Ghanaian Paradise

I think I found a bit of paradise at Busua Beach this weekend. My friend had her 21^st birthday this weekend so 6 friends and I decided to trek past Takaradi in the Western Region for a little relaxation and fun. We left East Legon around 8am, passing through our typical Accra trotro stations and, from there on to Takaradi. The drive, while almost 6 hours, is beautiful. We drove along the coast of Ghana for hours, and seriously, I have never seen pretty beaches. The Gulf of Guinea just doesn’t compare to the Gulf of Mexico…haha.

We stayed in a placed called the Alaska Hotel. Our rooms were huts and it was awesome. From where we stayed we could walk about 5 steps onto the beautiful sand and clear, blue water. I have never seen ocean water this clear before. There was an island in the distance, coastal mountains to our left and right, wooden fishing boats with Ghana flags anchored in the shallows of the sea. Seriously spectacular.

Friday night we all decided to eat Kenkey (Fante Kenkey) with pepae. Kenkey is basically a fermented maize ball. To eat it you mash it with your fingers, scoop up the salsa-ish red pepper sauce. And it costs around $1 and you are full for days. It also went great with our appeteshi! Also, along with my surprise for enjoyable Kenkey (I didn’t like this food the first time I ate it), it rained heavily that night. Ghanaian rain is wonderful, anytime, anywhere.

Since we all fell asleep around 10pm we were up with the sun. While this is a normal sleeping routine for us we were surprised that our get-away didn’t equate to us sleeping in a little later. By 6am we were up and about. I found a hammock. Did I mention that I found paradise this weekend?? We listened to music, read, and relaxed in the heating morning until about 8am when we heard of a pancake man around the corner. Banana pancakes were what we have all been craving so we were thrilled with the overly-sweet treats that landed on our plates. Note to Ariana: if you read this, plan a pancake date for when I get back. I miss our whole-wheat banana-berry pancakes with almond butter.

Tera, Jessalyn, and I headed back to Accra on Saturday. It was a short trip but we all had papers and projects to finish for this week. The drive back ended up being about 8 hours…so a long time to be trapped inside a trotro. To diverge the ridiculous traffic we found ourselves in the back roads that resembled an off-roading excursion. There was no electricity in these areas and I am sure that the residents got a laugh out of watching this trotro try to maneuver their streets. It is times like this when I realize what officials mean when they say there is no open land in greater-Accra. People live everywhere and there is only small small land available.

After the long trip I was so happy to see Banku and Palm Nut soup waiting for me when I returned. My mom makes the best Ghanaian food. Ever think you would like to eat another ball of maize dough? Banku is my favorite out of the many starch balls that we eat. And last night I discovered that my family’s regional Banku is my favorite. Go figure! Like every weekend, this was a Ghanaian food-filled weekend. While I will probably only attempt to make Banku for my American people once, I hope to cook some of the amazing soups, stews/sauces, plantains and beans for yall when I get back in 5 weeks.

Another update, I have finished all my classes and just have finals and projects coming in the few weeks. At the beginning of December my friend, Paige, and I are going to travel to the Northern Region for a week or so. We are hoping to take a cargo boat up the Volta River to Northern Ghana (this is a 36+ hour adventure). Once we make it there we will go to Tamale, the capital city, and Mole National Park to see elephants. If time permits then we might go to the Upper West Region to see hippos. If not we will travel down the other side of Ghana in the West so that we can go back to Busua Beach and a village that stands on stilts in a lagoon. Basically we will try to circle the country before we leave a week later. This trip is coming to an end and I can’t believe it!

I hope everyone is doing well! The electricity has stopped going out so frequently and I am told the internet will come back this upcoming week so maybe I will be able to be in better communication. Eat something fabulous on Thanksgiving for me!