Dec 13 Boti Falls (yesterday)
Now I have both the time and the story to continue. Monday, December 13 after we went to the Abori gardens we traveled for another hour to go to Boti Falls, further north and very much worth the trip. “Tourist attractions” here are not like our parks and sites in America; you drive on potholed roads to get to places hardly even marked by signs, and then we were the only ones visiting. Perhaps it is busier on weekends, but I doubt it; even Issac had not been here before. There's a photo below of Robert & Erin (upstairs housemate), me and Issac the driver at the falls.
The falls were “discovered” more than two hundred years ago by a foreigner. It’s nothing like Niagra, but it is so secluded and peaceful. As legend goes the two falls (see last photo) are from two rivers that joined and then separated again, and thought to be female and male. When it is especially rainy the two falls join again and a rainbow appears, then when the rivers subside, there are two falls again. They empty into a relatively small area and quietly run off in a deep stream you would hardly notice because of the vegetation around it. The guide took us over some rocks to a place we could actually go behind part of the falls (another photo). Erin slipped on the rocks, and we went no further. My classes got all misty and I put my camera away because I was afraid of slipping and breaking it.
The guide we hired knew all the history, and even took us to an area above the falls (about a fifteen minute drive away). It was to an area one would never know to travel too, and after we got out of the van it was a fifteen minute walk up and down hills and rocks to “Umbrella Rock”. I climbed the ladder quickly and enjoyed looking out over the valley, but I couldn’t see the falls. I’m feeling adventurous, and so far haven’t suffered the effects on my aging body. On the way back down to the van we passed an empty village with a special tree. Ghanaians are still superstitious, especially the non-Christians. The tree had not just one trunk, but about six feet off the ground had three separate cores that went straight up and were of equal size (see photo below): this was an omen of something. Next to it was a flat stone about two feet square; supposedly it was not carved by human hands but had been divided into four equal sections. Each section had a precise graphic symbol, about two inches deep. Nothing was said about the symbols meaning anything, but the rock was made in heaven and sent down. Sounds a little too much like John Smith’s Book of Mormon, but it attracks little more than local lure.
Although I thought we’d stop for lunch or something to eat, we drove home with several traffic delays. Erin and I had brought a few sandwiches and cookies, and some bottled water, so we shared that with Robert and Issac. Issac stopped to get some roasted corn from a street vendor, and I enjoyed an ear too. It was not like American corn on the cob; it was much drier and had no butter or salt to moisten it, but a cross between that and something like the “old maids” of popcorn. What the heck, I was hungry and gobbled it down. We got home around quarter after five, so it was still daylight and I was too tired to make dinner. More cookies and some leftover pineapple and I laid down to watch whatever DVD I could find.
Today is my day of rest, and early tomorrow I go to Cape Coast, the “must see” recommended by the other teachers. Happily the fifth grade teacher, Lynn Taiwah, called and plans to accompany me. I am so excited about having company to share it with, and Issac will drive us again. The biggest expense of yesterday’s excursion was the gas, roughly $25 American money, and entry fees and paying Issac was about that much again. What a great investment, and now with Lynn to share most of the expenses this next trip promises to be just as memorable.
God’s beauty surrounds us if we take the time to look.
Love to you all,
Diann
No comments:
Post a Comment