An Attempt to Describe Something Beyond Paradise

I wasn't really sure what to expect from our spring break because my friend Claire did most of the planning. We got on a bus to Takoradi (one of the major cities in Ghana) which was somewhat dirty and overwhelming like much of Accra. We had just been on an unnecessarily long bus ride with no air conditioning and it wasn't until the last 20 minutes that I learned how to open my window so after walking around in the heat in Takoradi with our bags for about an hour, it began to not matter how nice or not nice Busua would be, I just wanted to get there. We finally discovered splitting a cab between the five of us who went, would be really inexpensive and more convenient than another bus and tro tro or whatever the alternative would be. Driving through the tropical rainforest, being surrounded in excessive layers of biodiversity--the different greens, textures and sizes of leaves and plants--ah, was just so unbelievably beautiful.

Sunrise in Busua

When we arrived, the site of the beach was breathtaking. I couldn't believe it. With the mefloquine I'm taking for malaria, I've been having some vivid dreams and often have a hard time differentiating between reality and dream land. Busua, however, felt more like a dream than my wildest dreams here. It was so serene and picturesque. Unfortunately, I left my digital camera in a taxi the day before I left so I won't have any of my pictures till I get home, but I'll post some pictures that my friend Charlotte took just to give you an idea of what it was like. First of all, the sand was so smooth and soft, with no rocks in site. Lining the beach was the beautiful jungle we saw on the drive. To the left was a long strip of beach with an immediate layer of coconut trees and a hillside/rocky cliff covered in a variety of plants and trees at the end, in the far distance. To the right, completing the semi-circle formation of land that enclosed the waterfront of Busua was a similar hill covered in an entanglement of greenery, surrounded by splashing blue waves up the rocky shoreline. At the base of the hill stood a few extraordinarily tall trees with a light or white bark and green leaves only at the top of the tree. And straight across from the beach right in front of our hotel was a small tropical island which was the cherry on top of an already extraordinary site. We arrived right around sunset and got to cool off in the ocean and watch the sky and reflective clear water change colors before we went to dinner. 

Hike in Busua

View from Hike in Busua

That night we went to bed early and got up to watch the sunrise on the beach the next morning. The town of Busua had a really welcoming, charming and quaint vibe. There was a large volunteering (and thus Obruni aka foreigner) population so amongst the locals were lots of travelers. Along the beach was a strip of hotels/restaurants/bars with lots of small local places to eat on the street-side that corresponded. In order to get to some of the spots, you had to walk through the local village. For example, in order to get to Daniel's Pancake House, you had to walk through the primary school yard and in order to hike to the top of the hill, you had to walk through the homes of the town which were concentrated on the right side of the strip, farther East than the strip of hotels and lodges. We continued the day with a lot of swimming in the ocean and relaxing on the beach, with a walk down the coastline to the end of the land. The next day was more of the same with a surf lesson thrown in (was thinking of the Breunigs the whole time). It was super fun even though my experience may have been closer to getting beat up by the waves and the surf board than actually surfing. At night there was a bonfire with the other travelers, and some of the locals--like the people who run the volunteer site and people who work at the surf shop. During our time in Busua we also hiked up the hill by the village where we got a gorgeous view of the entire strip of land and the island.
Since my trip to Alaska in sixth grade, I've been adamantly opposed to eating sea food. However, since coming to Ghana it's been my goal to lose every qualm I have with any food, concluding that it's mostly just a mental game for me and I actually enjoy almost anything if I give it a fair shot. I still can't make myself like fried plantains, no matter how many times I try them but I tried (and mildly enjoyed) lobster for the first time in Busua our final night before the bonfire! So overall, it was a perfect start to the trip and on Wednesday we hiked down the beach and over the other hill to our second destination: Butre. 

View of Butre from Hike

Butre, like Busua, is a small town concentrated on one side of a strip of beach. There are about 800 people in the town and probably (based off observation/exaggeration and no real data) 2000 goats. There were baby goats that were some of the smallest animals I've ever seen and they played with the little puppies, it was beyond adorable. The feel of Butre, for some reason, was not as welcoming and comfortable as that of Busua. The Hideout Lodge, where we stayed, was down the beach and isolated so we didn't have a lot of interactions with locals but when we went in town, there was just something weird about it. While we were talking to the tour guide, arranging our trip to the fort, we stood by a kiosk for a while. Our stillness attracted lots of attention and although the kids were "friendly" their laughter combined with the language barrier, felt like mockery, especially while the elders sat and stared. Overall, being in town was kind of uncomfortable but still really interesting and much of it was really peaceful and beautiful (like the fishermen's boats and the animals playing). The hill seen in the picture above is the home of an old fort where we hiked to. From which, we could see miles and miles and miles of beautiful greenery. We could also see Butre from above and could see at all the homes, the colorful buildings and tin roofs along the beautiful clear, blue ocean. The fort itself was really cool and the view, not only of the land, but of the ocean, was, not surprisingly, to die for.
We also met a couple who was building their own treehouse resort amongst groves of really beautiful trees. I'm not sure what species they were but they looked like small palm trees that stood relatively low to the ground with leaves that intertwined into a beautiful web-creating a leafy ceiling, making a natural, green fort amongst the forest. This gorgeous area bordered a smooth, peaceful river on which we took a canoe ride the next morning. The noises of the birds, small animals, wind and rustling leaves was so incredible and goes to show the beauty and fluidity of nature. On the ride, we saw some of the most colorful birds I've ever seen, crabs that disguised themselves perfectly as rocks and would sit on the riverbed and move in unison, monkeys, a hawk, mudskippers and butterflies. It was incredibly serene and perfect. After the canoe trip, we got lunch and headed back to Busua where we caught a taxi to our final destination, Green Turtle Lodge in Dixcove.

Again, we stayed at a beach lined with lush palm trees and to the right, there was another incredibly small and impoverished village. In this village there was a hill with tons of plants, like the other hills we'd seen. This one, however, also had an old castle that was completely overgrown. As we were walking through the village, and passing the countless goats, waving children, women pounding fufu, etc, a bunch of children ran up to us, held our hands and walked with us. Some of them insisted on showing us the way to the castle, so they came with us and were climbing all over the castle and loving every minute of it. The hill was almost like an island, bordered by the ocean, overlooking the beach on one side and a bay overlooking more beautiful forest and the sunset on the other side. Again, totally picturesque. That night, we lay out on the beach, the moon was nearly full with a perfect ring around it, illuminating the ocean and gorgeous land that bordered.
Green Turtle was a great place for our last night as it was a really relaxed and friendly environment with lots of backpackers and other travelers. We got to know some Europeans (including an Irish-man who has been in Ghana since September but was prepared with his big green hat for St. Patrick's Day) and all transported back to Accra together the next day. Coming back was an unfortunate disruption in the peace and simplicity of life on break, which is pretty funny looking at the pace of things in Accra. But, there's some good to being back, and it's nice to see my friends who I didn't go away with. After spending every moment with people for 9 straight weeks, one week apart feels like a long time. It certainly was the perfect break and if you're ever in West Africa, I strongly urge you to travel along the Ghanaian coast--it's an experience I can't imagine trading (well, not for much anyway).