After a weekend filled with village festivities, homemade banku*, and shots of akpeteshie**, it was time to say goodbye to the town of Dzodze and set out for our next destination in the mountains near Hoehoe, a town further north in the Volta Region of Ghana.
*banku = fermented cassava dough eaten with soup, tomato sauce, or fish
**akpeteshie = local gin made from distilled palm wine
Dzodze = ‘Zho-zhae’
Hoehoe = ‘Ho-hway’
End of vocab lesson, moving on.
For the few hours we were sitting in the tro-tro (shared minibus with set routes), I could not stop looking out the open window. The bush seemed to creep closer, hugging the sides of the tro tro, and the sound of the car racing past the leaves made the most refreshing rustling noises. My skin turned numb from the wind lapping at my face, but I could still feel the sun’s gentle warmth through the thick clouds. I let the soft rain kiss my hands as it chased away the heat before hitting the ground, leaving behind the scent of wet pavement.
It didn’t seem like we were driving for very long at all. Soon enough, we were cruising through Hoehoe and settling in at our lodge for the night. Felt like paradise.
The next morning, we set out for Wli falls, the highest waterfalls in Ghana and West Africa. A 45 minute walk brought us to the base of the waterfalls. Everything felt almost dreamy on this picturesque trail. It made me realize that I had never been to any place that was untouched by people.
Would it even be possible to go somewhere completely untouched? Wild life in its actuality? Nature in its most natural…
And in the middle of this thought, I could feel a mist of water spraying from over the trees. We were near the base of the falls, and the recent rainfall had flooded the pool. The falls were a rage. We couldn’t be near it without getting completely soaked from the mist, and so we let the water drench our bodies head to toe. I stood there for a second, eyes closed, arms wide open, breathing in fresh air that is hard to come by under Accra’s polluted clouds, feeling loved. Not necessarily by anyone or anything. Just felt like life loved me, so I sent it back some love, soaking under the roar of Wli falls.
Our guide for the hike told us that we needed to head out to get to the top of the falls, so I channeled my inner John Muir and began the ascent. The mountains are calling, and I must go.
So I went. And woke up from this little dream. Woke up ten times over. Let's start with stage 1.
1: THE STRUGGLE
Oh. My. God. The struggle was TOO real. Actually, every stage after this should just be a sub-stage under THE STRUGGLE. While in Ghana, I’ve really been feeling like I’m in the driver’s seat of my own life, only to drive and crash the struggle bus all day long. But I digress.
First of all, this trail was steep. And I mean like, steeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Every step felt like stepping up onto a chair. Or like when you try to go up two steps at a time on the stairs so you can get to the top faster but you just end up being really tired and out of breath. I was panting like a dog just 15 minutes in.
Not to mention that the sweat game was so strong. I can’t remember the last time I was dripping sweat like that. I hated it, but the tinea on my skin probably loved it. (Oh, yeah. Did I mention that I picked up some skin fungus from playing with the kids in Dzodze? Didn’t even know what tinea was until my friend Jetta pointed out all these red spots on our skin. Cute kids. Tinea, not so cute.)
2: THE SCRAMBLE
I’ll admit that I can be a scaredy cat. I can’t watch scary movies, I don’t like being alone in the dark, and I freeze up whenever my mom is angry at me. But I do love heights and rollercoasters and anything with thrill and adrenaline. This hike shouldn’t have been a problem, but at one point, the sweat game got restarted when I started to break out into a nervous sweat.
As we hiked higher into the mountain, the trail narrowed. One side of the trail was a wall of rock, and the other side was a giant slide of shrubs and trees. I could just see myself falling off the trail and rolling down the side of the mountain until I got back to the base of the falls.
The thing is that I hate being scared. I hate how fear makes me feel so weak. Especially when all I wanted to do was conquer this hike to prove to myself that I was a strong-independent-womyn-with-the-letter-y.
On top of that, I knew that if I let myself panic at all, it would just make everything worse. I was trying so hard not to be scared that every time I slipped over a mossy rock or got my foot stuck in a root, I would get even more freaked out. I psyched myself out to the point that I stopped being scared and just started to get frustrated. It was a hot mess.
3: THE SONG
In times like these, mind over matter, right? So who did I turn to for moral support? None other than my homegurl, Miley Cyrus. I must confess that Milez was a very important part of this physical and spiritual journey because I had the lyrics to IT’S THE CLIIIIMB stuck in my head for at least half of the time. How appropriate.
