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05.12.2018

I took breakfast at 07:00 this morning – fried eggs, toast and coffee. Sabine, the lady of the house, had told me last night that she and her husband would be going to Hohoe around 08:00 and I had asked if they could give me a lift. So I paid my bill and got ready. They packed the car full with crates of empty bottles to stock up with new ones in town. Even here there is a deposit on the glass bottles – mainly beer, cola, fanta etc. Water still comes in plastic bottles, though. But there was enough space in the rickety old car for me and my bag on the back seat as well.

They told me when they got here in 2001 the roads had been much better from Accra to Hohoe – back then it took them only 3 hrs – now it is a 5 to 6 hrs drive. But the road from Hohoe to Wli had only been paved last year – it was already crumbling, though.

School was starting in the morning and we passed many children in their uniforms on their way to school. They were all spotless clean and seemingly happy to go to school. Ghana obtained its independence in 1957 and Ghana’s first prime minister Dr. Kwame Nkrumah led Ghana into rapid industrialization. The new government of Nkrumah described education as the key to the future and announced a high-level university providing an “African point of view”, backed by a free universal basic education. This basic Education lasts 11 years. The curriculum is free and compulsory  for children aged 4 to 15 years old. It is divided into Kindergarten, Primary School and Junior High School. The primary school net enrollment rate in recent years was 90%, described by UNICEF as “far ahead” of the Sub-Saharan average. Ghana’s literacy rate was 71.5% with a notable gap between men (78.3%) and women (65.3%).

In Hohoe I was dropped off near the tro-tro station which I knew already and being directed by some people again I easily found the minibus to Ho. There were only 3 people on the bus yet and it took forever to fill up. I had arrived maybe 08:45 and only by like 10:15 the bus finally left. Since there are no schedules the tro-tros only leave when full – and that means full to the last seat!

I was only going as far as Biakpa to the Mountain Paradise Lodge which was maybe 2 thirds of the way down to Ho. I still had to pay the full fare of Cedi 13 and my bag – even though it fit in the back – was another Cedi 10. Oh well. I did have a window seat right behind the driver again and had the window open.

It was really hot again, so I could not sit in the bus while waiting for it to depart, I kind of hung around people watching. The bus station was not as busy as the one in Accra, of course, but there were many busses and shared taxis waiting to fill up to all kinds of destinations and many hawkers peddling all kinds of goods.

Ladies sold boiled eggs covered in a salt crust, I think. When somebody wanted one, they peeled the eggs, cut them and put some – maybe spicy – red sauce inside. I did not dare to try, though, but I would have to sometime.

As usually I was amazed by the women carrying their babies in a sling on their backs while working. It was just a plain length of cloth, it seemed, slung around the back and the baby and tied somehow in the front. This left the hands free for whatever. You would see absolutely nobody with a baby stroller in Africa! The babies get carried here and seem to move to the sway of their mothers’ hips, synchronised throughout the day, bending with them as they collect water or sweep the floor and rising again when the women stop to rest. They hang on as their mothers sell food in the market or go shopping themselves.

By about 10:00 there was only one seat left in the van, but nobody showed up, even though the mates were trying hard. It seemed today nobody wanted to go to Ho … frustrating. Eventually one of the passengers bargained with the mates and finally paid Cedi 10 for that last seat so the bus would depart.

As we left town we passed a funny hut on the road side and first I was not sure what a Stomach Clinic was supposed to be and just took a photo. But on closer inspection it became all clear to me! Alcohol disinfect – my saying!

It was about 45 km to Biakpa, but it took around 1 hr. The road was more potholes than asphalt and progress was slow, there was not much traffic, though. I frequently checked maps to not miss the turn of to the Mountain Paradise Lodge – it was a couple kilometer before the actual village of Biakpa. I had decided to go there first and drop my bag and then go see the monkeys in Tafi Atome. I had called in the morning to make sure they were open and had a room – no problem. I did remind the driver where to let me off, but he remembered. We arrived there approx. 11:30.

