I had a real, legit holiday. Like a getaway for more than 3 days. Like relaxing-good-food-nap-times-beautiful-creation-laughter-and-good-talks-sort-of-holiday. The kind of holiday where you really do get refreshed and ready to get back to it. I am so thankful.
I spent Christmas with Charity, who is a missionary in Tumu, which was only a few days, and we talked about how we both need a real holiday. One that is longer than a weekend. So, we planned this one. We wanted to go to the Volta region in Ghana where it is green and beautiful. Also, we felt beach time would be relaxing and then some time in Accra.
The day before our trip was to start, I went to the station to make sure there were cars that went to Bimbilla. The man I talked to said, “every day we go to Bimbilla.” I said, “everyday? Good because I want to go tomorrow.” He said, “Oh, tomorrow we are not going.” Not Kidding! There was a big Muslim holiday the next day. I am thankful I found that out. So, instead of leaving on Tuesday we left on Wednesday. On Tuesday we went to KFC and picked up some chicken and went to a friend’s house. Still a nice start to a vacation.
Transport vehicle #1: A station wagon sort of car. The road was great and we arrived in Bimbilla within a few hours.
Some cool Swiss peeps live in Bimbilla and let us stay at their place, This is Jael. She is my Dagbabi-speaking hero. (Those are yam mounds behind us.)
They did a BBQ night for us! It was delicious. they love Jesus and it was a sweet time of fellowship.
The next morning, they took us to the station and we got transport vehicle #2. While we waited for them to pack the bus, I went to find someone to fix my sandal. My pair of Tevas were pretty old and falling apart. But someone was able to sew the strap on well. Yay! (Those are yams packed on top of the bus.)
The Volta Region in Ghana has beautiful views. There are hills, we just call them mountains, lots of green and rains that often fall.
Transport vehicle #3: Getting tired of all the travel. A Fan Choco is a great pick-me-up. (Imagine frozen chocolate milk.)
We arrived at Wli Waterfalls Lodge. It is run by a cute German couple. The day after we arrived, we went on a hike. it was supposed to be 5-6 hours, but we did it in 7. It was all fun and games until my Tevas broke down. Yes, the ones I had fixed while waiting for the bus. At one point, one was held together with my handkerchief and the other was held together with Charity’s headband. It was safer for me to take them off and climb down barefoot than keep tripping. Hikes here do not have guard rails, fences or safety things in place. When we started back I looked up…and saw a shoe…in a tree… I laughed and then stared, “no way.” We got the shoe down and it was a pretty, pink, Adidas shoe that fit me perfectly!! It was one of those things God had to have placed for ME! I had one shoe to help me down the mountain. I was so thankful. I would switch it to the other foot sometimes just to give my poor tootsies a break. I am so thankful I never cut my foot on a rock.
We made it down, felt like real old ladies and took the next couple days to just chill, eat, rub down our sore muscles and look at all the creation around us.
The infamous shoe.
Great Times to walk around, NOT hike. Great times to just sit and read. Great times to eat and talk.
We had to leave, of course, but our holiday was not over yet. Off to the beach! Transport vehicles #4, 5, 6, 7, and 8: From Wli Falls, to Hoehoe, to Ho, to Sogakope, to Dzita, which is close to the Togo border.
Our next little getaway place is called Meet Me There. It is a non profit lodge that supports an NGO in the community. They are eco friendly and use compost toilets, run off solar, and try not to use plastics.
Amazing views. Amazing time to read and rest. Maybe not so amazing to share a bathroom outside our room. Thankfully, we were the only ones using it. The food was great. It was a quiet, picturesque place. Now, onward to the busy city of Accra. Where we were at the mercy of transport vehicle #9 (No, it was not bad. The trotro did get stopped at immigration, where we were ready to show our Ghana I.D. cards. Apparently, though, there was a man from Togo in our vehicle and he did not have up to date info!)
Let me tell you about another interesting episode on our adventure. Charity did not want me to get the whole storyline for our hiking adventure. While we were hiking, a vine wrapped around her ankle. She cut it off but not before it gave her two little scratch marks. Those little scratch marks decided to get angry. Within, the next few days those scratches became red, more angry, and pussy. At one of the cities we stopped to get another vehicle, we found a restaurant, a KFC! Who knew there were so many in Ghana? But I really needed a bathroom. (Nope, no rest stop places along the roads we traveled!) And Charity needed to sit and figure out what to do about her ankle. We called our director who sort of hinted at going to a clinic. We did not want to do that. That would ruin all our plans! (Forget the fact Charity’s foot may need to be amputated.) But our director told us to call our doctor friend from the north, which we did. and he gave great advice. We did not need to go to a clinic, and he told Char what she could get for her wounds to heal. AND it just so happened God provided a pharmacy right outside the KFC we were in eating at, enjoying air conditioning and a clean bathroom. Ohhhh, the blessings!! God gave me a shoe. God gave Charity a pharmacy.
Accra, Accra, Accra a bustling, traffic packed, got-lots-of-things-city. We visited my friends (their girls are so cute!), we went to several restaurants (Not KFC), we went to the mall, we saw a movie, we stayed at the SIM office where they had WI-Fi and sigh, it was just lovely.
Yes, we did eat our way through the city. It was delicious!
Like, I said, we had a great time refreshing ourselves. And all good things must come to an end. So, we boarded our last transport vehicle, a plane, and returned to Tamale. Charity left for Tumu a bit after than. We both have such good memories. We both felt ready to go in our areas of ministry. We both are so thankful for God’s provision for a trip like this.
