear that I didn't want meat or anything similar. They seemed to understand so while I was waiting, Ben went next door to get his food (a more traditional dish of fufu) and I got mine. I was definitely questioning my dish when it arrived and took a few bites but got some bones from a fish in my food so I covered my plate back up and paid and met back up with Ben. I'm glad that I had the sandwiches, I knew that we wouldn't be eating much else for the rest of the day. We went to the Kintampo waterfalls and had a guide that could tell us about them. Unfortunately he didn't really tell us too much about them and it was a little less than stellar but still a cool experience (it's interesting to see what some of the locals hold so close when it's all that they really have). There were 3 stations and the last one was pretty cool so I snapped a few pictures and then we made our way out. Ben gave the guide a little money for showing us around. This time as we were leaving, we didn't have to wait very long for a taxi as one was dropping some people off at the gate. This thing was in pretty bad shape but we had to get to a station that could transfer us to a village near the monkey sanctuary. We barely made it, I totally thought the thing was going to fall apart as it was violently shaking going well under the speed limit (the speedometers don't work in most of the vehicles here but everyone was passing us and honking). We got to the junction and I was ready for the next phase of our journey. We searched around for a few minutes for a car that was going to the village that was nearby. We finally found one but no one was on it and the cars have to be full before they can leave. We waited and waited and waited and finally got to leave (we were contemplating just going to the next junction and then transferring back home to Kumasi, which I was fine with) but Ben, being indecisive, suggested that we try to go to the sanctuary anyway. We started down this dirt road leading to the middle of nowhere (it was like a bad horror movie) and the road progressively got worse and worse and we almost got stuck or high-centered a few times. The driver was having a hard time shifting throughout the trip and when we were really far into the jungle, he stopped the car and asked us all to get out. He said he couldn't make it up this hill with us in it and then he pulled up and got out and laid under the car trying to fix it. We were outside of the car for 30 or 40 minutes watching several apparently failed attempts. The other passengers were all getting restless and demanded some of their money back, the driver obliged, begrudgingly, and gave everyone back some money (only 1 cedi each and the trip was 6.50). Ben, myself, and another guy started walking because there was a nearby village where we could catch a taxi that could then take us where we needed to go. NOPE. We walked for a couple miles and passed several little cemeteries (mostly overgrown by the grass and unkempt) and then made it to the first village and waited around trying to find some transportation to get out of this place with no real luck (I was also instructed to stand away from them as they were trying to find a taxi because some of the drivers either won't pick up white people or completely overcharge them) so we mingled with some of the people and then had to make our way to the next village which was a couple more miles away. We reached the next village and it was busy with people and a funeral (which is quite a spectacle and celebration with music and so forth) and as we were making our way through, we ran into the driver of our tro tro (after we were out of the car and walking for a bit, he flew past us and didn't bother picking anyone up) and was just smirking at us. Ben let him know how we felt but he didn't seem to care so we just walked on. We weren't sure what to do at this point and time was escaping us and the couple of miles turned into a few more than we were prepared for (although the walking didn't bother me so much as the fact that we were pretty vulnerable out in the middle of nowhere) and we were passing a fire house and the lady standing outside invited us to sit until we could figure something out, so we did. We saw some familiar faces from the tro tro and spoke to them for a bit. I still had another sandwich in my bag (I always save food for these kinds of circumstances) and shared it with Ben while we waited. It was starting to get late and I was wondering if we were going to have to stay in one of these villages. A motorbike came by and they flagged him down and our friend that walked with us got on and told us that he would call a taxi to come back and pick us up. We waited some more and a taxi came by, not related to our friend, and there were more people waiting now. We hurried to get in and ended up piling 7 adults and 1 baby into a car the size of a 4-door vw mini or maybe even a bit smaller. We drove past the sanctuary junction and made our way to the next main junction where I thought we would transfer to Kumasi but Ben had apparently spoken to the driver and he was willing to drive us to the sanctuary and wait and then take us back to the junction. Ben asked what I wanted to do and I said I was fine with going home but we ended up going to the sanctuary. It was starting to get dark so I didn't think that we would have much luck with the monkeys. We got there and had to go to a couple of places before we got to see some monkeys. I began snapping some photos and then we were approached by some of the villagers and they said we needed to pay. I paid and we were led around some of the place but there were only a few monkeys running around and the guide said something to the effect that the monkeys were getting ready for sleep and that we had gotten there too late (no s&$*) but he insisted that we keep following him. This guy didn't really have much to say, he had a terrible stammer (and Ben referred to him as illiterate and I'm not going to disagree) and when asked to provide a history, he couldn't really tell us much so basically, he was useless and said something about gods and and an oracle (sounds like the movie 300). I got a few pictures (we bought some bread to feed them but none was given to me to try) and then we left for the junction to transfer. It was dark and I realized that we had to go to that junction that would take us to another junction that would then take us to Kumasi. We, rather I, bought our tickets and we sat in the car and waited for it to fill up (we had the option of sitting in the front or the row just behind where there was a tv screen) and sat down in front of the tv screen and then the front filled up and we were ready to go. There was absolutely no leg room and no head rests for our journey home but at least we were heading home. We got to kejetia and it looked completely different and horribly dirty with trash everywhere. Maureen had called us a short time before our arrival and let us know that she accidentally kept the key to her room and was at her aunt's house but would meet us at tech junction or me at home (I was relieved to know that she would be home so I could have some food). Ben told me to be extra guarded when we arrived at kejetia because the area was notorious for bad people and pick pockets. We got to tech junction and Ben was staying so he could get some food and I would just try to pick a taxi home. I waited for a while before I could find one that was going to where I needed to go. I made it home, completely exhausted, and took a quick shower and Maureen was still not home so I figured that she would just come in the morning so I laid down. She came in a short while later and warmed up some food for me. I ate it and crashed pretty hard (the laundry I had set out to be washed wasn't able to be picked up so I laid on a blanket on top of my mattress). I spent a lot of money, relatively (more money than I had spent in one day while I've been in Ghana) and had quite an interesting and slightly disappointing adventure today but I had a pretty good time and got to interact with some really good people.