The Lodge is scenically located in a nice spot overlooking the lush forests and Mt. GEMI. I got a small room with no view, though, but it is only Cedi 75 and has its own bathroom. I just dropped off my big bag and some stuff and then went off again to visit the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary. I had to back track for maybe 8 km or so. The first like 4 km were steep down the mountain to Fume Junction.  Traffic was scarce this time of the day and therefore I started walking down. It was easy, the asphalt road led in serpentines down. Only like 5 vehicles in total passed me in my direction in half an hour, none had space for me. In the opposite direction was slightly more traffic – one minibus passed and the driver was waving enthusiastically at me – he had chatted with me at the tro-tro station in Hohoe and recognized me. After maybe 20 min walking I met a group of young men with their motorbikes. They just stood around there by the side of the road. – Hello! How are you? – I am fine thank you. – Where you go? – Tafi Atome! – What? You walk? – Yes, no bus coming. – You take motorbike! – You can take me? How much? – Cedi 20 to go. – How much go and come back? – Cedi 50. – Ok, let’s go!

I hopped on the back of his motorbike and we rolled down the mountain without engine first. Turns out he did not have enough gasoline in his tank …. But in Fume, the village and road junction on the bottom of the mountain there was a gas station – actually a proper gas station – where he put Cedi 10 worth of gasoline in. It was only a couple of kilometer more along the main road before the turn off to Tafi Atome. The road to the village was as well nicely paved and it was a quick ride. He dropped me off right by the Tourist Reception Office by the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary. I paid Cedi 20 entrance fee and Cedi 5 for bananas for the monkey. I also got a guide who would find the monkeys for me. Midday is not the best time to visit the monkey forest, though, especially on a hot day like today. The guide told me they are hiding from the heat, but would come out for the bananas. In the late afternoon however they were always visiting the village until sundown. Well, I was here now and had to make do with the midday walk….

The Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary is community-based, was created in 1993 to protect the mona monkeys and is home of one of the most habituated monkey communities in Ghana. Funds raised from tourism go to maintaining the monkey sanctuary or towards developing the community. Right behind the reception office the forest started and several well signposted trails were leading through. My guide Robert told me there are 3 monkey families here – families A, B and C – and each has between 20 and 35 monkey members led by one grandpa monkey. Robert carried the bag with some bananas and made funny calling noises. We did not have to walk too far – maybe 15 min until we heard them moving through the canopy to get to us. They like bananas and they know where to get them!

A small group of maybe 8 or 10 monkeys made their way to us. Mona monkeys (Cercopithecus mona) are old world monkeys which are known from Europe in fossil record, they include baboons and macaques and a small group still survives in Europe in Gibraltar. Mona monkeys live in Western Africa between Ghana and Cameroon. They mainly eat fruits and live in lowland forests.

Once the monkeys reached us, Robert settled on the footpath to attract them with the bananas. But they already had seen the bag and only the baby monkeys were somewhat shy. The bigger mamas came right to him and stood on 2 legs in front of him looking at him expectantly. He took a banana out, opened it and held it in his fist – as soon as he did it the first monkey basically jumped up on his arm to eat the banana.

Only the babies were shy and asked for the food to be thrown to them. A little one sat in front of him and would not come closer to take it out of his hand, no matter how much he was encouraging him. The little one just sat there with his arms wide and an expectant look as if he wanted to say – Now what? Give me the banana already!

I sat down as well – it offered the best view of the creatures – and Robert gave me a banana as well. – You must hold it tight in your fist! Otherwise they will take it right out and run!

Before I could think, there were mama and baby monkey on my arm and munching away. Their hand dug into my hand and arm and I could not push the banana more up fast enough for them to eat – they of course eat only the flesh not the peel.

The big mama was rough, but the baby was not as heavy and not as strong. After a while the little one had overcome his shyness and jumped up on our hands greedily.

