Chapter 4: Burkina Faso and the trip to Wa
5:30am, time to wake up. We were told the bus from Paga to Wa left around 7:30 am, so we woke up early in order to get to the border and then to the bus in time. We packed up our duffel bags and headed for the exit as fast as possible. Nothing like traveling all day, then sleeping on a rooftop with no shower and getting up early the next day to do it all over again!
The walk to the border was about .5 kilometers in the nice "brisk"-ish morning air. Since the weather is so dry in the north the morning is actually quite cool and nice. We arrived and saw that is was just a fence. We walked through the "security immigration checkpoint" and all we had do was say we wanted to take a picture in from of the Burkina Faso sign and the captain or whatever he was just waved us on. No stamp in the passport, no ID card or anything. We sauntered over to the sign, took our pictures and that was it - time to get the hell out of there. (See my boat? Now let's get the hell out of here.)
As we crossed back into Ghana we waved at the patrolman and he waved back and wished us a safe journey. We had asked several people what the taxi fare would be to get to the city of Navrongo from the border so that we could catch the bus to Wa.
We rolled up the bus station and found the bus to Wa left at 5am, not 7:30am as told. You'd think we would be mentally prepared for always having wrong information... We were talking to one local who mentioned a bus to Tumu, half way to Wa. It didn't leave until the afternoon which meant a morning of waiting and waiting. However, about 30 minutes later that same guy rolls up in a cargo truck shouting "going to Tumu?." Our savior! Kate, Roy and I climbed into the back of the OPEN AIR cargo truck as we prepared our hitchhiking adventure. Other locals joined us, so we figured it must be legit. In the north, transportation is limited, so if a sketchy open air truck comes along, you take it.
The ride should have taken about 2 hours as the distance is just over 100 kilometers. However, the "road" was like driving on boulders and the truck had zero shocks to absorb the bumps. There is a video of the three of us sitting in the back of this truck. Only the video accurately shows what we endured. The ride there was beautiful - the golden Ghanaian savannah -- mixed with me thinking about that movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles." Four hours later we arrived in Tumu.
Once in Tumu, we had the realization that we were still 150 kilometers from Wa. It's like getting sucker punched when you are already down. Luckily, in Tumu you purchase a ticket for the TroTro to Wa. It was somewhat comforting to know we had a guaranteed spot on a bus. While we waited we grabbed some Yam chips with Peppe sauce, talked to some local kids, and enjoyed the smells from the communal open air bathroom.
The bus was finally ready to leave and we stepped into the bus. This has got to be the worst TroTro I have ever been on. First, it is meant to hold maybe 12 people. We had 16 people and even 2 people were sitting on the roof. The roof of the bus was caving in on top of my head and the engine was hissing like it was about to blow up. While driving, we had to stop every 30 minutes to pour water on the engine to make sure that it would not overheat and leave us stranded somewhere in north Ghana.
The most interesting aspect of this leg of the journey was the local people that we met. This TroTro was obviously one of very few, or even the only TroTro for the day. As we got to each village people were there waiting -- clearly waiting all day for the one TroTro so that they could get to Wa. If they missed the bus, they would have to wait until the next day. We take our cars and buses for granted and the luxury that they provide.
Chapter 5: Getting to Wechiau and some Hippos
We finally made it to Wa around 5:30pm. Remember, we woke up at 5am and still accomplished nothing in our day so far except travel 200 kilometers. Realizing we were losing daylight and were still several hours from the Hippo Sanctuary, the three of us became a little jumpy. We frantically searched for the correct TroTro to get to Wechiau. Of course the locals were completely unhelpful at first. The Hippo sanctuary is basically the only attraction in the entire region yet no one knows it. We eventually found someone that knew and took us over to the Wechiau TroTro -- which was really just another open air truck. But, at least this one had bench seats and a roof.
The road to Wechiau was even worse than from Navrongo to Tumu. Even more terrifying by the fact it became complete darkness. All we could see were the bodies around us squished in like sardines and we could feel the dust and dirt collecting on our faces. Also, one man asked us why we made no effort to learn their language, Wala. A language only spoken in the small city of Wa. Anywhere outside this city, even in the North of Ghana, no one speaks it. So, why this man felt the need for me to learn the language, I'm not sure... This was when the three of us realized one of the major problems of Ghana. There are over 10 languages in this country. People in the north speak languages not spoken in the south and vice versa. Basically, what that means is that even people in Ghana cannot understand each other. English is weak in the north, so for us travelers the journey was made that much more difficult. The little bit of Twi I have learned was worthless -- so I guess maybe learning Wala for the 12 hours I would be in Wa was not such a bad idea.
