Earlier this month, five YES Abroad and two AFS students went on five days of independent travel. We went around the city of Takoradi (the capital of the western region) and its surrounding areas. It was a great trip; as Adriana puts it, "We spent five days straight basically just being beach bums… and it was so nice!"
Following are some of my favorite photos from the trip:
Our ticket to Takoradi – little did we know that we could have taken a Metro bus for half the cost of the van (as we did when coming home).
Group photo inside the van.
Men and women in costumes – celebrating the New Year
Ghanaian 'guides' showed us the way to our first lodge by hiking up and down mountains.
I soon realized that I had left my camera on the trotro and sprinted down the mountain to get it. Luckily, the car had not left.
Eventually our hike finished. We emerged from the mountain and met the ocean.
Group photo on the beach.
We spent our first night at the Safari Beach Resort – an eco-lodge.
AFS Ghana '11-'12
After a long day of swimming with waves over 6 feet high, I relaxed by writing in one of my many journals.
Sunset at the Safari Beach Resort.
Early next morning, we walked down the beach and arrived at the Green Turtle Lodge.
Breakfast at Green Turtle was the best french toast I've had to date, served with local honey and perfectly caramelized bananas. The bananas were cut in half and caramelized them with the skin-on, a technique to keep them from falling apart.
After breakfast, we tried getting coconuts down from trees in order to quench our thirsts.
Photo taken seconds before I chopped off my thumb… just kidding Mom!
'To the victor belongs the spoils'
Later that day I played a game of soccer with some Green Turtle employees and knocked the screw out of my glasses by misheading the ball. I went the rest of the trip without being able to see (but they're fixed now).
The beach near Green Turtle.
Lunch – spicy papaya salad with a Thai peanut dressing.
A surfboard near the Green Turtle bar.
The dormitories at Green Turtle – roughly $6 per night.
When we were headed back to Takoradi, the seven of us squeezed in a single taxi in order to save money.
Boats seen on our way back to Takoradi.
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To see the rest of the photos from our independent travel to Takoradi, check out my Picasa Web Album!
