Charles McFetridge Writes: #4DaysInWesternRegion- A Festival Of Snacks, Sweat And The Village On Stilts
Charles McFetridge Writes: #4DaysInWesternRegion- A Festival Of Snacks, Sweat And The Village On Stilts
It is a held belief that travelling by bus is not as exciting and mind-blowing as travelling by plane, but this trip changed our entire perspective on road trips. I mean if you have had to travel 225.6 km by bus on deplorable roads, you will have a change of mind too. Nonetheless, the bus felt like a festival of snacks with music, dance and cheers to perfect the square. Seeing my mates nod to the music playing from a speaker, wiggle their shoulders and tap their feet for nearly six hours created such a good vibe.
Living in Accra and staying in our comfort zone has become nothing but a routine. So, waking up one day to the reality that we are leaving Accra for a class trip for 3 days, literally popped a party popper in our heads. We counted down the days until we stepped foot on the bus.
Our first stop was the Hans Cottage where we were welcomed by clear blue skies and crocodiles coming out to get some sun. Though scary seeing them in such proximity, it was such a thrilling sight to behold for most of us. It was our lucky day as we were told they often came out depending on the weather.
The only thing that captured our glee at our next stop, Kakum National was the canopy walk. Christ! that walk was frightening to the marrow yet knowing that we were 27 metres above the forest floor amazed us. The smell of nature, purified air and the sounds of chirping birds were immediately satisfying— overall it was a good experience.
Sweat, blood, human excreta and the shouts of pain and anger of our ancestors played untiringly in our heads as we toured the Elmina Castle to end the climax of our first day of activities. Walking through the building and paying respect to our ancestors did not make us feel any better but at least, we felt we were part of history. We were educated more on the history of slaves by the artefacts left by the slaves.
Bright and early, we were whisked from our place of luxury to the village on stilt, popularly known as Nzulezu. Right from the beginning of this journey, we knew we will be walking and moving on the water for the rest of the day as the name of the Nzulezo interprets as ‘water surface’ in Nzema, local parlance.
We went by boat to the village passing by both man-made and natural water bodies. Upon arrival, we toured and had extensive conversations with the indigenes of the village.
Believe it or not everything in the village seemed to amaze us. From children swimming, some dancing to some rowing boats at young ages.
If there is one thing seeing people be this innovative with the limited space they have pointed clearly to— it is the fact that everything is possible once you put your mind to it.
To say goodbye to our four days of educational and fun-filled tours of the Western Region, we made a quick stop at the Abrewa museum before hitting the road back home. Each statue represented something significant and we were briefed on the story behind each one of them. One thing I couldn’t help but notice was that their registration process was tardy. The sun was on its worst behaviour so waiting in line made us uncomfortable. However, I will be lying if I say it was not entertaining especially when it comes down to the tales and the discoveries.