I also kept telling myself that the mountain was my friend. I just repeated it in over and over in my head (in between singing The Climb to myself), “The mountain is my friend. The mountain is my friend. The mountain is my friend…” I pretended that everything around me was cheering me on, and thanked them for it, saying: Thank you, branch. Thank you, fern. Thank you, caterpillar. Thank you, tree.
I promise I wasn’t doing this because Ghanaians are so big on politeness. And I bet you’re laughing at how stupid this sounds. No worries, I’m laughing at me too, but here’s the thing – the worst time to feel alone is when you’re having a rough time, and it just so happens that you usually feel the most alone when you’re having a rough time.
If you didn’t notice, I was having a bit of a rough time. So I was trying to be friends with the mountain. Our guide was doing this hike in freaking flip flops, Tara was charging through the mountain way ahead of me, and I could feel myself falling further and further behind. I had to be friends with the mountain if I was going to make it through the entire hike.
4: THE SPRINT
So whenever you think things are bad, always remember that it could be worse. Our guide looked back at us and told us that we had to walk fast because there were some ants on the trail. What he actually meant was that we had to run or else get eaten alive by these ants. I’m used to seeing big ants now. There are a lot of juicy looking black and red ants about the size of your thumbnail crawling around in the grass all the time.
But the way these ants were swarming in the middle of the trail was absolutely nuts. I could see them in these giant clusters in the dirt and didn’t know what to do with myself. But what else could I do? I took a few deep breaths, counted to three, and ran as fast as my tired legs would let me. These suckers still managed to get inside my shoes and leave me some nasty bites.
5: THE SUMMIT
I almost don’t want to describe the top of the falls at all because I wouldn’t be able to do it justice. It was like being caught in the middle of a storm. The current was even stronger than at the base, and the spray of the water made all the plants lean away from its path. I thought the base of the falls was beautiful. The top of Wli was a whole new ball game. What a beast. I can only think of a few other things I’ve witnessed in life that just exuded such pure power. It reenergized me in an instant. All I wanted to do was cheer and jump and dance around under the waterfall’s rain.
7: THE STORM
There were a few more minor slips while hiking down, but mostly because I kept looking up to the sky instead of keeping my eyes on the trail. I swear I have never seen more impressive clouds anywhere else in the world. Another rainfall was getting ready to hit, casting shadows over the mountain and sending warnings of thunder. These clouds were moving so fast that some of them looked like they were imploding on themselves. I was glad we were heading down because it felt like the weather was telling us to leave.
8: THE SWEET RELIEF
The moment my feet hit the flat ground, all the tension immediately left my body. It was as if I had been holding my breath during that entire hike. We sat by the base of the falls one more time before walking back to the lodge, and my mind was on auto pilot from there on out.
9: THE SOJOURN
We finally got back to Accra at around 11 at night, and I was so done with sitting in the back of that tro tro from Hoehoe to Madina. I was happy happy happy when I realized we were in Madina. I recognized the Papaye restaurant across the street where the stalls of the Madina outdoor market are lined up during the day. I knew it should only cost 10 cedis to get a taxi back to campus from there, maybe 8 if we caught a less stubborn driver. I could see the intersection of Okponglo junction once we were over the hill before the light. Turn left, right at the stop sign, and another right – gave the driver the same directions I had given to so many other drivers.
It was weird to realize how accustomed to Accra I had become within a couple short months. After a weekend full of adventures, I more than welcomed the sense of familiarity. We were finally home!
10: THE SURRENDER
This whole trip was by no means an easy one.
First of all, excuse my language, but nature is a bitch. And she is a badass one. There is nothing more humbling and calming than the insane sights and sounds of nature. Makes you feel so small but not in a belittling way. Reminds you how big the world is but also assures you that you are a part of it, that you belong here or wherever you might be.
The thing that was so hard about the hike up to Wli was not the physical test. I have definitely experienced worse pain and fatigue in some of my dance classes. The hardest part was that I only had two choices – go all the way up, or turn around. Turning back was not an option, so really, there was only one option. Onward.
Here I am in Ghana, wanting to challenge myself and grow in ways that wouldn’t be able to back at home, but I’ve been saying that without really knowing what it meant. This hike up to Wli was the best possible manifestation of that desire. On the inside, I was whining like a baby and wishing that I could just be done with the hike. But there were no shortcuts. We were already on the shorter trail up to Wli… only one way up and one way down.
I definitely came out of the hike with much more than I started with… at least seven ant bites, a big butt bruise, and a new found understanding of what it means to challenge yourself. I’m going to have to test out whether or not this hike left me with tougher skin when I travel back to the Volta Region for a different hike up Mount Afadjato, the highest peak in Ghana!
Yɛbehyia bio. We will meet again.