We did not feed them all the bananas at once, but rather sat for a while watching them. They knew exactly that there were more bananas in the bag – they did not leave just yet, but rather waited hanging around in the bushes near us.

The baby monkey even climbed onto Robert who was hiding the bag with the bananas in his lab, and reached for it, cheeky little monkey! In the end we fed them all the bananas anyway, but it was cute to watch them eying the fruits. Robert said they were from family B. He knew that because each family has their own territory. He threw some banana to the older monkeys and they were clever enough to catch the fruit. They are wild in the sanctuary, there are no fences around, but they are used to the visitors feeding them bananas.

We spend about 1 hr in the forest. When I fed the last banana to a big monkey she ran right across my head and shoulders. When she sat on my arm she was quite heavy. Those monkeys were not as smelly as the monkeys we encountered last year in Madagascar – those over there were very smelly! But the mona monkeys here not so much. Nevertheless, when we reached the office again, we went across the road to wash our hands and arms at the community water pump. But when I was back in the Lodge I still smelled monkey on my T-Shirt …

The motorbike ride back was a bit shorter – the guy took a short cut through a gravel road which cut maybe 3 or 4 km off the trip. Up the steep mountain road the motorbike had no problems and he dropped me off by the drive way of the lodge.

The restaurant of the lodge is located right by the slope with great views to Amedzofe on the hill across. It was only 14:30 now, but I was hot and could not be bothered to take another trip up there. I decided I would do that tomorrow on the way to Aflao. Instead I said in the bar, had a cold Club Shandy against the thirst and sorted through all the monkey photos. Mobile reception was somewhat better than in Wli, so I could post some photos.

Then I had to take a siesta – my afternoon nap. For an hour I slept and then I went back to the restaurant. I found a nice bench with table below it and had a beer and some food. I did not feel like experimenting with more local food today – not that is not good, but I just did not feel like it. Instead I did order Spaghetti Bolognese …. I should have known better and have had Palaver Sauce … I should have gotten suspicious when the waitress asked me if I want chicken with it …. Spaghetti Bolognese turned out to be plain – overcooked – spaghetti with plain tomato mark and a chicken leg on the side …. No taste whatsoever … Well, I asked for salt and pepper to improve it and got chili powder, so that was good … it was filling enough and the soursop smoothie which I ordered with it was fresh and good. But I did not even take a photo of the food – I always take photos of the food – but it was just not worth it … The view was great, though.

When the sun had set around 17:40 – it was not to be seen from my vantage point, though – I went to my room. I was not going to unpack much – the decision was made – tomorrow morning I would leave as early as possible and see to get a motorbike to Amedzofe to do the short walk up Mt. GEMI. Then I could motorbike or taxi it down to the main road or even to Ho after that and from there take a tro-tro to Aflao. The border crossing is open late and I have a hotel room in Lomé already booked. But of course I do not want to arrive after dark! Therefore I would leave with the first light – sunrise is just before 06:00. But anyway – even with waiting times for transport it probably would not take me that long to reach my destination.

I went to pay my bill with the man of the house and had another beer – the only small bottle they had was Guiness – while writing my journal.

06.12.2018

I did wake up at 05:30 this morning and after getting ready I left the Lodge at 06:20. The man of the house had told me to just stand by the road and wait for a lift, but I really did not want to do that. Not many vehicles passed this morning either – actually I saw only a couple of cars at all – and I figured maybe I stand a better chance to get a ride in the next village. The lodge seemed to be located on the highest point of the road and from there on was descending again. It was approx 1.5 km to Biakpa and down the road it was easy to walk. Many local people and children came walking up the mountain in the opposite direction this morning on their way to work or school, I suppose. Not sure where exactly they were going, though.

The view up to Amedzofe and Mt. GEMI was beautiful this morning with the rising sun.