Another 3 dusty hours later, and one completely compressed spine, we arrived to Wechiau, the city of the Hippo Sanctuary. As we were driving we kept asking one man if he knew the Hippos. "No, no, no." We figured he just didn't know. We finally arrive to Wechiau and he leans to us and goes "Here's hippos!"
I think we arrived to the Hippo place around 9pm. Pitch dark, but this is when our luck started to change for the better. The driver of the truck took pity on us and found the office manager, who then led us to the office. Very slowly, he described what the sanctuary had to offer, where we could sleep, how much it cost and all the other details needed to ease weary travelers. It was too late to sleep in the "Hippo Hideout" which is a tree house right on the river. The next option was a lodge. We were able to sleep on the rooftop, but unlike the last place, they set up our beds with sheets and nice mosquito nets and the camp grounds were really beautiful. Plus they had plenty of water and so we could shower off 3 days worth of dust. This lodge was tucked away 17 kilometers from Wechiau in its own little hideaway area. It was serene and relaxing and I slept solidly for the first time in days.
The next morning we woke up at 6:30am to go on a river raft trip. We followed the guide to the river and took a canoe down the Black Volta. On one side is Ghana and the other is Burkina Faso. So, technically I've been in Burkina Faso twice! A bit down the river we saw 4 hippos playing in the water. They were an awesome reddish brown color and they looked peaceful, farting along in the water. We drifted around for about 30 minutes and in our effort to save some money, we turned around to head back to camp. For me, this was the best part of the trip. I could have stayed there for days. The locals were so friendly to us and we really felt welcomed. They treated us like we were one of them and we even met a shop owner that was completely deaf, but through sign language the locals communicated with him.
After the river trip we headed back to Wechiau in order to go back to Wa. In Wechiau, the village chief and elders were heading to Wa as well and so we had the opportunity to ride with them in a TroTro. That was a really cool and unique experience.
Our next plan was to get to Mole National Park in order to see elephants. This should be a relatively simple journey, only a few hundred kilometers, but after such a nice evening/morning it was in the cards to face more trouble...
The walk to the border was about .5 kilometers in the nice "brisk"-ish morning air. Since the weather is so dry in the north the morning is actually quite cool and nice. We arrived and saw that is was just a fence. We walked through the "security immigration checkpoint" and all we had do was say we wanted to take a picture in from of the Burkina Faso sign and the captain or whatever he was just waved us on. No stamp in the passport, no ID card or anything. We sauntered over to the sign, took our pictures and that was it - time to get the hell out of there. (See my boat? Now let's get the hell out of here.)
As we crossed back into Ghana we waved at the patrolman and he waved back and wished us a safe journey. We had asked several people what the taxi fare would be to get to the city of Navrongo from the border so that we could catch the bus to Wa.
We rolled up the bus station and found the bus to Wa left at 5am, not 7:30am as told. You'd think we would be mentally prepared for always having wrong information... We were talking to one local who mentioned a bus to Tumu, half way to Wa. It didn't leave until the afternoon which meant a morning of waiting and waiting. However, about 30 minutes later that same guy rolls up in a cargo truck shouting "going to Tumu?." Our savior! Kate, Roy and I climbed into the back of the OPEN AIR cargo truck as we prepared our hitchhiking adventure. Other locals joined us, so we figured it must be legit. In the north, transportation is limited, so if a sketchy open air truck comes along, you take it.
The ride should have taken about 2 hours as the distance is just over 100 kilometers. However, the "road" was like driving on boulders and the truck had zero shocks to absorb the bumps. There is a video of the three of us sitting in the back of this truck. Only the video accurately shows what we endured. The ride there was beautiful - the golden Ghanaian savannah -- mixed with me thinking about that movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles." Four hours later we arrived in Tumu.
Once in Tumu, we had the realization that we were still 150 kilometers from Wa. It's like getting sucker punched when you are already down. Luckily, in Tumu you purchase a ticket for the TroTro to Wa. It was somewhat comforting to know we had a guaranteed spot on a bus. While we waited we grabbed some Yam chips with Peppe sauce, talked to some local kids, and enjoyed the smells from the communal open air bathroom.
