Final few days & farewell at Boti Falls

As mentioned before, we applied for a number of positions all over the world to assist our dwindling finances due to the Ninja and Nigerian experiences! Before we left civilization, Stew arranged for his second telephonic interview for the German position to take place early Saturday morning. We were told that there was cell phone reception at the village, and as Ghana is 2 hours behind Germany time wise, we thought all will be fine as most villagers will still be busy in their huts so early in the morning.

What we did not know however, is that EVERYONE in the village are 7^th Day Adventists AND their church day is Saturday!! To get reception, we had to walk up a little hill to where the makeshift school is and unfortunately this is also where the church service is held. We realized this pretty soon, for  as soon as we were settled into the one classroom with phone. Laptop and books, we were joined by half the population carrying brooms. Well, it is Saturday and the sandy, dusty “floor” had to be swept for church…..how  could we  not know this, on Saturday mornings people sweep gravel floors before the church service!!!

So, picture the scene (I do think that one day we will have to show these pics to the German employers), the only place we could then find, was a structure built up to about the height of Stew’s shoulders and covered with palm leaves that serve as a roof, infested with all kinds of bugs who were promptly joined by the goats and chickens who could now run free as the owners were sweeping the floor in our previous abode. This circus was intermittently joined by a few inquisitive locals who found our behaviour a bit strange as we were surrounded by books, a laptop and 2 cell phones!! What was the cherry on top, however, was the fact that we were literally bitten to pieces by some species of insect, we are talking 1000’s of bites appearing non stop over every exposed part of your body. As it was impossible for Stewart to stand up straight due to the low “roof” he cut a weird picture crawling around on the floor trying to get away from the insects whilst discussing German foreign policy and world economics on the phone!! Despite the comical surroundings which just got worse and worse as the animal noises were joined by church singing, Stewart did brilliantly and were told that the interview went well.

 Interview time.....believe it this is where it was done!!!

This meant that we needed to be back in Accra as we needed internet connectivity as well as better cell phone reception. Furthermore, we needed to have Stan fixed properly once and for all, get visas for onward travel as if Stewart is successful, he have to  start in Kassel on the 1^st September.

 The guys were very understanding as they followed our trials and tribulations on our website and were aware that our dwindling finances prevented us from doing the trip the way we originally planned. They decided to give us a farewell and 17 of us left in a typical African taxi for the day, packed to the roof with food, drink, pots and pans as well as drums and some typical Ghanian musical instruments. We were heading for Boti Falls, a local tourist attraction and weekend picnic area.

 Stunning Boti fallsSwimming despite "DANGER you can die" signs!

After many stops along the way, for ice and more food and drink, we arrived at the picnic site, which was dotted with cars, taxis and busses, each having a “Strand-style” picnic, complete with cooler boxes, blaring music and large volumes of alcohol. After a few drinks to quench the thirst – and believe me these local boys can get thirsty! -  we walked down the 250 steps or so down to the waterfall and pool below it. The river plunges in 2 steams 30 metres down into a plunge pool about 50 metres wide. Despite the warning signs about it being dangerous to swim, Stewart took the opportunity for a swim up to the waterfall, being cheered on by the rest of the group.

 Party time!! Chilli!!!!!!!!!!!Wow

After we returned from the waterfall, the serious part of the entertainment began. As many as 5 bottles of brandy, whiskey and vodka  were quickly consumed, as Tina again proving her culinary skills and cooking a meal of Banku and “soup” (the local word for a  spicy sauce). We were astonished by the amount of fresh chilies that were used in the soup, literally a plastic bag full!They call it peppers here and killed themselves laughing when we told them that we use maybe one for a meal of 8 people.

Before we left, we decided another swim was called for, and so we made our way down to the base of the waterfall, where other visitors joined Stewart in a swim out to the waterfall.  Eric had brought his ever-present drum down with him, and an impromptu music and dance session followed. Many of the other visitors, local and international, joined in. The naturalness, ease and warm hospitality of the Ghanians being ever present and making all feel at home and welcome to join in.

All the Vol corp'sFriends for life!!!

With the dancing and singing over, and the drink supply extinguished, we returned  to Timber-Nkwanta, many of the most boisterous  members of the party now strangely  quiet! We spent that evening chatting and relaxing, in preparation for departing in the morning. We learnt a lot about Ghana from our young friends who were all very well informed about local events. The one thing they all share is a tremendous sense of humour and enjoy laughing at the Ghanain way and at themselves. As they say, Ghanians are masters in conversation and can have discussions about everything for hours on end, only problem is that they never act. Well, maybe that is the “African way”

 Party and final farewell      Lunch !!

The next morning it took us about 2 hours to take down the camp and repack Stan, and after a tearful farewell, we drove back to Accra, realizing that the similarities between the people and problems of our beloved South Africa and those of Ghana are not so far apart.