Let's Go North: Monkeys, Mosques, and Witches, Oh My!

Last night I returned home from my trip to the Northern Region of Ghana and I am happy to report that it was probably some of my favorite days in Ghana. Not only did we get to see beautify scenery but we also got to hang out with animals, enjoy the calm atmosphere of the north, and meet some of the most genuine people of Ghana. Also, we traveled during the elections which (while unadvised) gave us even more dynamic experience.  As a side note, I'm sorry, pictures will come in about a week once I return to the US. For now, all pictures come from google..

Monday morning (around 6am) my two friends, Paige and Jessalyn, and I left our comfy homes in East Legon to get on a trotro to Kumasi. I would like to point out that we took trotros the entire way to the the north, giving us a bumpy, back-road, lengthy, and hilarious experience. After about 5 hours we arrived in Kumasi. After a small crisis regarding too much pure water and not enough public toilets in the Central Market of Kumasi we found ourselves on another trotro to our first destination of Techiman. We met an amazing man in this small town who helped us get a fabulous deal on a guest house for the night. Funny enough, it turns out it was the same guest house that strictly told us we couldn't put 3 people in the room (a recurring problem in hotel hunting).

Since we were in bed by 7pm that night (another theme to this trip) we were up before the sun around 5 or 5:30am. After checking out of hour guesthouse we got on another trotro that led us to the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary. We didn't make it to the sanctuary however. The cab driver and the man that shared our taxi made some sort of deal and we only got as far as the village that borders the sanctuary. This turned out fine because we still got a tour of the back of the sanctuary and got to feed some Mona monkeys.

After hanging with the monkeys we got on a trotro to Kintampo, our destination for the night. This was probably the bumpiest "road" that I have traveled on in Ghana...and the dustiest. Oh, have I mentioned that anything can happen on a trotro? Well, halfway through the ride a goat joined us inside the trotro. We were crossing our fingers the entire time that it wouldn't pee on our bags since it was standing on top of our backpacks. 

(ps, the goat was alive)

In Kintampo we went to the waterfalls. While they were not as big as Wli Falls it was still a nice experience and a good way to get away from the people, cars, and general noise. We stayed in a guest house in Kintampo Tuesday night.  

Wednesday morning we were up early and on our way into the Northern Region to Mole National Park.  Mole is the largest national park in Ghana (over 4,000km in area) and home to the Savannah grasslands and animals like birds, dear, monkeys, elephants, and more. Of course, our one and only goal was to see elephants.  We were unlucky because we came at the end of the mating season so the elephants dont appear in the walking areas as often. Oh well. We got to hear silence for the first time in 4 months. Another plus, we ate some delicious fufu and light soup at a canteen that mostly serves the park workers. As another side note, by this time on the trip we were consistently covered in red dust. When we arrived in Mole after our bumpy trotro rides, the three of us were at least 3 shades darker due to the caked on dust. Also, according to our guide book we did the impossible. We took trotros from Kintampo to Damongo Junction and then from there to Damongo and finally to Mole. According to the author and his sources, most people can't get a trotro at Damongo Junction and end up having to go all the way to Tamale and then on to Mole. Basically, we were pretty proud of ourselves!

The next day, after our morning walking safari we went to a small village outside the park called Larabanga. This was my favorite part of the trip. We met a guy name Ibraham who runs a homestay thing. He gave us a tour of the different aspects of Larabanga, fed us three times, and let us sleep on a the roof of a mud hut. This was all run on donation. To explain a little further, Ibraham teaches children in the morning and evening Arabic and school subjects to kids that can't go to school. Larabanga doesn't have a high school either and education is something that Ibraham and his family are trying to improve. The village is called "the home of tourists" mainly because foreigners are the ones that are helping provide the essentials to the village. The corruption and inefficiency of the Ghana government make access to financial help from domestic sources extremely hard. I loved Larabanga- the people there accepted us right away and we spent a relaxing day hanging out with Ibraham and his many friends. His brother Muhammad also showed us around the village in the afternoon.

While I enjoyed Larabanga, we were exposed to the true problems of poverty. Aside from problems of education access, until 2 years ago this village didn't have a source for clean water so guinea worm, diarrhea, intestinal worms, and other serious problems were affecting people. Most people live in mud huts or something similar. Running water is non-existent and bucket showers are the only source for a bath. Simplicity. Yet also daily struggles beyond the listed ones. I found peace here and I loved the sound of the Islamic Call to Prayer that came from the mosques. Speaking of mosques, Larabanga is home to the oldest mosque in Ghana. It is quite a sight, even though it is small.

We slept on the roof of a mud hut. We almost froze to death. Northern Ghana has entered the beginning of the dry season which brings very cold nights and mornings and dreadfully hot days. A plus, mosquitoes dont like the cold, yay! We slept on something like this:

I was sad to leave Larabanga. However we had to move on to Tamale (which sounded easier than it actually was because this day, Friday, was election day). We made it to Tamale though, were we stayed in a teacher's hostel and found hot water!!! Because it was voting day the city of Tamale had shut down. We relaxed and wandered through the capital city, ate some insanely cheap food, and met up with some friends that had ventured to the north the day before.

While Jessalyn, Paige, and I were in Larabanga we had decided to change our travel plans. Instead of venturing to Togo we decided that we wanted to go farther north to Gambaga to visit a witch camp. Yes, a witch camp. Where accused witches live and seek refuge...kind of. This place is so complicated. Some say its a sanctuary for women who are thrown out of their villages while others claim the camps are human rights violations. Basically, in a short summary, women (mainly elderly women) are accused of being witches by people in their villages (for whatever reason) and threatened to be killed, harmed, or sent away. So instead of being killed they are taken to the chief of Gambaga who works with the lesser deities (small gods) and relieves them of their supposed witchcraft. Then they are allowed to live in small small huts in a secluded area of the Gambaga village where they no longer have magical power. The women are free to leave but they have nowhere else to go. So they stay...

(We met this Chief)

So we were in Gambaga on Saturday. We also met the nicest lady- she owned the guest house that we stayed in. The next morning we were back on a trotro to Tamale so that we could catch the 5pm VIP bus back to Accra (a bus ride that only ended up taking 10.5 hours!)

There are many more details of this trip that would take days to write however I hope to share them and many more adventures with everyone when I get back home next Tuesday/Wednesday. I hope this blog finds everyone well! I miss yall and can't wait to catch up!

With love,
Anna