The bus was finally ready to leave and we stepped into the bus. This has got to be the worst TroTro I have ever been on. First, it is meant to hold maybe 12 people. We had 16 people and even 2 people were sitting on the roof. The roof of the bus was caving in on top of my head and the engine was hissing like it was about to blow up. While driving, we had to stop every 30 minutes to pour water on the engine to make sure that it would not overheat and leave us stranded somewhere in north Ghana.
The most interesting aspect of this leg of the journey was the local people that we met. This TroTro was obviously one of very few, or even the only TroTro for the day. As we got to each village people were there waiting -- clearly waiting all day for the one TroTro so that they could get to Wa. If they missed the bus, they would have to wait until the next day. We take our cars and buses for granted and the luxury that they provide.
Chapter 5: Getting to Wechiau and some Hippos
We finally made it to Wa around 5:30pm. Remember, we woke up at 5am and still accomplished nothing in our day so far except travel 200 kilometers. Realizing we were losing daylight and were still several hours from the Hippo Sanctuary, the three of us became a little jumpy. We frantically searched for the correct TroTro to get to Wechiau. Of course the locals were completely unhelpful at first. The Hippo sanctuary is basically the only attraction in the entire region yet no one knows it. We eventually found someone that knew and took us over to the Wechiau TroTro -- which was really just another open air truck. But, at least this one had bench seats and a roof.
The road to Wechiau was even worse than from Navrongo to Tumu. Even more terrifying by the fact it became complete darkness. All we could see were the bodies around us squished in like sardines and we could feel the dust and dirt collecting on our faces. Also, one man asked us why we made no effort to learn their language, Wala. A language only spoken in the small city of Wa. Anywhere outside this city, even in the North of Ghana, no one speaks it. So, why this man felt the need for me to learn the language, I'm not sure... This was when the three of us realized one of the major problems of Ghana. There are over 10 languages in this country. People in the north speak languages not spoken in the south and vice versa. Basically, what that means is that even people in Ghana cannot understand each other. English is weak in the north, so for us travelers the journey was made that much more difficult. The little bit of Twi I have learned was worthless -- so I guess maybe learning Wala for the 12 hours I would be in Wa was not such a bad idea.
Another 3 dusty hours later, and one completely compressed spine, we arrived to Wechiau, the city of the Hippo Sanctuary. As we were driving we kept asking one man if he knew the Hippos. "No, no, no." We figured he just didn't know. We finally arrive to Wechiau and he leans to us and goes "Here's hippos!"
I think we arrived to the Hippo place around 9pm. Pitch dark, but this is when our luck started to change for the better. The driver of the truck took pity on us and found the office manager, who then led us to the office. Very slowly, he described what the sanctuary had to offer, where we could sleep, how much it cost and all the other details needed to ease weary travelers. It was too late to sleep in the "Hippo Hideout" which is a tree house right on the river. The next option was a lodge. We were able to sleep on the rooftop, but unlike the last place, they set up our beds with sheets and nice mosquito nets and the camp grounds were really beautiful. Plus they had plenty of water and so we could shower off 3 days worth of dust. This lodge was tucked away 17 kilometers from Wechiau in its own little hideaway area. It was serene and relaxing and I slept solidly for the first time in days.
The next morning we woke up at 6:30am to go on a river raft trip. We followed the guide to the river and took a canoe down the Black Volta. On one side is Ghana and the other is Burkina Faso. So, technically I've been in Burkina Faso twice! A bit down the river we saw 4 hippos playing in the water. They were an awesome reddish brown color and they looked peaceful, farting along in the water. We drifted around for about 30 minutes and in our effort to save some money, we turned around to head back to camp. For me, this was the best part of the trip. I could have stayed there for days. The locals were so friendly to us and we really felt welcomed. They treated us like we were one of them and we even met a shop owner that was completely deaf, but through sign language the locals communicated with him.
After the river trip we headed back to Wechiau in order to go back to Wa. In Wechiau, the village chief and elders were heading to Wa as well and so we had the opportunity to ride with them in a TroTro. That was a really cool and unique experience.
Our next plan was to get to Mole National Park in order to see elephants. This should be a relatively simple journey, only a few hundred kilometers, but after such a nice evening/morning it was in the cards to face more trouble...
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