"If your name is written in heaven, it will also be known in hell."

So was I informed by a wooden sign at Mt Gemi, near Amedzofe, Volta Region, Ghana.

This past weekend, a group of us traveled to Ho (yes, that is the name of the city), capital of the Volta Region in Eastern Ghana, close by the Togo border. Last year, one of my biggest regrets was not travelling to Volta, which is reputed to be the most beautiful and friendliest of Ghana's regions. This past weekend did not disappoint. The people, who primarily spoke Ewe, were indeed very friendly, and always said "welcome" whenever they saw us "yavoos" (the equivalent of "obruni"). Some key Ewe phrases I picked up:

Ndi : good morning
Ndo : good afternoon
Eh foa? : how are you doing? (resp. "Eh". Simple enough)
Akpe : thank you

Volta, as the pictures below will demonstrate, is the land of lush rolling hills covered in greenery. Ho is also higher up in elevation than Accra, so the evenings were significantly cooler and more pleasant. But before we get to the pictures, we need to have a history lesson.

Volta was originally under the colonial control of German Togoland until 1914, when the British and the French, apparently having a disagreement with the Germans, happened to find some of their forces meandering into Togoland and conveniently dividing it into present-day Volta and French-speaking Togo. Even today, there were some fine examples of German colonial architecture in Ho, especially around the Evangelical Presbyterian guesthouse that we were staying at. Quite a few German cemeteries, as well.

Today, Volta is a vibrant place, though rather untravelled by tourists. One thing Volta is known for, according to the Bradt Guide and our experiences this past weekend, is community development projects, specifically targetted at preserving the land's beauty and attracting tourists. The two mountains we visited both had community-based tourist boards with certified guides, and these developments were often partnerships with the Peace Corps, USAID or the EU. It also appears--and this is related to our actual research work--that Volta is quite conducive to cooperative formation, particularly with respect to credit unions. Definitely saw a bunch of those in Ho. Would be interesting to figure out why that is the case. As a side note, one of the credit unions in Ho was called Morkporkpor. In Ewe, according to our field book, k's before p's are typically silent. I don't know how I'd feel being in a credit union that sounded like "more poor poor".

Anyways, the pictures. All are done with my 35/1.8. (RSS, email and facebook subscribers, these photos may not show up for you.)

Saturday was spent about 35km north of Ho at a town called Amedzofe in the Avatime Hills, one of the most pristine areas in Ghana. Our specific objective: to climb Mount Gemi, one of the tallest in Ghana (okay, so it's only 800m. And we drove halfway--ergh, two-thirds--of the way up there. it was still cool). Mount Gemi is unique for two reasons. First, its top is almost completely devoid of tree cover. Now it's not high enough to really have a tree line, but for some reason this mountaintop is covered with rolling green grass and jutting rocks--basically out of the Scottish highlands or something. And, secondly, German missionaries in the 1910s constructed a 4m-tall metal cross at the top of the mountain that you can see from really far away. Furthermore, the Brits installed a radio transmitter in that tower just before World War II. Sweet. We even saw the cable for it in the cross!

Arriving at the Avatime Hills in one of the rockiest cab rides of my life.

A couple guys playing checkers by the community tourist board.

One of the many lovely flowers at Mt Gemi, close in.

With Noah, (Chairman Mau)ricio and our guide, Sanctified. Yes, his name was Sanctified. Cool stuff.

Okay, guys, look dramatically contemplative, preferably near the top of a mountain. Good.

Putting the top in perspective.

I do admit that this whole hiking process had the feeling of a crucifixion, for some reason.

A great shot. That is, before thunderbolts started raining down from the heavens.

Yes, that is a sheer drop right behind us. Amazing view of the surrounding towns from up there.

And you might have thought I was lying about this sign.

Today, Sunday, we were a bit puzzled regarding what to do as most of Ghana tends to shut down on Sunday to attend church. However, acting up on a friend's recommendation (thanks, Frank!), we decided to journey south to Adaklu, which, is an isolated mountain that dominates Ho's southern skyline. There are no other mountains around it, but it just juts out of the plain. It is surrounded by 40 or so small villages, of which Helekpe is the main one. To get to Helekpe, we rented out a cab, with a driver named Selassie, that we picked up in Ho. Let's just say he might have gotten more than he bargained for.

Now the Bradt guide reports that the hike up Adaklu is a "reasonably demanding" 2-4 hours. Not too bad, right? I mean, I was in Boy Scouts all through middle and high school, and have done my fair share of 20-mile-a-day, several-day hikes with 40lb packs, so how hard could this be? Well, I should also mention that I grew up in Florida, where the biggest incline might be stepping into the van that takes you to the trailhead. Oh yes, let's just say that today was the day where I found out that squats are a good thing to do. Our driver, who decided to tag along with us up the mountain (he was really cool), also started to feel the burn, though he was very helpful in making sure that none of us fell while moving/rappelling down the rocky, slipper inclines.

Anyways, we hired a local guide from the community eco-tourist office, and were on our way. Of course, there was a bit of bureaucracy once we got to the base of the mountain. The tourism officer up there at first wouldn't let us pass because we didn't have receipts that showed that we paid at the bottom village. But the office was locked because it was Sunday, so our guide held on to the money. Eventually we got enough of the local population on our side--including a possibly drunken man who kept blessing us--that the officer let us go ahead. He even gave us bananas once we got down from the mountain, when we are all really exhausted. Best bananas ever.

The Stars and Stripes were proudly displayed in Selassie's cab.

Adaklu.

Adaklu, from a little closer in.

On our way. Already feeling the burn.


Taking a breather as our guide negotiates with the tourism officer.

What a view.

One of the local kids, Christian, using the rope to get up a slippery rock face. I was next.

Me, taking a breather.

Noah, as king of the world.

Mau. Some say he has a resemblance to Jesus. I'll let you be the judge.

Climbing skill, right there.
Here we are with Selassie. Such an amazing view.

Noah, using the rope on the way down.

On the way back to Accra, we saw this truck broken down. Right at the toll booth of a two-lane bridge crossing the Volta River into Volta Region. Probably the single worst place for a breakdown in all of Ghana.

After all that hiking I'm definitely a bit tired and sore. For dinner, Noah and I each had our own large pizzas (two for one special at the Paloma Restaurant). It was glorious.