In Biakpa there were not yet many people around, but after waiting for a few minutes and no vehicle passing, I went to one of the stalls opposite the marked bus stop and ask there, if there was somebody who could drive me up to Amedzofe. The people there were very friendly and one man immediately told me to wait and he would go to get the taxi man. A car was parked nearby. When he came back he said, the driver was getting ready and would be coming in a few minutes and it would be Cedi 20 to go up to Amedzofe. Well, I had to charter the whole taxi, but what the heck …. When the driver came, we did take an elderly woman with us to the next Village, though. Fine with me.

In the little village of Vane the road to Amedzofe turned off and led very steep and in sharp bends up the mountain, but the drive did not take very long – it was only approx 3 km – however, the road was very bad. The Germans came to Amedzofe in 1842. As travelers in a hostile tropical land, they sought areas that had the semblance of comfort in terms of climate hence the ideal choice were the hilly Akuapim-Togo ranges of which Mt. GEMI is one of its highest habitable areas.

The Germans settled at various places in the Trans Volta Togoland, with Keta, Kpandu and Amedzofe being a few of such notable places. However, Amedzofe was considered to be the headquarters of the Germans and there is probably a good reason for that. With the town being 677 m above sea level, it could be said to be one of the few towns in the then Gold Coast that the Germans could consider as “home away from home” because of the somewhat cooler climate.

I arrived at the center – the market square – of Ghana’s highest town just after 07:00 this morning. The guide books all stated the Visitors Office would be open from 07:00 onwards – of course it was not … A huge padlock adorned its wooden door …. Hmm ….

The square was already as busy as it probably gets and a couple of men sat in front of the office. They were very friendly and after the usual greetings they told me to wait, the man from the office would come soon. I could however already put my bag on the porch, it would be fine there – soon being a stretchable specification in Africa. I chatted with them for a bit and after a few minutes they called onto a short man in a rather colorful outfit. It turned out he was one of the mandatory guides that visitors get assigned when taking hikes around Amedzofe. He told me, he would take me up Mt. GEMI and I could pay the fee upon our return. My bag would be fine at the office porch, no problem. So … off we went.

Mt. GEMI falls short of being the highest mountain in Ghana by just 85 m as it stands at 800 metres above sea level. This accounts for the rather cool and often hazy atmosphere around the mountain, an ideal place to escape from the rather high temperatures of mainland Gold Coast. So ideal was the place that the potato variety that was grown in Germany was also grown at Amedzofe, believe it or not.

Legends have it that it took the Germans about 40 years to really settle in at Amedzofe. Most of their houses were completed in 1888, along with the missionary school that they built. The school which was only known then as Missionary School or German Missions School is what has metamorphosed into the current Amedzofe EP Training College, known for training teachers for Ghanaian schools.

Mt. GEMI is right outside the town it took us less than the advertised 30 min to climb up. The path was not too steep and it was not yet that hot early in the morning.

After 50 long years of settlement at Amedzofe and engaging in other activities such as establishment of schools and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the Germans decided to commemorate that event in 1939 by mounting a cross on the hill locally known as Gayito which means “God of defends”. The name was given to the mountain by the indigenes during their war with the Ashantis because they believed that the god of defends which resides on the mountain helped them to defeat their enemies. The German life and activities in the area were then championed by the German Evangelical Missions Institute – GEMI. The abbreviation GEMI was therefore inscribed on the base of the cross and over time, people came to refer to the mountain as GEMI.

Of course, we made it all the way to the cross. Richy, my guide, told me all kinds of interesting things on the way, while I enjoyed the view. Unfortunately however, we could not see Lake Volta which lies not far in the distance to the west. It was too hazy this morning.

Lake Volta is the largest reservoir – man-made lake – by surface area in the world and is contained behind the Akosombo Dam. It is completely within the country of Ghana, has a surface area of 8502 m² and is stretching from Akosombo in the south to the northern part of the country. With a volume of 148 km³ Lake Volta is the world’s third largest man-made lake by volume. The flooding that created the Lake Volta reservoir displaced many people and had a significant impact on the environment.

