Waterfalls, Winds and What is Going On Out There???

After a light breakfast of tea and toast Katherine and Debbie headed off to the Wli Falls around 8 AM. On the short walk from the hotel to the hike reception area they passed two spots (bars) with music blaring. We signed in at the Reception and were charged 7 cedis per person, plus 1 cedi per camera. Alfred was our guide to the falls and told us about flora and fauna, as well as his decision at age 50 to remain single and childless, although his mother continues to expect him to marry before she dies.

The walk was 45 minutes to the falls. At our first bridge crossing women and children were washing clothes in the river and colorful garments were draped over the rocks drying in the sun. It was a lovely walk, first through farm lands and then through a tropical jungle of ficus trees, bamboo, mahogany, and many other trees that Alfred told us about. We also saw butterflies and a praying mantis with a beetle in her grasp. We crossed 10 footbridges, each crossing with more water as we got closer to the falls.

At last we were there. In a big opening in the forest first we viewed the upper falls which were another two-hour hike away. The lower falls were very tall and beautiful with a huge pool of water at the base. The plan was for us to swim in the falls, and we had our bathing suits on under our clothes. We stripped down, including shedding our glasses, and blindly walked into the pool of water with a rocky bottom. Debbie “went for it” and shrieked with laughter as she stood under the powerful falls. Katherine decided to stay just thigh deep since the water was frigid. After a few photos ops we headed back to join Judy at the hotel.

Earlier today Wisdom wisely advised us to order box lunches so we could avoid the hassle of searching for a luncheon spot later on. After leaving Liate Wote we agreed to look for a nice shady spot to sit and enjoy our food. Judy spotted a nice area in the shade of the bamboo trees, but Wisdom didn’t think we had enough food with us for all of the snakes, so we continued on looking for a snake-less location. While driving, a few minutes later a 2 foot long, thin green snake crossed in front of us. Wisdom did a great job of rolling right over him.

From Liate Wote we headed west for about an hour to visit the Kpando Women’s Pottery Cooperative. This cooperative of 15 women from surrounding villages create incredible bowls and receptacles of all shapes and sizes, as well as ceramic animals and outdoor flower pots. All of the work is done by hand, with no wheels or machines to help the artists. The clay dries in the natural sun -- no kilns are used. A lot of items were just too big for us to consider buying, but small animals and bowls will be traveling home with the three of us. We keep reminding ourselves that we are not shopping for ourselves -- we’re shopping to help improve the economic status of Ghana.

After Kpando we headed back into the mountains to our hotel for the night at the Mountain Paradise Hotel. This hotel is blissfully isolated and is located on a grassy knoll overlooking the Kulugu River, facing Mount Gemi. Looking out in every direction are trees and mountains. So peaceful, until........ Around 5 PM a wind began and clouds got darker and darker. And the winds continued to grow, bringing a little rain, and the clouds got DARKER and DARKER, and the winds got stronger and stronger. For about two to three hours we were in the middle of a storm with winds probably around 50 miles an hour. Maybe stronger. Trees were bending in the wind, electricity was lost (very early in the storm,) and the walls of our somewhat poorly-built hut actually were moving with the wind. I was concerned that our roof was going to blow off. Wisdom told us that it is not unusual to have a wind storm, but he has never experienced anything like that before. Luckily the three of us brought flashlights with us, which allowed us to get to the dining room for dinner. A few raindrops and a little wind wasn’t going to keep us from dinner! By 8 PM the wind began dying down, and around 9 the electricity came back on. A very crazy evening for us!

Our hotel last night did not have internet access, nor does tonight’s hotel, so Wisdom lent us his small external attachment so we could access the internet. Judy and Katharine both spent time catching up with emails, but the signal wasn’t strong enough for Debbie to Skype home.