Our morning begin with a trip to the Tafi Atome Monkey sanctuary in a small village further north. The drive was truly spectacular among the hills and lush trees of the Volta Region. I read that only 5% of visitors to Ghana choose to see this area and I’m not sure why. It is very beautiful and the Ewe people are very hospitable. The sanctuary is home to another species of the very energetic and photogenic Mona monkeys. We had great fun taking photos of their cute faces and watching them jump from tree to tree. In the area, there are approximately 350 monkeys divided into 4 groups although only one are two groups are visible in the village at one time. The cutest image is the mother monkeys with their tiny, furry babies clinging on tightly.
Mommy and baby Mona monkeys
Grooming
So there are a lot of people around the world who are willing to exist in their own stench. I am happy to be among compatriots that like lots of deodorant, perfume, cologne, smelly lotions and such. While in Ghana, we have come across a few people here who couldn’t raise their hand if they are sure, but generally it hasn’t been too bad even with the intense heat and humidity. That is until we met Eric, our young teenage guide to the Wli waterfall. The trek is about 45 minutes from the village to the very beautiful falls and during the entire nature walk we had to experience Eric’s natural and very stinky scent. If only every few days he dipped himself in the pool below the falls like lots of other people, I think it would help. On the walk back, we were happy there was another villager carrying a bag of charcoal just ahead of us so that the smoky smell helped mediate Eric’s rankness.
The Wli falls are just at the border with Togo among very lush hills. Lots of people were enjoying the spray of the falls and the pool below with their families. In fact, many of them stripped down to their skivvies, some quite scandalously, to take a dip in the water. Along the rocky walls surrounding the falls are colonies of enormous fruit bats with their constant chirping and random flying about. Although it was difficult to determine from the distance we were standing, I would say they are the size of a cat.
Wli Falls
Once we returned from the falls, we stopped to buy beads and an ebony mask from the local craftsmen. One trinket stopped me in my tracks: Carved wooden penises. They were made of light colored and darker colored wood (whatever your preference) and in various sizes but they were definitely penises. After we left, I sheepishly asked Ernest if they were fertility symbols or something fairly benign and he said no, in a rather mysterious way. Not sure I want to question him further. Maybe they’re just good conversation starters.
We had dinner again at the hotel and while we waited for our food, we watched all the people around for some kind of conference/meeting/reunion. They seemed rather wealthy with really nice clothes and cars, and many of them were noticeably more overweight than most Ghanaians who are typically quite tall and very narrow. I am not sure if this is true, but I think Ghana is a country where weight=wealth.