Though, we could not see the lake, we still had a good view of the surrounding hills and villages. Easily I made out the Mountain Paradise Lodge, where I stayed last night, just below.

Having spent a few minutes up on top, we then made our way back down to town. The office was still closed … Richy therefore took me through town to visit the remains of the German cemetery. There was not much left of it, though. We found maybe 4 or 5 tomb stones with German names on them.

Back at the office, Richy proceeded to call the man of the office and a couple of minutes later he appeared. The fee was Cedi 10 for the short hike with a mandatory guide and also here the proceeds would go to the community. That is why they were so adamant to have me pay. If it was for the government they probably would not have bothered, considering I had already given Richy, the guide, a Cedi 5 tip.

I had to wait right there by the market square for transport back down the mountain and to Ho. Richy said, just to wait there and a car will appear eventually and it will definitely go all the way to Ho. This time of the day – it was just after 08:00 now – it would take not long. Cars would come and go throughout the day.

While waiting I talked to a Japanese girl who was in town for 2 years working in community development. She was also on the way to Ho, but was waiting for a friend and was not really worried when a car would come.

I was lucky, though – around 08:20 a taxi car appeared and I jumped up to ask – Yes, he was returning to Ho and not to worry, he will have to load the car first. Out of nowhere 3 other people appeared, though, but the driver assured me I would be on his car, no problem.

He had to load a bunch of crates with empty bottles and some empty plastic containers in the trunk of the car first, then he put my backpack on top of the pile. Of course, the trunk would now not close anymore, but that is no problem in Africa – same as the mini bus driver did yesterday – he pulled out some strings and just tied the lid of the trunk to the bottom of the car – no problem! A couple of the plastic containers he just hung by the string outside.

I was granted the front seat next to the driver – probably because I was the biggest person. The 3 others piled in the back seat. I had not even asked how much the fare is, I did not care, I was on my way to Ho!

I caught one last look at Mt. GEMI when we left town. Once we had passed rather bumpy and curvy road down the mountain to Vane we were on the main road leading to Ho. The road was in good condition and the driver was speeding like a maniac. The drive took just under an hour.

Ho is the capital city of the Volta Region. It was a part of the German colony of Togoland until World War I, when it was occupied by the British. Ho later became the capital of British Togoland and then French Togoland until that entity’s incorporation into the British Gold Coast colony, which subsequently became Ghana.

The taxi dropped everybody off just outside the main tro-tro station in Ho. The fare was only Cedi 8 and I was not even charged for my bag! Surprise! He had stopped however right next to a beverage shop, where the driver had to drop off all those crates with empty bottles. And while I waited for him to untie the trunk I spotted a potential souvenir! Bottles with fancy labels reading Orijin Bitters caught my eye. I had to inspect. In fact it was a spirit out of African herbal extracts! Ha! Medicine! They did not only have big bottles, but also small ones and when I ask the price, the small bottle was only Cedi 4 – gosh, less than € 1 … The perfect souvenir! I bought 2 of the small bottles to take home!

Once I had my purchases packed away and my bag was untied from the trunk, I walked the few meters to the main tro-tro station and – as usual – as soon as I set foot on the square somebody came asking me where I would go and more people shouted destinations at me. I needed to go to Aflao on the coast and the border to Togo. One guy led me to a tro-tro which seemed very full already – a good sign, because it might be leaving soon! I got distracted, however, by another guy who told me to hire a shared taxi and he would pick up 2 more passengers on the way and we could go right now. He wanted only Cedi 26 from me, but I did not like him, though. I left him standing and went back to that tro-tro and bought the last ticket out of the mates hand for Cedi 13. He told me to bring my bag to the rear end of the van where somebody would load it. The trunk had already been tied up, but the guy there said, if I paid Cedi 5 he can pack my bag in as well. I told him his mate said he would anyway and made some fuss, so he opened the trunk again. The mate in the mean time told me to take my seat in the very back of the van. Good thing I did, because I could hold on to my bag when they closed the trunk from behind. They had put my bag right on top of the pile behind the last seat and I had to grab it so it would not fall before they closed the trunk. Then it was stuck. And I was stuck as well! The minibus was full and I could not move my long legs at all having a big lady on the funny foldable aisle seat in front of me and my daypack on my knees … maybe I should not have been stingy and paid that guy for the shared taxi …

