A Weekend Away

Last week, while rummaging through the shelves at the office I came across a book of Ghanaian poetry. Beneath one of the poems was the following Ashanti proverb:

If the wind brings you a gift, put a stone on it.

Well I can say that the weekend before last the wind brought me the gift of fresh air and adventure. Instead of putting a stone on it, I put my hiking shoes on it. This past weekend was a long weekend in Ghana because of Eid al fitr, so we all got Monday off from work. On Sunday, I took a mini bus with three other Canadians to Aburi, where the botanical gardens are north of Accra. We had heard about mountain bike rentals outside the gardens and decided it might be fun to take a jaunt through the hills on bikes. So we got geared up with bikes and a guide named Julius with a Barbie helmet and set off on a two hour trail through the Akuapem Hills. I’ll admit it has been some time since I last went mountain biking and the terrain was fairly easy to maneuver. I think when the guide meant, “some biking experience necessary”, he really meant, “experience with downhill, water, ruts and rocks necessary!” Nonetheless we managed to complete the trail despite our sore bottoms and sweaty complexions. The ride itself was pretty exhilarating…I can now say I’ve biked through an orange grove, gushing streams, a cocoa farm and small mountain village where all the villagers were in the same dress for a funeral. We even stopped to taste some of the cocoa beans which were sweet and refreshing. I’ll be honest and tell you that many of the hills at the end I walked from sheer exhaustion. At the end of our journey, fresh pineapple and cold water awaited us. We spent the night in Aburi gardens at a guest house. We definitely slept well that night!

The next morning we woke up at 7 am so we could catch an early ride to the falls. We caught a taxi that wielded through the mountain roads to a village called Adukrom, there we bought some bread and caught a trotro to Nkurakan. The road to Nkurakan was beautiful, amazing views and winding roads through dense and lush trees. It was market day in Nkurakan and the streets were packed with farmers and hawkers. We caught a taxi from the market to the falls, which were just outside the village. We were wise to get up so early that morning and beat the holiday travelers to the falls. When we arrived the park was empty. We rented a guide, named Samuel, to take us on a hike south of the falls. We were all grateful to be walking the trail that day, rather than on bikes! The trail started out from the park to grassy plains with more breathtaking views of the hills. However, we were soon winding down a jungle path deep into the forest. The trees were dense and the smells and sounds of the forest were all around us. We walked through a cave, across a ravine and up a steep slope of rocks. When we emerged from the trail, up above was a massive rock shaped like an umbrella. We climbed up to it and our guide told us to rest in the shade of the rock where the breeze was strong. He called it his natural A/C. Three of us paid 30Gp to climb a rickety bamboo ladder to the top of the rock and took pictures of the view. We were pretty freaked by the ladder but managed to ascend and descend safely. By the time we walked back to the park more people had arrived. We walked down the steps to the falls and took a dip in the edge of the pool where it was safe. The recent heavy rains have made the falls extremely strong and it’s hard to believe that at some point during the year the water dries up completely! We ate waakye (pronounced “wah-che), which is essentially beans and rice cooked together before making the trek back to Accra. It took three hours to get back passing through Nkurakan and then Koforidua.

The weekend was such a blessing because I’ve been so anxious to escape the city limits of Accra, smell fresh air and experience the peace and beauty of the countryside. I have never been so grateful to be experiencing God’s Creation at its finest. If more wind brings weekends like that my way I’ll be sure to have my stones ready.