Ghana Part V: Going it Solo from Ho to Hohoe in a Tro Tro

These places do exist

The first section of our independent journey took us to the mountainous region of Lake Volta, close to the border with Togo. Since the area has a bit of altitude, we were promised some cooler breezes, which would be oh so welcome after Accra.

First, we had to use the services of the Dragoman “fixer” (essentially a local guy who can arrange things that are difficult/get shit done) to go straight to the Burkina Fasso embassy to arrange for my visa, and have them understand that it would be ok for Isaac to pick the passport back up for us that Friday and bring it to the airport in time for us to fly to Mole.

I was amazed at just how quickly the process went. I paid my $100, filled in a form, and we were out of there in under 15 minutes. Mike was perturbed and assured me that other things would definitely prove to be more difficult, moving forward. Haha!

For this section of the journey we would be utilizing many different forms of public transport. To date we have used Tro-Tros, Buses, Motorcycles, Motorcycle drawn “motorcart”, car taxis, bicycles, and our two feet. It has actually been a lot easier in certain sections than I was expecting and it was more difficult in others.

Taking Moto to Biakpa

On this journey to the tiny village of Biapka, near Amedzofe, we took a Tro Tro, or minibus and it was quite cramped and stiflingly hot inside the vehicle. We were heading to Akosombo in the hopes of making it there by 3pm to take a tour of the dam there that creates Lake Volta.

Cool breeze as we wind through the mountain roads

The view on arrival was jaw-droppingly beautiful. Our hotel was situated on a cliff with sweeping mountain views.

Heading out on a hike to Mt. Gemi and Amedzofe

The young lad had clearly led us astray and we weren’t exactly sure of his motives, but we pressed on regardless.

At the summit of Mt. Gemi

Heading back to town, we stopped at a family’s home to purchase some home produce and cool off.

Cold beer after a hot hike = happiness

A man called Frank, wearing a Givenchy Paris t-shirt with the American flag on it, struck up a conversation with us.

Frank

Since we were connecting, Frank offered to take us to a waterfall once we had finished our drinks.

Ofe Falls in Amedzofe with Frank

What ensued was hilarious as King, the member of staff, wickedly helped us commit some good-natured mischief.

Smoking King's Math Homework

The next day we left on motorcycle early to visit the Monkey sanctuary in Tafi Atome.

Mike and I with the Mona monkeys in Tafi Atome

Later on we took another hike to a local waterfall. Since we had to walk on the rocks it was quite the adventure.