It was approx 115 km to Aflao, the road was good and the driver once again drove like a maniac. At least there were not too many bumps in the road – I was sitting right on top of the back axle … It took a bit more than 2 hrs to reach Aflao, around 12:00 noon I got off the minibus to finally stretch my legs.

Aflao is a town right on Ghana’s Togolese border, has a population of approx 66500 people and served in the 18th century as one of the major markets for the slave trade. Nowadays it is the major border town with neighboring Togo.

As soon as I got off the minibus a swarm of guys surrounded me – Lady, you go Togo? – Mama, you need moto-taxi! – Obruni, come with me! … I brushed them all off – I was sweaty, hot, thirsty and needed to stretch! And … in every guide book and on every online forum was written – No need for a moto-taxi! The border post is only a couple hundred meters from the tro-tro station and you can walk it easily. So I did! Togo here I come!

Indeed it was not far to walk – all the time avoiding more advances of moto-taxis or money changers. Once I reached the actual border post it got quieter, though, at least in terms of being harassed. The border crossing was busy indeed. It did not seem, though, as if the locals just walked back and forth without much – or any – formalities. I did not see any other white-noses, however, and kind of stood out of the crowd. The first building I was waved into was the Ghana Health Post to produce my Yellow Fever Certificate again – how often do they need to see it? The lady was the same thorough as the one at the airport and did not just look at it, but wanted to hold it by herself. I begged her not to tear it apart – it is already antique, well-travelled and would easily disintegrate! At least she smiled at me … But then she asked about my arms .. What about my arms? – You have a red rash! – Oh no! That is just dirt from the bus! – No it is a red rash! – Oh, it is just sunburn together with sweat and dirt! It is very hot in your country! We Europeans are not used to that! – Aha, OK! You go! – Phew … however, it was indeed nothing else on my arms other than sunburn, sweat, dirt, some mosquito bites and red marks from being stuck in the back of that mini bus for more than 2 hrs! – And before your ask – Yes! I dutifully take my Malaria Prophylaxis!

Next I had to cross the road to the Ghana Immigration Office on the other side – probably they were saving on something – they had closed the departure building and were handling everything in the arrival building. Inside it was blissfully air-conditioned and empty. I dropped my bags, got my passport out of its hiding place around my right ankle and smiled at the officer as good as my sweaty self could. He grinned back and made me fill out the departure card. When I handed it to him he lamented he could not read it and he had to do it all over again – so he filled in another one himself. When it came to the part of home address there was a line to write a phone number, which I always leave blank. – You need to put a phone number! – But I have no phone number! I left my mobile phone at home! – You need to put a phone number here! You have no Ghana number? – No, why should I? – But you have to put a phone number here! – Why? Are you going to call me if I do? – Well, maybe I will! – Yeah, but if I give you my German number it will not be good until I get home in 3 weeks! – But then I call you when you are at home! ….. Yeah, right ….

Once he had it all filled up – with a fake phone number of course – he handed me my passport and send me to the next office behind him to the boss. This officer inspected everything again – not that the first guy did not have already scanned everything twice before! But he wanted to put me an arrival stamp! – Nooooo! I am departing, sir! – Why? On the card the box for arrival is ticked! – Oh no! Hey, in the front, your guy chatted me up and made a mistake! I am leaving Ghana! Not arriving! – Why? – Because ….. Well, eventually I got my departure stamp and could leave!

Coming out of the Ghana Immigration Building I crossed the road again – Hello Togo!