Day 3 in Ghana

***I actually wrote this on my third day in Ghana but am just getting around to posting it now.

Today was incredible for a number of reasons. It was our last full day as a group and we certainly maximized the time together. Starting early, we rode a short distance to the nearby Monkey Sanctuary. I’d been eagerly anticipating this trip after hearing about it back in April. The village in which this sanctuary is located relies on this ecotourism and has developed rapidly as a result of proceeds from the entry fees charged to visitors. 200 acres of land are protected and the monkeys within are thriving.

Our guide helped us navigate through the forest to find the monkeys – and the rest is best told through photos.

Look at the concentration of these monkeys: they wanted our bananas pretty badly.

These monkeys are considered the “gods of their land” historically, and are divided into 5 territorial groups, each with 1 leader. It is extremely important that the leader, the biggest in the group, be fed before the others. Once the guide fed the leader, the rest of the monkeys stormed us, often times pouncing to grab our bananas before climbing back into the trees to eat them.

I, however, was lucky enough to have a monkey jump on my shoulder and walk up my arm to eat right off of my wrist. What an amazing feeling. I was told that monkeys are not willing to jump on everyone – if they sense fear, they won’t jump – I guess I was one of the lucky ones.

Thanks to Professor Kellogg for this picture. This one will definitely bring back memories for a long time.

Professor Kellogg was also one of the lucky ones. I’m really glad I was able to get this picture – she wanted to send this picture to her granddaughter who has a love for monkeys.

Michael Fox (NOT Michael J Fox) also got lucky. He’s spending the summer at Deloitte.

From left to right: Katherine, a little boy who followed us down the trail, Max, and Michelle.

Continuing our day, everyone in the group opted to go for a 4-5 mile hike through the nearby mountainside.We were cautioned by one of our professors that the hike was not for the faint of heart, and that many students who hiked it on the spring class trip called it “the most dangerous thing they’d ever done.” 

This was the first time I felt as though I was in the Africa I’d seen in movies and on TV. We were led by a machete-wielding Ghanaian through lush jungle, passing some pretty nasty biting ants and other unusual insects along the way. There were thousands of these ants on the path and a few people In our group nearly gave up early after being bitten over and over again.

Wild pineapple along our hiking trail.

To conclude the hike we were tasked with descending a 20 foot vertical drop via a rope and a few slippery rock outcrops. We were hiking less than an hour after a rainstorm and this made everything difficult. My shoes are likely ruined as I (and the rest of the group) had to wade through a few feet of water just to keep moving on the trail. I’ve never been one to consider myself a risk-taker, but today I, alongside our entire group, was. We all made the descent down to the bottom of a waterfall where the previous trip’s group had swam (we had no such luck as the result of the rainstorm), and then all climbed back up that same cliff.

Joe had knee high waterproof boots so he volunteered to help some of the group cross the river. By the time he reached the other side though, his boots had filled up with water.

This was at the beginning of the part of the trail that was guided by rope. Things got steeper from here.

If you look at the girl in the white at the front of the line you can see the beginning of the vertical drop. We all made the trip, so maybe I’m just exaggerating its intensity.

The reward for our tiring hike - a roaring waterfall.

We met this man at Mountain Paradise. He was getting some R&R before returning to Accra to continue his work for Engineers Without Borders. 

View from the hike on our return.

And this evening, we were treated to drumming and dancing with local villagers. We (yes, me included) danced alongside them around a bonfire for a few hours. I didn’t take any pictures as I wanted to enjoy the experience, but I think others took about 100 of me, so those can be expected sometime in the future. I can’t tell you how welcoming these people really are, I made a complete fool of myself and not once did I feel that the Ghanaians were laughing at me. In fact, they were thrilled that we were willing to participate in their dancing - a very special ending to an unforgettable day.

Just your average millipede (centipede?) outside my bedroom at Mountain Paradise.